Privacy Policy — Yalla Khat

At Yalla Khat, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and who we share it with. By using the app, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. About the App

Yalla Khat is a technical intermediary platform for location tracking and pre-arranged ride sharing. Users arrange rides between themselves outside the app (via WhatsApp or other means). The app does not intervene in any agreement between users and does not view their external communications.

2. Data We Collect

Phone number: For registration and identity verification via OTP.
Name and profile photo: To complete your profile and display it to other users.
Location (drivers only): Collected in the background during an active trip only, to share with the passenger.
Vehicle photo: Uploaded by the driver in their ad listing.
Technical data: Information about app performance and error resolution.

3. Publicly Visible Data

Ad content (name, photo, route details, timing) is visible to all users including guests.
Contact information (WhatsApp number) is visible to registered users only.
Guests (unregistered users) can browse ads but cannot contact others without registering.

4. Family Tracking (Guest Feature)

    Family members can track a passenger's trip by entering their code, without registering.
    No data is collected or stored about guest family members.
  

5. How We Use Your Data

To enable the tracking feature and share the driver's location with the passenger.
To send trip-related notifications.
To improve app performance.
To display ads through trusted advertising networks.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your data to any party. We use trusted service providers to operate the app:

Authentication and push notification providers.
Database and file storage providers.
Map service providers.
Digital advertising networks — they may collect your device's advertising identifier to show relevant ads. On iOS, you will be asked for permission the first time you open the ads feed.
Approved electronic payment providers.

These providers are bound by confidentiality obligations and may not use your data for other purposes.

7. Data Retention

Trip history: Automatically deleted after one month.
Ad deletion: Ad data is removed from active databases immediately.
Account deletion: When you delete your account, your personal data is removed from our active databases. We may retain some data for an additional period where required for legal or security purposes.

8. Location Data

    Drivers: Location is collected in the background during an active trip only.

    Passengers: Location is used to display the map only and is not stored.

    You can disable location permission from your device settings at any time.

9. Children's Privacy

The app is suitable for users aged 12 and above. Parental consent is recommended for minors. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we become aware of such collection, we will delete the data immediately.

10. Your Rights

Access: You may request to know what data we hold about you.
Correction: You may update your data from within the app at any time.
Deletion: You may delete your account and all associated data directly from within the app.
Location opt-out: You may disable location permission from your device settings at any time.

11. Data Security

We use HTTPS encryption for all data in transit. Your data is stored on secure servers operated by trusted service providers.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date of the last update is shown at the top of this page. We recommend reviewing it periodically.

13. Contact Us

For any questions, data deletion requests, or privacy concerns, please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]