Introduction
Welcome to our Privacy Policy. Thank you for taking the time to read it. We appreciate that you trust us with your information and we intend to always keep that trust. This starts with making sure you understand the information we collect, why we collect it, how we collect it, how it is used and your choices regarding your information.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website holidaybuddie.com, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto (collectively, the "Site"). The website Holidaybuddie.com and Holidaybuddie App is owned and operated by the “Naturforsker”, registered in India (also referred to in this policy as “we” or “us”) which includes Holidaybuddie, and we the controllers of personal information collected and processed through Holidaybuddie website and App. The website and app are global. Hence your information will be sent and processed in India regardless of the country you reside in. Holiday Buddie ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. Please read this privacy policy carefully. Hence carefully read it before giving your consent!
Operating a website without user data is akin to navigating a flight or a ship in a fog without any guidance and uncertain of the best route or final destination. It is like a blind man trying to walk without any help. This lack of insight can significantly hinder the website's potential to give the users the best experience and without safety for website users.
Understanding these aspects of user behaviour is not just beneficial—it's crucial for enhancing your website's user experience. User data provides the insights needed to make informed decisions about design, content, and functionality. It allows you to tailor your site to meet user needs more effectively, potentially increasing engagement, conversions, and overall satisfaction.
By leveraging user data responsibly, the website can be transformed from a static information repository into a dynamic, user-centric platform that evolves with the audience's needs and preferences.
Hence, while using our website www.Holidaybuddie.com (including the mobile & desktop version) and Holidaybuddie mobile application (“App”), we collect some information about you. In addition, you may choose to use the App or Sites to share information with other users, including your friends and contacts (“Users”) on the website. The best & easiest way to stay transparent and inform our users is through our Privacy Policy. This Policy describes our privacy practices in plain language, keeping legal and technical jargon to a minimum.
What if you do not let us collect certain information?
Some information is required for our products to work. Other information is optional, but without it, the quality of your experience might be affected.
Where do these policies apply?
This Privacy Policy applies when you use our website www.Holidaybuddie.com and Holidaybuddie APP.
1.What Data We Collect About You
We collect Account Data, Profile Data, Content, Purchase Data, Marketing, Survey and Research Data, Third Party Data, Customer Support Data, Social Media Data, Usage Data, Technical Data and Geolocation Data. When you enter our website and create a account or download the App and create an account (“Account”), We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data (“Registration Information”) about you which we have grouped together as follows:
1.1 Data that you give us
Identity Data: first name, last name, username or similar identifier, date of birth, gender, country, & ethnicity.
Contact Data: email address & mobile numbers
Technical Data: internet protocol (IP) address, login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform
Profile - Lifestyle Data: Your marital status, your interests, preferences, education, profession, photographs, feedback and survey responses
Physical Data - Your Gender, height, body type, hair, eyes
Usage Data: information about how you use our website, products and services
Location Data: Country that you live in and your current location (if you choose to share it)
Communication Data: includes the content of messages sent through our platform and as well as the content you publish, to secure the services and to keep our community safe.
ID Data – Government issued identity card to verify your age.
1.2.Data collected by us Automatically.
Derivative Data: Information our servers automatically collect when you access the Site, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the Site.
Transaction Data: Transaction information, such as data related to your payment for subscription, friend request boosters, advertisement methods. When you pay for services with us, Paypal processes and keeps your card details. We at Holidaybuddie do not store your card or bank details with us. When you make a payment for our services, we keep the details of the transaction (e.g., what service you paid for, the date of the transaction and the price).
Data from Social Networks: User information from social networking sites, such as [Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram], including your name, your social network username, location, gender, birth date, email address, profile picture, and public data for contacts, if you connect your account to such social networks.
Mobile Device Data: Device information, such as your mobile device ID, model, and manufacturer, and information about the location of your device, if you access the Site from a mobile device.
Third-Party Data: Information from third parties, such as personal information or network friends, if you connect your account to the third party and grant the Site permission to access this information.
Other data collected automatically are -
2. Non-Users
How we collect it
We collect your data legally. One we collect it the information you voluntary prove us while registering in our website and app. Secondly, we collect data automatically using first party and third-party cookies legally and with your consent.
3. What we use it for
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
Your safety and security are paramount to us. We utilize your data to maintain a secure environment for all members using our service. This commitment to protection is a core part of our mission, and we continuously enhance our systems to safeguard your information.
Additionally, we process your data to provide personalized content, including relevant advertisements. We understand the importance of user control, so we've implemented customizable settings that allow you to manage how your data is used for ad personalization.
4. Our data processing serves dual purposes
Enhancing security: We analyse user data to detect and prevent potential threats, ensuring a safe platform for all.
Improving user experience: By understanding user preferences, we can offer more relevant content and features
4.1. Data Processing Purposes:
4.1a. Core Service Functions:
4.1b. Purchase Facilitation:
4.1c. Advertising and Marketing:
4.1d. Service Improvement:
4.1e. Safety and Security:
4.1f. Legal Compliance and Protection:
4.1g. Legal Bases for Data Processing:
Contract Performance:
We process data necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations to you as a user of our service.
Consent:
For sensitive data or where explicitly required by law
For personalized advertising (where mandated by applicable regulations)
4.1h. Legitimate Interests:
4.1i. Vital Interests:
We may process data to protect your vital interests or those of other users in emergency situations.
4.1j. Legal Obligations:
We process data to comply with our legal duties, such as responding to lawful requests from authorities.
4.1k. Fairness and Inclusivity:
Where required by law, we may process certain data (including potentially sensitive information) to ensure our service remains diverse, inclusive, and equitable for all communities.
We carefully assess each processing activity to ensure it aligns with these legal bases. Our approach prioritizes transparency and respects user privacy while enabling us to provide and improve our services.
We process your data to deliver a seamless, secure, and personalized experience. This includes essential operations, enhancing our services, ensuring user safety, and meeting legal obligations. Our approach balances service functionality with user privacy, always aiming to use data responsibly and transparently.
Rest assured, we handle your information with the utmost care and respect for your privacy. You're always in control, with the ability to adjust your preferences at any time through your account settings.
5. Data Sharing Practices
5.1 User-to-User Sharing:
Information you voluntarily make public (e.g., profile details) is visible to other users.
5.2. Reporting and Resolution Transparency:
When a user files a report about another member's conduct, such as an alleged violation of our Terms of Use, we may inform the reporting party about the outcome of their complaint. This includes any actions taken in response to the report.
This transparency works both ways. If you submit a report about another user, you may receive information about how we addressed your concerns.
Our goal is to maintain a safe and respectful community while balancing privacy and accountability. We provide this feedback to encourage responsible reporting and to demonstrate that we take user concerns seriously. This helps to maintain community standards
5.3. Service Providers and Partners:
We do not share your banking or personal ids with them. We collaborate with trusted entities to enhance our service, including:
5.3a. Data hosting and maintenance
5.3b. Advertising Ecosystem:
5.4. Legal and Regulatory Compliance:
We may disclose data to authorities to:
5.5. Business Takeovers & Transitions:
In cases of ownership changes (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, restructuring), your data may be transferred to new owners or affiliates.
We strive to share data responsibly, prioritizing user privacy and service functionality. Our practices aim to balance transparency, legal compliance, and business needs while respecting user trust.
5.6. Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers
6. Cross Border Data Transfers
Our website service operates worldwide, which means your information may be transferred to and stored internationally in US, Europe, India and other countries located out of Europe and these countries might have data protection laws that differ from those in your home country. When we move personal data out of the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, Switzerland, or other regions like US, UK, Australia or India, we will use appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, to ensure adequate protection of your personal data.
6.1. Data Minimization
We only transfer personal data that is adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary for the specified purposes.
6.2. Third-Party Processors
We only use third-party processors that provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures in compliance with the GDPR.
6.3. Data Subject Rights
We ensure that data subjects can exercise their GDPR rights regardless of where their data is processed.
6.4. Policy Review
This policy is reviewed and updated annually or more frequently if required by legal or operational changes.
7. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
We process your personal data under the following legal bases:
Consent: You have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose.
Contract: Processing is necessary for a contract you have with us, or because you have asked us to take specific steps before entering into a contract.
Legal Obligation: Processing is necessary for us to comply with the law.
Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.
8. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Access: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you.
Correction: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccuracies in your personal data.
Deletion: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data as per our data policy. Read data retention policy in no.11
Objection: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data.
Restriction: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
Data Portability: You have the right to request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@Holidaybuddie.com
9. Consent Withdrawal
Right to withdraw a consent you have given us to process your personal data for a specific purpose. You can directly withdraw consent you’ve given us either by updating your account setting or removing Device Permissions you’ve agreed to in your device settings (e.g., access to specific types of device data such as phone contacts, pictures, advertising identifiers and location services or consent to receive push notifications). When you withdraw consent, certain services may lose functionality. You can always contact us at support@ holidaybuddie.com for more information.
10. Rights related to automated decision making and profiling
we use automated tool to ascertain and compare matches based on information given by you, to show you potential matches with similar interests in your location for you to connect with. Our website and app use your profile details given by you voluntarily for profiling people that match your likes or similar to you. We do not use automated decisions in any other way. If you have any objection or wish to express your point of view, we will provide meaningful information about the logic involved and the potential consequences of this processing.
11. Policy for Children
We do not knowingly solicit information from or market to children under the age of 16. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child under age 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.
12. Safeguard your privacy
To safeguard your privacy and that of our entire community, we may request additional information to confirm your identity or verify your authority to act on behalf of another member before processing your request. This precautionary measure ensures that only authorized individuals can access or modify personal data, preventing potential misuse or unauthorized disclosure.
We reserve the right to decline requests in certain circumstances, such as:
13. Data Retention Policy
We retain your data as long as necessary for legitimate business purposes and as permitted by law. We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
13.1.Active accounts: We retain your profile information, preferences, and account settings for as long as your account remains active.
13.2. Inactive accounts: If your account becomes inactive, we will retain this information for 12 months before deletion, allowing you to easily reactivate your account during this period.
13.3. Data Deletion: Upon account deletion, we will remove or anonymize your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or regulatory reasons.
The retention periods for different types of data are as follows:
Messages: Will be deleted in 30 days from the date of deletion.
Chat logs: Chat logs will be deleted in 30 days from date of deletion.
Usage Data: Login history and app usage statistics are kept for 12 months.
Anonymized analytics data may be retained indefinitely for trend analysis and service improvement.
Payment Information: We retain payment transaction records for 7 years to comply with tax regulations, accounting requirements and transaction disputes.
Credit card information is not stored by us and is handled by our secure payment processor.
Photos and Media: Profile photos and other media uploads will be deleted in 30 days from date of deletion.
Matching Data: Your matching preferences and history will be deleted in 30 days from date of deletion.
Customer Support: Support ticket information and correspondence are retained for 2 years after the issue is resolved.
Legal and Compliance: Information related to legal issues, disputes, or compliance matters may be retained for longer periods as required by law or to protect our legal interests and third-party victims.
14. Policy Reviews & Changes
This data retention policy is reviewed periodically and annually. We will update our privacy policy when there is a reflection in changes of our practices or legal requirements. We are constantly trying to be better and we welcome any new suggestions and advice for improving our privacy policy.
We suggest you read this in conjunction with our cookie policy and Terms and Conditions of Use.
15. Contact us regarding privacy policy at contact@holidaybuddie.com
