Privacy Policy
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Hala Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-04-08

This Privacy Policy explains how Hala ("Hala", "we", "us") collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Hala mobile application and related services (the "Service").

1. Information we collect

  • Account and profile information: display name, username, phone number, password (stored securely and not in plain text), optional profile photo, About text, job, gender, age, and privacy settings.
  • Communications and user content: the messages you send or receive in 1-to-1 chats and rooms, room membership and invitation records, media or files you upload, and related metadata such as timestamps, delivery/read status, and participants.
  • Approximate location (optional): if you tap "Use my location", we process a rounded or approximate location to support nearby discovery, distance display, city-level context, and places results. We do not show your exact coordinates to other users.
  • Notification data (optional): if you enable push notifications in the mobile app, we may process push tokens, device identifiers, and delivery metadata needed to send alerts.
  • Usage, device, and diagnostics data: basic log data such as IP address, user agent, app/device version, event timestamps, and error or diagnostic data for security, fraud prevention, reliability, and debugging.
  • Safety and support information: information you provide when contacting support or when you submit reports, blocks, or other safety requests.

2. How we use information

  • Provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including sign-in, chats, rooms, nearby discovery, "My Place", places discovery, and profile features.
  • Authenticate users, sync sessions and settings, and deliver messages, media, invites, and account actions.
  • Provide optional location-based features using rounded location data.
  • Send notifications if you enable them on a supported mobile device.
  • Protect users and the Service through abuse prevention, fraud detection, moderation, safety review, rate limiting, and enforcement of our Terms.
  • Improve reliability and performance, including caching, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and error handling.
  • Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

3. Your privacy controls and what other users can see

  • Other users can see your display name and Hala ID. If you keep Hala ID search enabled, other users can also find you by Hala ID.
  • If you choose to upload one, other users may see your profile photo, "About" section, and last seen status based on your privacy settings.
  • Your Nearby visibility and whether others can see approximate distance are controlled by the settings in the app.
  • Your phone number is not shown to other users.
  • Nearby features show only approximate distance (for example, "~2 km") and city-level context. We do not show your exact coordinates to other users.

4. Sharing of information

We share information only as needed to provide the Service:

  • Infrastructure providers: We use cloud infrastructure (including Cloudflare services) to host, store, secure, and deliver the Service.
  • Feature data providers (via backend): To show weather, public holidays, notable events, and places, our backend may query third-party public APIs such as Open-Meteo, Nager.Date, Wikipedia "On this day", OpenStreetMap/Overpass, and Google Places. Where location is needed, we send only the rounded or approximate location required to fetch results.
  • AI features: If you use "Ask Hala", your message and the assistant's response are processed by our AI provider (e.g., Cloudflare Workers AI) to generate a reply.
  • Notification providers: If you enable mobile push notifications, push tokens and notification data may be processed by providers such as Apple Push Notification service (APNs) and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).
  • Legal and safety: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect users, prevent fraud, or enforce our Terms.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your personal information for third-party tracking or cross-app targeted advertising.

5. AI feature notes (Ask Hala)

  • Do not send highly sensitive personal information to the AI assistant.
  • AI responses may be inaccurate; use your judgment and verify important information.
  • We may store AI requests/responses for a limited time to operate the feature, prevent abuse, and improve reliability.

6. Cookies, local storage, device permissions, and offline caching

Hala may store session information on your device (for example, in local storage) to keep you signed in. The app may use a service worker to cache the app shell for faster loading. On supported devices, Hala may also request permissions for features you choose to use, such as location, camera, microphone, photos, or notifications.

7. Data retention

  • We keep account and profile information for as long as your account is active, unless we need to retain certain information for safety, legal, or fraud-prevention reasons.
  • Messages, rooms content, and media may remain available until deleted by you, other relevant participants, or through account deletion, subject to limited backup, cache, security, and legal retention needs.
  • Rounded location data, push tokens, and technical logs may be retained for shorter periods as needed to operate features, secure the Service, and troubleshoot problems.
  • Support messages and safety reports may be retained as needed to investigate abuse, respond to requests, and comply with law.

8. Your choices and rights

  • You can update your profile information in the app.
  • You can manage privacy settings in the app, including profile photo, About, last seen, Nearby visibility, distance display, and Hala ID search.
  • You can turn optional device permissions and push notifications on or off in the app or in your device settings, where available.
  • You can block or report users to help protect your account and the community.
  • You can request account deletion (and associated data deletion where applicable) from within the app's settings, or by contacting us at Askhalaai@gmail.com.

9. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information. No system is 100% secure; please use a strong password and keep it confidential.

10. Children's privacy

Hala is not intended for children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us at Askhalaai@gmail.com.

11. International data transfers

Your information may be processed in countries other than where you live, depending on our service providers' infrastructure.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will update the "Last updated" date above.

13. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact: Askhalaai@gmail.com
Developer/Owner: Hala
Jurisdiction: UAE