Quext Privacy Policy
Last Updated: July 1, 2024
Introduction and Purpose
EDST, LLC and its affiliates, including but not limited to Quext IoT, LLC, Quext Homebase, LLC, Quext Digital Human, LLC, Quext Websites, LLC, Quext Connect, LLC, and Quext Go, LLC (hereinafter “Quext” or “we”) is a company that provides various products and services to help you and others (e.g., your landlord, property owner or management company) engage in leasing discussions with a digital human, and control and monitor smart devices (e.g., locks, thermostats, etc.) within an apartment or other form of residence (“Property”). This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) applies to Property visitors, users who are landlords or property managers, owners and their service providers (collectively, “Landlords”) and users who are tenants (“Tenants”).
Quext’s Services vary widely and include some non-traditional product(s) and service(s). Through Quext Digital Human, LLC, Quext utilizes an AI-driven product which operates as a consumer-facing digital leasing agent. This product leverages AI technologies to facilitate leasing discussions but does not incorporate any user data into AI training systems. The data used by Digital Human is dependent on the information provided by the Landlords. Quext also offers Quext Go, a product designed to automate steps in the lease submission and review process. Quext Go allows users to submit minimal personal information, which it then uses to complete lease applications and determine approval based on criteria provided by Landlords, minimizing the exchange of sensitive information.
In this Policy, we describe how we collect, use, and disclose personally identifiable information (“PII”) that we obtain from:
visitors to our website at onequext.com (the “Site”);
users of our mobile application (the “App”) and the products and services offered by Quext at the Property where people visit, work or live (collectively, the “Services”).
As some of our Services or the Site collect more PII and non-PII than others, some of the information in this Policy may not be applicable to you. If you are a California resident, please pay particular attention to Section 10 below for special disclosures regarding your rights. If you are a Texas resident, please pay particular attention to Section 11 below for special disclosures regarding your rights.
If you have any questions about this Policy, please email us at support@onequext.com or call (806) 993-3200. Additional contact information is provided in the Contacting Us section below.
1. Information We Collect
Personally Identifiable Information. Certain areas and features of our Services or Site, particularly our App, require registration. To register, you must provide or verify your full name, email address, password, and phone number. While we may collect additional PII from you as circumstances warrant, such as physical address, information about the applicable Property and your lease, you may not be required to provide us with this information. In some cases, your Landlord will determine what PII to provide to us, so we encourage you to read their privacy policy carefully. Additionally, if you make any payments through a Quext Service, we would additionally collect your billing and mailing addresses and your payment information. You may also require support regarding our Services. Those communications, regardless of their format, may contain additional PII that we would collect.
Information that is not PII. This includes, but is not limited to, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views, demographics, interests, online habits, geographical location, analytical data, temperature settings and leak monitors, security data, motion and broken glass sensors. We may combine this with PII that we have collected about you. Please see the section “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” below for more information.
Please note that we occasionally use the term “information” to refer to both PII and non-PII.
Additional detail about our PII and non-PII collection practices are described below.
Our Site Collects:
Our App & Services Collect:
activities and information collected by or within the App and Services, such as locking/unlocking doors, temperature settings, leak monitoring, movement throughout the Property, access to public and private areas of the Property, etc.; and
2. Why We Use Your PII
Providing and Improving our Services: To provide our Services, including our AI-driven product Digital Human, to communicate with you and others about your use of our Services, to respond to your inquiries, to fulfill your orders, and for other customer service purposes. The Digital Human product uses information from actual leases to help prevent errors, dependent on the amount of data uploaded by the Landlord. Quext Go uses minimal information provided by users to complete lease applications and perform identity checks, background checks, income verification, and other necessary measures based on criteria from Landlords. We may monitor and record calls with Quext customer support agents for quality, training, and analytics purposes.
Tailoring Content: To tailor the content and information that we may send or display, to offer location customization, and personalized help and instructions, and to otherwise personalize your experiences while using the Site or our Services.
Protecting Rights and Interests: We may use or disclose your PII to protect the safety, property, or security rights, of you, Landlords, Quext, the Services, the Site, any third-party, or the general public; to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; to prevent or stop activity that Quext, in its sole discretion, may consider to be, or poses a risk of being, an illegal, unethical, or legally actionable activity; to use as evidence in litigation; to conduct audits; and to enforce this Policy and our Terms of Service.
Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations, including as part of a judicial proceeding; to respond to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal process; or as part of an investigation or request, whether formal or informal, from law enforcement or a governmental authority.
Research and Analytics: To better understand how you access and use our Site and Services, including our AI-driven product Digital Human, both on an aggregated and individualized basis, in order to improve our Site and Services and respond to your preferences, and for other research and analytical purposes.
3. How We Share Information
At Your Direction. We may disclose your personal information to any third-party with your consent or at your direction.
Affiliates. We may disclose PII we collect from you to our affiliates or subsidiaries; however, if we do so, their use and disclosure of your PII will be subject to this Policy.
Business Partners: We partner with other companies to integrate our Services and Site with theirs and improve the functionality of our Services and the Site. We may share your information with these partners.
Service Providers. We may disclose PII we collect to third-party vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents, such as building maintenance staff and other third parties. This includes service providers involved in the operation and maintenance of our AI-driven product, Digital Human, and our auto-populate lease application product Quext Go, ensuring compliance with our privacy and security standards.
Third-Party Verification. For Quext Go, we may share your information with third-party service providers to conduct identity checks, background checks, income verification, and other necessary measures to determine lease approval based on criteria provided by Landlords.
Analytics Providers. While providing the Services, we may share PII with analytics providers as described below in Section 4.
Business Transfers. If we are acquired by or merged with another company, if substantially all of our assets are transferred to another company, or as part of a bankruptcy proceeding, we may transfer the PII to the other company.
Landlord: If you are a Tenant or a guest, we may share information with the Landlord and other third parties to monitor the condition and safety of the apartment and the Property. If you are a guest or prospective Tenant at a Property, we will share your PII with the Landlord in our role as a service provider so that the Landlord can contact you regarding your interest in becoming a Tenant and for the Landlord’s other purposes as described in the Landlord’s privacy policy, which we encourage you to read.
Roommates: If you have a roommate or roommates, we will share information that you input into the App and Services with them, such as temperature control changes, lock/unlock events and security settings.
In Response to Legal Process. To comply with the law, a judicial proceeding, court order, or other legal process, such as in response to a court order or a subpoena.
To Protect Us and Others. Where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities.
To Protect Our Legitimate Business Interests. Where required by law or where we believe it is necessary to protect our legal rights and interests, such as in connection with legal claims, compliance, regulatory, and audit matters.
Aggregate and De-Identified Information. We may share aggregated or de-identified information about users with Landlords and others for research or other business purposes. Such data use is more carefully described in our Data Rights and Protection Policy.
4. Our Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms
We and our third-party service providers use cookies and other tracking mechanisms to gather information about your use of our Site or Services. We may combine this information with other information we collect from you (and our third-party service providers may do so on our behalf).
Cookies. These are identifiers that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser. Some cookies allow us to make it easier for you to navigate our Site and Services, while others are used to enable a faster log-in process or to allow us to gather insight analytics about your use of our Site and Service.
Disabling Cookies. Although most web browsers are automatically set up to accept cookies, if you prefer, you can edit your browser options to block them in the future. The Help portion of the toolbar on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your computer from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Visitors to our Site who disable cookies will be able to browse certain areas of the Site and Services, but some features may not function.
Other Tracking Mechanisms:
Third-Party Analytics. We use automated devices and applications, such as, but not limited to, Google Analytics, to evaluate usage of our Site, our Services, and our App. We also may use other analytic means to evaluate our Services and the Site. We use these tools to help us improve our Services and the Site, performance and user experiences. These entities may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services. For more information, please visit https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. You can opt out of Google’s collection and processing of data generated by your use of the Services and the Site by going to http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
5. Third-Party Links
Our Site and Services may contain links to third-party websites. Access to and use of such linked websites is not governed by this Policy, but instead is governed by the privacy policies of those third-party websites. We are not responsible for the information practices of such third-party websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these services before connecting to them.
6. Security of Your PII
Quext uses reasonable physical, electronic, and administrative security measures to protect PII from unauthorized disclosure. This includes ensuring that any AI technologies and automated processes, including those in Digital Human and Quext Go, comply with industry-standard security protocols to safeguard user data.
7. Access to Your PII
If you have an account with us, you may modify your PII by logging into your account and updating your profile. Please note that copies of PII that you have updated, modified or deleted in your profile may remain viewable in cached and archived pages of the Site or App. If you wish to modify or delete PII that you provided to us, but do not have an account, please contact us so we can assist you with your request.
8. Retention Period
We will retain your personal information for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which it was obtained. The criteria used to determine our retention periods includes: (i) the length of time we have an ongoing relationship with your Landlord for Services; (ii) whether there is a continued business reason to retain the information; (ii) whether there is a legal obligation to which we are subject; and (iii) whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation, or regulatory investigations).
9. Special Notice About Children
Our Services and Site are not designed for children. If we discover that a child has provided us with PII in violation of applicable law, we will delete such information from our systems.
10. Privacy Notice for California Residents
This California Resident Privacy Policy disclosure (“Disclosure”) is provided pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”) as amended, and applies only to California residents. Any terms defined in the CCPA and CPRA have the same meaning when used in this Disclosure. Terms defined in the Policy maintain the same meaning when used in this Disclosure. The provisions in this Disclosure are meant to supplement the disclosures already made in the Policy.
Our Role as a Service Provider Under the CCPA & CPRA. As part of our Services, we process or maintain PII on behalf of your Landlord in our role as a service provider to the Landlord. This includes data processed by our AI-driven product, Digital Human, which operates under strict privacy and security guidelines. When we engage with you on behalf of a Landlord, your PII will be processed pursuant to their privacy policy, not ours. If we receive a privacy question from you about your Landlord’s services, we will redirect your request to the Landlord.
Categories of PII Collected: Below is a summary of the categories of PII that we generally collect in the course of providing our Services or through the Site (only keep the below we actually collect through app, PMP, or website).
Identifiers: A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.
Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)): A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license, or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information.
Commercial information: Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
Internet or similar network activity: Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement (but only on an anonymous basis).
Geolocation data: Physical location or movements.
Professional or employment-related information: Current or past job history or performance evaluations.
Sales of PII to Third Parties. We do not sell personal information collected through our Services or Site. Information collected through our Site may be shared with third parties through advertising cookies on the Site. We may sell aggregated and anonymized usage data to third parties.
Right to Request Disclosure. You have the right to request, free of charge, that we disclose information about our collection and use of your PII over the past twelve (12) months, including:
For each category of PII, the categories of third parties with whom it was disclosed; and
For more information on how to request information about our collection, use, and disclosure of your PII, please see the Submitting CCPA Requests section below.
Submitting CCPA/CPRA Requests. Once we receive your request and verify your identity, we will review your request to see if an exception allowing us to retain the information applies. We will delete or de-identify PII not subject to an applicable exception from our records and will direct our service providers to take similar action.
Requests to Know or Delete. To exercise your rights to know or delete described above, you may submit a request by contacting us through the Contact Us section below.
Verification of Requests. Only you, or an individual legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a request to know, delete, or opt-out related to your PII. To designate an authorized agent, or to make a request on behalf of a consumer for whom you are an authorized agent, please contact us through the Contact Us section below.
You may only submit a request to know twice within a 12-month period. Your request to know or delete must: (1) Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected PII, or that the requestor is your authorized representative; and (2) Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
We may request information from you in order to verify your identity. Additionally, we may require that authorized agents provide proof of their authorization. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with PII if we are unable to verify your identity, your authority to make a request on behalf of another person, or if we cannot confirm that the PII relates to you. In general, we will verify your request and your identity by matching the information you provided with the information we have in our records.
You do not need to create an account with us to submit a request to know or to delete your PII.
We will only use PII provided in the request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make it.
Please note, if we have received your request in our role as a Service Provider, we will refer your request to the Landlord.
Timing. We will use reasonable efforts to respond to your request within 45 days of receipt. If we require additional time, we will inform you of the reason and the extension period in writing.
Exceptions. We may deny your deletion request if retaining the PII is necessary for us to:
Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities;
Identify and/or repair errors that impair the functionality of our Services;
Make other lawful uses of the PII that are compatible with the context in which you provided it; and
Comply with a legal obligation.
Content. Any PII we provide you with will only cover the 12-month period preceding our receipt of your request. Once we receive your request, validate your identity (and unless one of the exceptions above apply) we will disclose to you:
If we sold or disclosed your PII for a business purpose, we will provide you with information about those sales and disclosures along with the PII categories that were provided and each recipients category; and
The specific pieces of PII that we collected about you (also called a data portability request, as detailed below).
Data Portability. For data portability requests, we will select a data format that is readily useable and should allow you to transfer the PII to another entity without difficulty.
No Charge. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your PII request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing the request.
No Discrimination. We will not discriminate against any person for exercising their rights under the CCPA or CPRA.
Right to Opt Out of Sharing, Disclosure, or Sale of Personal Information. You may have the right to direct us to not share, disclose, or sell your personal information collected through the Site. To exercise this right, you or your authorized representative may submit a request by clicking on the following link: Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.
11. Privacy Notice for Texas Residents
This Texas Resident Privacy Policy disclosure (“Disclosure”) is provided pursuant to the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (“TDPSA”) and applies only to Texas residents. Any terms defined in the TDPSA have the same meaning when used in this Disclosure. Terms defined in the Policy maintain the same meaning when used in this Disclosure. The provisions in this Disclosure are meant to supplement the disclosures already made in the Policy.
Our Role as a Controller and Processor Under the TDPSA
As a technology vendor to apartment management companies, we operate as both a controller and a processor. This includes the processing of personal data through our AI-driven product, Digital Human, under stringent privacy and security measures. As a controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data when you interact directly with us. As a processor, we process personal data on behalf of your Landlord or property management company. When we engage with you on behalf of a Landlord, your personal data will be processed pursuant to their privacy policy, not ours. If we receive a privacy question from you about your Landlord’s services, we will redirect your request to the Landlord.
Categories of Personal Data Collected
Below is a summary of the categories of personal data that we generally collect for the purpose of and in the course of providing our Services or through the Site. This data is shared with third party providers such as Google and Amazon Web Services for storage and processing. However, we do not sell the data we collect to third parties.
Identifiers: A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers.
Personal information categories listed in the Texas Customer Records statute: A name, signature, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, social security number, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information.
Commercial information: Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
Internet or similar network activity: Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.
Geolocation data: Physical location or movements.
Professional or employment-related information: Current or past job history or performance evaluations.
Right to Request Disclosure
You have the right to request, free of charge, that we disclose information about our collection and use of your personal data over the past twelve (12) months, including:
Submitting TDPSA Requests
Once we receive your request and verify your identity, we will review your request to see if an exception allowing us to retain the information applies. We will delete or de-identify personal data not subject to an applicable exception from our records and will direct our service providers to take similar action.
Requests to Know or Delete
To exercise your rights to know or delete described above, you may submit a request by contacting us through any of the secure and reliable methods listed in the Contact Us section below.
Verification of Requests
Only you or an individual legally authorized to act on your behalf may make a request to know, delete, or opt-out related to your personal data. To designate an authorized agent or to make a request on behalf of a consumer for whom you are an authorized agent, please contact us through any of the secure and reliable methods listed in the Contact Us section below.
You may only submit a request to know for free twice within a 12-month period. Your request to know or delete must:
(1) Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal data or that the requestor is your authorized representative; and
(2) Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
We may request information from you in order to verify your identity. Additionally, we may require that authorized agents provide proof of their authorization. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal data if we are unable to verify your identity, your authority to make a request on behalf of another person, or if we cannot confirm that the personal data relates to you. In general, we will verify your request and your identity by matching the information you provided with the information we have in our records.
You do not need to create an account with us to submit a request to know or to delete your personal data.
We will only use personal data provided in the request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make it.
Timing
We will use reasonable efforts to respond to your request within forty-five (45) days of receipt. If we require additional time, we will inform you of the reason and the extension period in writing prior to expiration of the forty-five (45) day deadline.
Exceptions
We may deny your deletion request if retaining the personal data is necessary for us to:
Appeal Rights
If we decline to take action on your request, we will inform you without undue delay and within the time period specified by law for declining to take action and provide instructions on how to appeal the decision. To initiate an appeal, simply communicate via email in the Contacting Us section here with the subject line stating “Appeal under TDSPA.” A representative from Quext will promptly connect with you to walk you through the appeal process.
Processor Obligations
As a processor, we adhere to the instructions of the controllers, like your Landlord, we work with and assist them in meeting their obligations under the TDPSA. This includes:
Assisting controllers in responding to consumer rights requests;
Implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure the security of personal data;
Providing necessary information to controllers to demonstrate compliance with the TDPSA;
Allowing and cooperating with reasonable assessments by controllers or their designated assessors.
No Charge
We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your personal data request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing the request.
No Discrimination
We will not discriminate against any person for exercising their rights under the TDPSA.
12. Artificial Intelligence Specific Clauses
AI Data Processing and Privacy
Our AI-driven product, Digital Human, processes user interactions to facilitate leasing discussions. However, no personal data is used to train AI models or improve AI algorithms. All data processing is conducted in real-time and is not stored for future AI training purposes. The product uses information from actual leases to help prevent errors, based on the data provided by the Landlord. Our automated lease completion product, Quext Go, processes personal information of users in order to complete lease applications. However, Quext Go uses minimal user information to perform necessary verification checks and complete lease applications based on Landlord criteria while proactively minimizing the exchange of sensitive information.
Disclaimers
While we strive to ensure that our AI-driven product, Digital Human, and our automated lease application product, Quext Go, provide accurate and helpful information, it is important to note that the responses are based on pre-programmed algorithms and data. Quext disclaims any liability for decisions made based on interactions with Digital Human or Quext Go. Users should always verify critical information through direct communication with Quext representatives and/or the Landlord.
13. Changes to this Policy
This Policy is current as of the Effective Date set above. We may change this Policy from time to time, so please be sure to check back periodically. We will post any changes to this Policy on our Site, at www.onequext.com/privacy-policy.
14. Contacting Us
If you have questions about the privacy aspects of our Services or would like to make a complaint, please contact us at support@onequext.com or call (806) 993-3200 or write to us at:
Quext
5214 68th St., Suite 201
Lubbock, TX 79424