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Privacy Policy
v2
Pearly Citizen App Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 1st May 2026
Version: 2.0
Policy Name: Pearly Citizen App Privacy Policy
Responsible Organizations / Joint Controllers: Prime Minister’s Office and TouchStar Robotics and AI
1. Introduction
Pearly is a citizen engagement platform that allows residents, citizens, and visitors in Barbados to submit and track reports about public service issues, including road issues, burst mains, traffic obstructions, public infrastructure concerns, public safety concerns, and other service-related matters.
This Privacy Policy explains how Pearly collects, uses, stores, shares, protects, and retains personal information submitted through the Pearly Citizen App, including the web and mobile versions of the app. It also explains the rights available to users under the Barbados Data Protection Act, 2019.
This is a citizen-facing privacy notice. It must be read together with Pearly’s Terms of Use, Acceptable Use Policy and any service-specific notices shown in the app.
2. Definitions
Personal Data
Data relating to an individual who can be identified from that data, or from that data together with other information likely to come into the possession of the data controller.
Sensitive Personal Data
Personal data consisting of information on racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, political body membership, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, financial record or position, criminal record, or related proceedings. Health-related information is treated as sensitive.
Data Controller
The person who alone, jointly, or in common with others determines the purposes for which, and the manner in which, personal data is processed.
Data Processor
A person, other than an employee of the data controller, who processes personal data on behalf of the data controller.
Processing
Any operation performed on personal data, including collecting, storing, using, disclosing, routing, analyzing, correcting, restricting, deleting, or destroying it.
Consent
Any freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous indication of a person’s wishes by which that person agrees to processing of personal data relating to them.
3. Privacy Policy Requirements
3.1 Scope
3.1.1 Application of This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to:
Users of the Pearly Citizen App and related Pearly web and mobile services.
Personal information submitted, uploaded, generated, or received through the app.
Account creation, authentication, report submission, report tracking, notifications, and support interactions.
Optional features such as browser or device location, alert preferences, and personalization where enabled
3.1.2 Matters Covered by This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy covers:
What information Pearly collects
Why Pearly uses that information
The lawful basis for processing
How Pearly shares information
Cross-border transfers
Security safeguards
Retention and deletion
User rights
How to contact Pearly about privacy matters
3.2 Department and Service Provider Involvement
3.2.1 Department Involvement
Pearly may share relevant report information with government departments, emergency responders, or authorized service providers where necessary to receive, route, review, investigate, or resolve a report.
3.2.2 Service Provider Involvement
Pearly may also use service providers for hosting, storage, authentication, messaging, notifications, mapping, security, analytics, and approved AI-assisted processing.
3.3 Information Pearly Collects
3.3.1 Categories of Information Collected
Pearly may collect the following categories of information:
Account and authentication data, such as email address, phone number, one-time passcode records, login timestamps, verification status, session data, and policy acceptance records
Profile data, such as name, contact details, address, profile photo, and optional profile fields
Report data, such as report title, description, category, parish, status, replies, timestamps, department assignment, and report history
Location data, such as manually entered location, parish, map pin, latitude, longitude, and location accuracy
Media uploads, such as photos, videos, PDFs, and other supported files
Emergency report data, such as emergency category, description, contact details, location, evidence, and urgency information
Device and technical data, such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, app version, and security or diagnostic logs
Notification data, such as email, SMS, push notification tokens, topic subscriptions, and delivery records
AI-assisted processing data, such as report text, classification outputs, routing suggestions, summaries, and follow-up prompts where enabled
Optional preference data, such as alert subscriptions, transit preferences, or personalization settings where enabled
3.3.2 Unnecessary Sensitive Personal Information
Pearly does not ask users to submit unnecessary, sensitive personal information. Users must avoid including unnecessary personal information about themselves or other persons unless it is genuinely needed to explain or evidence a report.
3.4 How Pearly Uses Information
3.4.1 Approved Uses of Personal Information
Pearly uses personal information only for approved service, operational, legal, and security purposes, including:
Authentication and secure access
Report submission, review, categorization, routing, tracking, and resolution
Communication with users, including updates and follow-up questions
Location-based routing and emergency handling
Platform security, abuse prevention, fraud detection, and malicious upload handling
Audit logging and accountability
Legal, regulatory, and retention obligations
Service improvement
Approved AI-assisted support functions where enabled
3.4.2 No Sale or Third-Party Marketing Use
Pearly does not sell citizen personal information and does not use citizen contact details for third-party marketing.
3.5 Lawful Basis for Processing
3.5.1 Lawful Basis Requirement
Pearly processes personal information only where there is a lawful basis to do so. Pearly does not rely on consent for every use of personal information.
3.5.2 Lawful Bases Relied Upon
Depending on the feature or service involved, Pearly may rely on:
Providing the Pearly service, such as creating an account, sending one-time passcodes, receiving reports, and showing report status
Performance of public service or official reporting functions, such as routing reports to the appropriate public department or responder
Compliance with legal or regulatory obligations, such as record retention, audit, investigation, or legal hold
Protection of vital interests, such as handling emergency or urgent safety-related reports
Legitimate operational interests, such as securing the platform, preventing misuse, diagnosing issues, and improving service reliability
Consent for optional features, such as browser geolocation, optional notifications, or other features where consent is required
3.6 Location Data and Uploaded Media
3.6.1 Location Data
Pearly may collect manually entered location data or, where a user chooses to enable it, device or browser location data. Location information is used only for report handling, routing, emergency response, auditability, and service improvement. It is not used for unrelated tracking or third-party marketing.
3.6.2 Uploaded Media
Users may upload photos, videos, PDFs, or other supported files to explain a report. Uploaded files may contain personal information about the user or other persons and so users must avoid uploading unnecessary images of uninvolved persons, children, medical or identity documents, private interiors, or unlawful content.
3.6.3 File Review and Restriction
Pearly may scan, restrict, remove, or refuse files that appear unsafe, unlawful, abusive, malicious, or unnecessary for report handling.
3.7 Sharing and International Transfers
3.7.1 Sharing of Personal Information
Pearly may share personal information only where necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
3.7.2 Categories of Recipients
This may include sharing with:
Government departments and public agencies
Emergency responders
Hosting and cloud providers
Email and SMS providers
Push notification providers
Mapping services
Approved AI and automation providers
Security and monitoring providers
Legal, regulatory, or audit bodies where disclosure is required by law or authorized process
3.7.3 International Transfers
Some service providers used by Pearly may process or store personal information outside Barbados. Where personal information is transferred or processed outside Barbados, Pearly will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate contractual, legal, and security safeguards are in place in accordance with applicable law.
3.8 Security Safeguards
3.8.1 Use of Safeguards
Pearly uses technical, organizational, and administrative safeguards to protect personal information.
3.8.2 Types of Safeguards
These safeguards may include:
Encryption in transit
Encryption at rest in approved production systems
Role-based access control
Audit logging
Secure storage controls
Rate limiting and abuse controls
Controlled export processes
Vendor security requirements
3.8.3 User Responsibility for Personal Security
No system can guarantee complete security. Users must protect their devices, email accounts, phone numbers, and one-time passcodes.
3.9 Data Retention and Deletion
3.9.1 Retention Principles
Pearly keeps personal information only for as long as necessary for service delivery, security, audit, legal, regulatory, and operational purposes.
3.9.2 Suspension of Deletion
Pearly may suspend deletion where records are subject to legal hold, investigation, audit, regulatory request, court order, or other lawful requirement.
3.9.3 Account Deletion Limitations
Deleting or closing a Pearly account does not automatically delete all report records. Where deletion cannot be completed because retention is legally or operationally required, Pearly will explain the reason where appropriate.
3.9.4 Partial Deletion or Restriction
Where possible, Pearly may apply partial deletion, deactivation, anonymization, or restriction of non-essential data.
3.10 Your Rights
3.10.1 Available Rights
Subject to applicable law and valid exceptions, users may have rights including:
Access
Correction
Restriction of processing
Deletion or erasure where applicable
Objection where applicable
Withdrawal of consent for optional consent-based features
Complaint to Pearly or the relevant data protection authority
3.10.2 Identity Verification
Pearly may need to verify a user’s identity before responding to a rights request.
3.11 Changes to This Privacy Policy
3.11.1 Right to Update This Privacy Policy
Pearly may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in law, technology, security controls, vendors, features, or operational practices.
3.11.2 Notice of Material Changes
Material changes will be communicated through the app, website, or another appropriate method before or when the updated policy takes effect.
4. Contact Information
For questions, privacy requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy, contact:
Pearly Team
Controller: TouchStar Robotics and AI
Email: Support@pearly.bb
Terms and Conditions
v2
Pearly Citizen App – Terms of Use
Effective Date: 1st May 2026
Version: 1.0
Responsible Organizations / Joint Controllers: Prime Minister’s Office and TouchStar Robotics and AI
1. Introduction
These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Pearly Citizen App, including the web and mobile versions of the app (“Pearly”, “we”, “us”, or “the App”).
Pearly is provided to allow residents, citizens, and visitors in Barbados to submit, track, and receive updates about public service issues and related reports.
By accessing or using Pearly, you agree to comply with these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the App.
These Terms must be read together with Pearly’s Privacy Policy and Acceptable Use Policy, which are incorporated by reference.
2. Definitions
User
Any person using the Pearly Citizen App.
Institution
Any government department, public agency, emergency responder, contractor, service provider, or other authorized body that may receive, review, process, or act on reports submitted through Pearly.
Content
Any text, description, image, video, document, location information, reply, or other material submitted through Pearly.
Report
Any complaint, issue report, emergency report, suggestion, reply, or other submission made through Pearly.
3. Terms of Use Requirements
3.1 Eligibility and Access
3.1.1 Intended Users
Pearly is intended for use by residents, citizens, and visitors in Barbados to submit reports concerning public service issues and related matters supported by the app.
3.1.2 Authentication Requirement
To access certain features, users may be required to authenticate using a valid email address or mobile phone number and a one-time passcode.
3.1.3 User Confirmation
By using Pearly, the user confirms that:
the information provided is accurate and truthful
the user is using Pearly only for lawful and legitimate purposes
the user will comply with these Terms and the Acceptable Use Policy
3.2 User Accounts and Authentication
3.2.1 OTP-Based Access
Authentication is completed using a one-time passcode sent to the phone number or email address provided by the user.
3.2.2 User Responsibility for Access Security
Users are responsible for safeguarding access to their email account, phone number, device, and any one-time passcode sent to them. Anyone with access to the user’s email or phone may be able to access that user’s Pearly account.
3.2.3 Prohibited Authentication Conduct
Users must not:
share a one-time passcode with another person
allow another person to use their account to submit reports
attempt to access another person’s account
3.2.4 Compromise Reporting
Users must notify Pearly promptly if they believe their account, device, phone number, or email account has been compromised or used without authorization.
3.3 Permitted Use
3.3.1 Legitimate Public Service Use Only
Users may use Pearly only for legitimate public service purposes supported by the app.
3.3.2 Permitted Activities
Permitted use includes:
submitting reports relating to public infrastructure, utilities, traffic, safety, or other supported public service concerns
providing relevant descriptions, location details, and supporting evidence where appropriate
tracking the status of the user’s own reports
replying to follow-up questions or updates relating to the user’s reports
using optional alert, notification, or public information features where available
3.3.3 Good-Faith Reporting Requirement
Reports must be made honestly, accurately, and in good faith.
3.4 Prohibited Use
3.4.1 Prohibited Conduct
Users must not use Pearly to:
submit false, misleading, fraudulent, or bad-faith reports
abuse emergency or urgent reporting features
spam the platform with duplicate, irrelevant, or nuisance submissions
harass, threaten, defame, or abuse another person
upload malicious files, malware, phishing material, or harmful content
post offensive, unlawful, or discriminatory content
submit unnecessary personal information about other people
upload intrusive or unnecessary images or videos of uninvolved people, children, or private spaces
attempt unauthorized access to the Pearly Staff App, application programming interfaces, restricted systems, or another user’s account
interfere with, attack, bypass, or disrupt Pearly’s operation or security controls
misuse AI-assisted, public alert, notification, or other features where enabled
3.4.2 Additional Conduct Rules
Additional conduct rules are set out in the Pearly Acceptable Use Policy.
3.4.3 Enforcement Rights
Violations may result in content removal, restriction, suspension, termination of access, investigation, or legal action where appropriate.
3.5 Ownership of Content
3.5.1 User Ownership
Users retain ownership of the content they submit, including descriptions, images, and videos.
3.5.2 License to Pearly and Relevant Institutions
By submitting a report, a user grants Pearly and the relevant institutions a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, process, and share the content solely for the purpose of receiving, reviewing, routing, investigating, and resolving public service issues.
3.5.3 Pearly Intellectual Property
Pearly, its trademarks, branding, and associated platform assets remain the exclusive property of the Pearly Team or its licensors.
3.6 Privacy and Data Handling
3.6.1 Privacy Policy Applies
Use of Pearly is also governed by the Pearly Privacy Policy.
3.6.2 User Acknowledgment of Privacy Handling
By using Pearly, the user acknowledges that Pearly may collect, use, share, retain, and protect personal information in accordance with the Privacy Policy, including for authentication, report handling, routing, notifications, security, legal compliance, and related operational purposes.
3.6.3 Optional Features
Where optional features are enabled, Pearly may also use location, notifications, preferences, AI-assisted tools, or similar functionality as described in the Privacy Policy.
3.7 Service Availability and Disclaimer
3.7.1 No Guarantee of Outcome
Pearly facilitates communication between users and relevant institutions, but Pearly does not guarantee that:
every issue reported will be resolved
every report will be resolved within a particular timeframe
every feature will always be available
every institution will act on a report in a particular way
3.7.2 Service Interruptions
Pearly may be unavailable from time to time due to maintenance, upgrades, emergencies, technical issues, third-party service failures, or other operational reasons.
3.7.3 As-Is Basis
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Pearly is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind.
3.8 Limitation of Liability
3.8.1 Limitation of Platform Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Pearly and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or similar losses arising from or connected with the user’s use of the app.
3.8.2 Institutional Actions Not Controlled by Pearly
Pearly is not responsible for delays, omissions, failures, or decisions of institutions, responders, departments, or authorized third parties in relation to submitted reports.
3.8.3 Non-Excludable Liability
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.
3.9 Suspension and Termination
3.9.1 Right to Restrict or Suspend Use
Pearly may restrict, suspend, or terminate access to the app where:
the user violates these Terms
the user violates the Acceptable Use Policy
the user engages in unlawful, abusive, fraudulent, or malicious activity
the user’s conduct creates a security, privacy, legal, or operational risk
3.9.2 Content Restrictions
Pearly may remove or restrict content where reasonably necessary for security, privacy, legal, operational, or public-interest reasons.
3.10 Governing Law and Jurisdiction
3.10.1 Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of Barbados.
3.10.2 Jurisdiction
Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the user’s use of Pearly shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Barbados, unless applicable law requires otherwise.
3.11 Changes to Terms
3.11.1 Right to Update Terms
Pearly may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in law, policy, technology, app features, operational requirements, or service design.
3.11.2 Notice of Material Changes
Material changes will be communicated through the app, website, or another appropriate method.
3.11.3 Continued Use After Changes
Continued use of Pearly after updated Terms take effect means the user accepts the revised Terms.
Please check both boxes to continue.
Acceptable Use Policy
v2
Read the full Acceptable Use Policy and scroll to the bottom to enable acceptance.
Acceptable Use Policy
Effective Date: 1st May 2026
Version: 1.0
Responsible Organizations / Joint Controllers: Prime Minister’s Office and TouchStar Robotics and AI
1. Introduction
This Acceptable Use Policy defines the rules for using the Pearly Citizen App, including the web and mobile versions of the app.
Pearly is provided to allow citizens, residents, and visitors in Barbados to submit, track, and receive updates about public service issues and related reports. Users must use Pearly lawfully, responsibly, and only for its intended purpose.
2. Definitions
Pearly
The Pearly Citizen App, including the web and mobile versions.
User
Any person using the Pearly Citizen App.
Report
A complaint, emergency report, idea, suggestion, media upload, comment, reply, or other submission made through Pearly.
Content
Text, photos, videos, documents, location information, or any other material submitted through Pearly.
Institution
A government department, public body, contractor, service provider, or authorized responder that may receive or process reports.
3. Policy Requirements
3.1 Permitted Use
3.1.1 Legitimate Public Service Use
Users may use Pearly only for legitimate public service reporting, communication, and related service functions supported by the platform.
3.1.2 Genuine Reports
Users may submit genuine reports about public service issues such as potholes, burst mains, traffic obstructions, infrastructure concerns, and other supported categories.
3.1.3 Accurate and Relevant Information
Users must provide information that is truthful, relevant, and made in good faith to help Pearly and relevant institutions understand and process the issue.
3.1.4 Relevant Evidence and Location Information
Users may upload evidence and provide location information only where it is relevant to explain, route, or resolve the reported issue.
3.1.5 Tracking and Communication
Users may track report progress, respond to follow-up questions, and receive notifications about submitted reports and supported public alerts.
3.2 User Responsibilities
3.2.1 Lawful Use
Users must use Pearly in accordance with applicable Barbados law and must not use the app for unlawful, abusive, malicious, or misleading purposes.
3.2.2 Accurate Reporting
Users must submit truthful, relevant, and good-faith reports and must not knowingly submit false, fabricated, or misleading information.
3.2.3 Account Protection
Users must protect their account access, including one-time passcodes, email access, device access, and phone access, and must not share account access with another person.
3.2.4 Correct Contact Information
Users must provide accurate contact details where required for authentication, follow-up, or service delivery.
3.2.5 Respect for Privacy
Users must avoid submitting unnecessary personal information about other persons and must not use Pearly to expose, collect, or distribute personal information without a legitimate reporting reason.
3.2.6 Responsible Use of Emergency Features
Emergency or urgent reporting features must only be used for genuine urgent, safety-related, or emergency matters.
3.2.7 Reporting Misuse
Users must report suspected unauthorized access, false reports, abuse, or security concerns through Pearly’s approved support or reporting channels.
3.3 Prohibited Use
3.3.1 False, Misleading, or Abusive Reports
Users must not:
• submit false reports
• submit misleading information
• abuse emergency reporting features
• spam the platform with duplicate, irrelevant, automated, or nuisance submissions
• harass, threaten, shame, intimidate, or target another person through reports, replies, or media
3.3.2 Privacy Misuse
Users must not:
• submit unnecessary personal data about other persons
• upload intrusive or unnecessary images of uninvolved persons
• upload children’s images unless genuinely necessary for the report
• publish or expose confidential, medical, financial, identity, or private communications without proper justification
• use Pearly to track, profile, or gather personal information about another person without authority
3.3.3 Offensive, Illegal, or Harmful Content
Users must not submit content that is:
• threatening or abusive
• discriminatory or hateful
• obscene or exploitative
• defamatory or malicious
• unlawful or intended to support unlawful conduct
3.3.4 Security Misuse
Users must not:
• upload malware, phishing links, malicious files, scripts, or harmful documents
• hack, scan, probe, brute force, exploit, or bypass Pearly security controls
• attempt unauthorized access to admin systems, another user’s account, restricted application programming interfaces, or non-public data
• interfere with service availability through flooding, denial-of-service behavior, or excessive automated requests
• circumvent rate limits, one-time passcode protections, upload controls, or other technical safeguards
• reverse engineer restricted systems to extract secrets, keys, internal logic, or protected workflows
3.3.5 AI, Automation, and Workflow Abuse
Where Pearly uses AI-assisted or automated workflows, users must not:
• manipulate automated systems through crafted or deceptive inputs
• attempt prompt injection or attempts to override system instructions
• use unauthorized bots, scripts, or automated tools to submit reports or interact with Pearly
• treat AI-assisted responses as official emergency, legal, medical, or government advice unless confirmed by an authorized person
3.4 Media Upload Rules
3.3.1 Relevance Requirement
Users may upload media only where it is relevant to the report.
3.3.2 Prohibited Media
Users must not upload:
• malware or unsafe files
• unrelated personal images
• unnecessary images of uninvolved persons
• images of children unless necessary for the report
• medical, identity, or financial documents unless genuinely required
• offensive, unlawful, or exploitative media
• excessive, duplicate, or storage-abusive files
3.3.3 Platform Controls Over Uploads
Pearly may scan, reject, remove, restrict, or retain uploaded files where necessary for security, investigation, legal compliance, or report handling.
3.5 Location Feature Rules
3.5.1 Honest Location Use
Users must provide location information honestly and only for legitimate reporting purposes.
3.5.2 Prohibited Location Misuse
Users must not:
• submit fake or misleading locations
• use location features to harass, target, or expose another person’s private location without a legitimate reporting reason
• submit unnecessarily precise private locations where a general location is sufficient
• misuse emergency location features
3.6 Notifications, Alerts, and Public Information
3.6.1 Responsible Use of Alerts and Subscriptions
Users must not misuse notifications, subscriptions, reactions, or public information features to harass, spam, manipulate engagement, stalk, shame, or target another person.
3.6.2 No Impersonation
Users must not pretend to speak on behalf of Pearly, a government department, an emergency responder, or another institution.
3.7 Account Security Rules
3.7.1 OTP Protection
Users must keep one-time passcodes private and must not share them with anyone.
3.7.2 Personal Account Use Only
Users must use their own account and must not use another person’s account or allow another person to submit reports as them.
3.7.3 Unauthorized Access Reporting
Users must notify Pearly if they believe their account, email, phone, or device has been compromised.
4. Contact Information
For questions about this policy or to report misuse, contact:
The Pearly Team
Controller: TouchStar Robotics and AI
Email: Support@pearly.bb
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