01Who we are
Hobifi ("Hobifi", "we", "us") runs a website and mobile app that help people in Egypt discover and book hobby classes run by independent instructors and studios.
For the purposes of Law No. 151 of 2020, Hobifi is the controller of the personal data described in this policy, meaning we decide how and why it is processed. Hobifi is registered in Egypt under Commercial Registry No. 60294 (Tax Registration No. 782-674-437), at 11 Sphinx Square, Agouza, Giza.
02What we collect
| When | What |
|---|---|
| You join the waitlist or newsletter | Your email address, and the hobby type you picked if you used the quiz. |
| You create an account | Name, email address, phone number, password (never stored in plain text), and, if you choose, a profile photo and your hobby interests. |
| You book a class | The class, provider, date and time, price paid, booking status, cancellations and refunds. |
| You pay | Payment status and a payment reference from our payment provider. We do not receive or store your full card number or CVV. If you choose to save a card on our payment provider's page, the provider keeps it and we receive only a secure reference and the last four digits, never the card number. |
| You allow location access | Your device's location, used to show classes near you, sort results by distance and open the map where you are. Your exact location stays on your phone: we don't store it on our servers. To show the name of your area (for example "Zamalek, Cairo"), your phone's built-in location service (Apple on iPhone, Google on Android) converts the coordinates into an area name. You can switch location off in your phone settings at any time; the app then uses the city you chose. |
| You use the map | Map images are loaded from OpenStreetMap, which receives the area of the map you're viewing and your IP address. If you're an instructor setting your class location, the address you search for is sent to OpenStreetMap's address search to find it on the map. |
| You contact us or leave a review | Your messages, review text and rating, and any details you choose to include. |
| Your public profile | Other Hobifi users can see your name and profile photo only where it's relevant: for example the instructor of a class you booked, or alongside a review you posted. Instructors' public pages show their business name, photo, bio, city and when they joined. Your saved classes and saved instructors are private to you. |
| You use the app or website | Technical data such as device type, operating system, app version, IP address and basic server logs. The app does not contain advertising or analytics trackers. |
We do not ask for sensitive personal data such as health, religion or financial account details. Some classes (for example fitness or dance) may ask you to tell the instructor about an injury or health condition. Please share that directly with the instructor; you don't need to send it to us.
03Why we use it
- To run your bookings: creating your account, confirming bookings, sending receipts and reminders, and handling cancellations and refunds. We need this to provide the service you asked for.
- To connect you with your instructor: so they know who is coming and can reach you about the class.
- To take payments: through our payment provider, and to keep the records that Egyptian tax and accounting rules require.
- To support you: answering questions and resolving complaints or disputes with a provider.
- To keep Hobifi safe: preventing fraud and abuse, securing accounts, and meeting legal obligations, including log retention under Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law No. 175 of 2018.
- To improve the app: understanding which features work, fixing bugs, and suggesting classes that match the interests you've told us about.
- To send you news, with your consent: launch updates, new classes and offers. See section 8.
We only use your data for the purposes it was collected for. If we ever want to use it for something new, we will tell you first and, where the law requires, ask for your consent.
05Data stored outside Egypt
Some of our service providers keep data on servers outside Egypt: our database and file storage (Supabase) are in the European Union (Ireland); email delivery (Resend), map services (OpenStreetMap) and Google may process data in the EU, the UK or the United States. We transfer personal data abroad only in line with Articles 14 to 16 of Law No. 151 of 2020, including any licence or permit required by the Personal Data Protection Center, and only to providers that offer a level of protection no lower than Egyptian law requires.
06How long we keep it
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Waitlist and newsletter email | Until you unsubscribe, or 12 months after the app launches if you haven't opened an account, whichever is sooner. |
| Account and profile | While your account is open. When you delete your account, your profile, photos, saved items and device data are deleted within 30 days. Bookings and payment records are kept without your name or contact details, as Egyptian tax and accounting law requires (see the next row). If an instructor closes their account, past bookings and payments for their classes are kept the same way, so your booking and refund history stays intact. You can delete your account at hobifi.com/delete-account. |
| Bookings, payments and invoices | As long as Egyptian tax and accounting laws require. |
| Technical and access logs | 180 days, as required by Law No. 175 of 2018, unless needed longer for a security investigation. |
| Support messages and disputes | Until the issue is resolved, plus any limitation period during which a claim could be made. |
When we no longer need data, we delete it or make it anonymous so it can no longer identify you.
07Your rights
Under Law No. 151 of 2020 you can:
- know what personal data we hold about you, and get a copy;
- correct data that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete your data, or to limit how we use it;
- object to processing, and withdraw any consent you gave, at any time;
- be told if a personal data breach affects you.
To use any of these rights, email info@hobifi.com with the subject "Privacy request". We may ask you to confirm your identity before acting, and we will reply within the period set by the law and its Executive Regulations. Withdrawing consent doesn't affect anything we did lawfully before you withdrew it.
If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Personal Data Protection Center (PDPC), Egypt's data protection regulator.
08Emails and marketing
We only send marketing emails or messages if you have agreed to receive them, for example by joining the waitlist or newsletter. Every marketing email says it is from Hobifi and has a one-click unsubscribe link. You can also reply "unsubscribe" or email us. Service messages about your bookings (confirmations, reminders, changes, refunds) aren't marketing, so you'll still get those while you have bookings.
10Age limits
You must be at least 18 to create a Hobifi account or book a class. We don't knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has given us their data, contact us and we will delete it.
11Security and breaches
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), passwords that are never stored in plain text, access limited to staff who need it, and contracts with every provider who handles data for us. Your sign-in session is stored securely on your device, and we limit how often accounts can be created, sign-in codes requested and instructor applications submitted, to prevent abuse. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password and don't share it.
If a breach affects your personal data, we will notify the Personal Data Protection Center and tell affected users within the timeframes set by the law.
12If you teach on Hobifi
If you apply to teach or list a studio, we collect your business name, contact person, phone number, email, the activities you offer, class details and photos you upload, and the payout details we need to pay you. We use this to review your application, list your classes, pay you, and meet our tax obligations. Your public listing (business name, class descriptions, photos, location and reviews) is visible to app users. Your agreement with Hobifi sets out further details.
Your public instructor page shows your business name, photo, bio, city, the date you joined and your upcoming classes. Explorers can save your page to find your new classes; we don't share who saved it.
13Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when our practices or the law change. The effective date at the top always shows the current version. If a change is significant, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
This policy is available in Arabic and English. If the two versions differ, the Arabic version prevails.
14Contact us
Hobifi, privacy requests
11 Sphinx Square, Agouza, Giza, Egypt
Email: info@hobifi.com
Phone: +20 104 262 3634
Commercial Registry No. 60294 · Tax Registration No. 782-674-437