Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Wahda ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal data when you use our social and communication platform, including our website at www.wahda.com (the “Site”) and the Wahda app (the “App”) (collectively, the “Service”).

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data openly and transparently, in accordance with applicable data protection laws and best practices worldwide.

By creating an account, you will be presented with a tick-box and an explicit 'I Agree' prompt to confirm your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions. If we make material changes to this Policy, we will notify you via in-app push notification.

1. OUR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY

Wahda is the entity responsible for processing your personal data in connection with the Service.

Contact Us:

Email: help@wahda.com

2. THE DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU

We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you to provide and improve our Service. We have grouped these categories of data as follows:

We also collect, use, and share information collected through the App for internal analytics, business intelligence, and service improvement purposes, including through the use of third-party analytics or business intelligence tools. Where possible, data is aggregated or de-identified.

Aggregated data may be derived from your personal data; however, it does not constitute personal data under applicable law, as it cannot directly or indirectly identify you.

3. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We use different methods to collect data from and about you, including:

• Direct input: You provide us with your data when you create an account, update your profile, post content, participate in events, or communicate with us.
• Automated technologies or interactions: As you interact with our Service, we automatically collect Technical and Usage Data. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs, tracking pixels, and other similar technologies.
• Device permissions: With your permission, we may access your device's camera, microphone, contacts list, precise location, and album or file storage in connection with specific features of the Service.

4. HOW AND WHY WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We use your personal data for the following purposes, based on established legal principles for data processing:

To Provide and Maintain the Service

We process your data to fulfil our obligations to you as described in our Terms and Conditions. This includes operating and maintaining your account, providing you with access to the Service's features, delivering the content you request, enabling social interactions (including public posts, feeds, direct messaging, short-form video, stories, groups, and polls,), facilitating messaging, supporting AI-assisted tools (such as text-to-image generation and speech-to-text), enabling map navigation features, and event features where applicable.

For our Legitimate Interests

We process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided your fundamental rights do not override those interests. This includes:

• Improving and personalising the Service by understanding how you and others use it, including through inferred interests and behavioural segments.
• Ensuring the safety and security of our platform by monitoring for violations of our Community Guidelines, preventing fraud, and protecting our systems. This includes automated AI content classifiers, human review queues, third-party content moderation tools, and user reporting mechanisms. We actively enforce against categories including CSAM, terrorism, hate speech, graphic violence, harassment, self-harm promotion, disinformation, non-consensual intimate images, and drug and weapon sales.
• Communicating with you about service announcements, updates, security alerts, and support messages.
• Conducting research and analysis to develop new features.

To Comply with Legal Obligations

We may process your data to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, such as responding to lawful requests from law enforcement or complying with applicable safety laws.

With Your Consent

We will ask for your specific consent to process your data for certain purposes, such as sending you direct marketing communications, processing precise location data, or accessing your device camera, microphone, contacts, or files. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

Device Permissions

Depending on the features and functionality you use, we may request access to certain functions or data on your device. We request these permissions to provide and support the relevant features and functionality of the Service.

Camera

We may access your device's camera when you use features that require you to take photos or record videos. This may include creating or sharing content, updating your profile, or participating in video calls or other video based features of the Service.

Photo Library / Album

We may request access to your device's photo library or album when you use features that require you to select, upload, share, or save photos or videos. This may include selecting photos or videos from your device to share through chats, posts, stories, or your profile, or saving photos and videos that you create through the Service to your device.

Microphone

We may access your device's microphone when you use features that require audio input. This may include recording voice messages or participating in voice or video based features of the Service.

Contacts

We may access your device's contacts when you use features that help you find and connect with people you know. This may include matching your contacts with people who already use the Service.

Face ID

Where supported by your device, we may request your permission to use Face ID to verify your identity and allow you to unlock and access your private chats. This authentication is handled entirely by your device's operating system. Wahda does not receive, process, or store any biometric data, facial recognition data, or related authentication data.

Precise Location

We may access your device's precise location when you use features or functionality that require location information. This allows us to provide relevant location based features, information, and functionality through the Service.

5. AI-ASSISTED FEATURE PROCESSING

Some features of the Service use automated or AI-assisted processing to support functionality such as translation, transcription, content discovery, safety enforcement (including automated content moderation), text-to-image generation, beauty filters, or user assistance.

Such processing occurs only in connection with the specific feature being used and is intended to enhance user experience and platform safety.

6. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We may share your personal data with the following parties:

• Other Users: Your Profile Data and Content Data are shared with other users of the Service in accordance with your privacy settings.
• Service Providers and SDK Partners: We engage third party service providers and technology partners to support and operate the Service. These providers may process personal data on our behalf where necessary to provide their services. Our key third party service providers and SDK partners may include:
  • Analytics
    Sensors Analytics (Sensors Data)
    Collects behavioural and usage data to help us understand how users engage with the Service and improve product experience.
  • Real Time Communication
    Agora Inc.
    Powers voice calls, video calls, and real time messaging.
  • Crash Reporting & App Diagnostics
    Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC)
    Collects crash logs and device information to diagnose and fix app stability issues.
  • Maps & Location
    Google Maps (Google LLC)
    Displays maps, searches places, and enables location sharing between users.
  • Push Notifications
    Firebase Messaging (Google LLC)
    Delivers push notifications to your device to keep you informed of relevant activity on the Service.
  • Language Recognition
    Google ML Kit (Google LLC)
    Supports language detection and recognition features within the Service.
  • Bot Detection
    reCAPTCHA (Google LLC)
    Helps verify that interactions with the Service are made by humans and protects against automated abuse.
  • Cloud Infrastructure and Hosting
    Alibaba Cloud
    Provides cloud hosting, data storage, and infrastructure services that support the operation of the Service.
• Legal and Regulatory Authorities: When required by law, or when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
• Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company.

7. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Your personal data may be stored or processed in countries other than the country in which you are located or reside, depending on your location, the services you use and the location of the relevant infrastructure. We may use service providers and technology located in different countries to help us operate and provide the Service. These service providers may process personal data on our behalf in connection with providing and supporting the Service.

The data protection laws in those countries may be different from the laws in your country. However, we take appropriate steps to help protect your personal data when it is transferred or processed internationally.

Where we transfer or otherwise process personal data internationally, we implement appropriate legal, technical, and organisational measures designed to protect personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Depending on the circumstances, these measures may include contractual protections, vendor assessments, encryption, access controls, and other appropriate safeguards.

8. DATA SECURITY

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. Authentication on the Service is supported by email and password, phone OTP, and biometric methods (such as Face ID and fingerprint recognition).

9. DATA RETENTION

We will retain your personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, reporting, security and operational requirements.

Account Deactivation: If an account is restricted due to a violation of our platform rules, certain account functions may be limited and the user may have the opportunity to appeal the decision. Personal data associated with the account will be retained for the duration of the restriction and appeal process, and for any additional period reasonably necessary in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory or operational requirements.

Account Deletion: Users may initiate an account deletion request through the app settings. Following a deletion request, a 30-day cooling-off period will apply. During this period, the account and associated data will remain retained in our active systems. Once the cooling off period has expired, the user's account and associated personal data will be removed from the active production system and will no longer be visible or accessible through the Service, unless we are required to retain certain information for a longer period for legal or regulatory reasons.

10. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have certain rights in relation to your personal data. These rights may include:

• The right to be informed about how your personal data is being used.
• The right of access to the personal data we hold about you.
• The right to rectification of inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
• The right to erasure (or to be "forgotten") in certain circumstances.
• The right to restrict processing in certain circumstances.
• The right to data portability of your personal data to you or to a third party.
• The right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us at help@wahda.com

11. MINIMUM AGE

The Service is intended for users aged 16 and above. Registration requires a self-declaration of date of birth. Users under the age of 16 are not permitted to create an account. Where applicable local law sets a higher minimum age, such as 18 years old in certain jurisdictions, the higher age will apply. We do not knowingly permit users below the applicable minimum age for their jurisdiction to register for or use the Service. If we become aware that personal data has been collected from a user below the applicable minimum age, we will take appropriate steps in relation to the account and associated personal data, subject to any applicable legal or regulatory requirements. If you believe that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a user below the applicable minimum age, please contact us at help@wahda.com.

12. COMPLAINTS

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to your local data protection supervisory authority. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach your local authority, so please contact us in the first instance.

Formal Complaints are to be addressed to:

Email: help@wahda.com.