Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 2026
Effective Date: January 2026

Welcome to Explore Jordan ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a safe, transparent experience using our mobile application. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and safeguard your information when you use the Explore Jordan mobile application (the "App").

By creating an account or using the App, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

Email address — for account creation, OTP login, and important communications
Phone number (optional) — for account recovery and contact
Display name — shown publicly on your profile, comments, and chats
Profile photo (optional) — shown publicly on your profile, comments, and chats
Country / nationality (optional) — to personalize recommendations

1.2 Location Information

With your permission, we collect:

Precise location — to show places near you, calculate distance to attractions, and provide radius-based search
Approximate location — used when precise permission is not granted

You can grant or revoke location permission at any time via your device settings (Settings → Privacy → Location Services → Explore Jordan). Disabling location may limit the "nearby places" and "distance from me" features but does not block any other functionality.

1.3 User-Generated Content (UGC)

Explore Jordan allows you to create and share content. We collect and store:

Comments and replies you post on places (hotels, tour guides, attractions, cultural sites, tours)
Chat messages you exchange with hotels, tour guides, and other accommodation providers — including text, images, and file attachments
Likes you give on comments
Photos you upload in chat or as part of your profile
Trip plans you save (generated by the offline trip planner)
Reports you submit against other users or content

Important about your content:

Comments and replies are moderated by our admin team before they become public. Until approved, only you can see them.
Chat messages are visible to you and the recipient (a hotel or tour guide), and their authorized staff.
Trip plans you save remain on your device unless you choose to share them.
Photos and files you share in chat are transmitted to our servers and to the recipient. Do not share sensitive information in chat.

1.4 Social Activity

We collect information about your interactions on the App:

Places you mark as "Been There" or "Want to Go"
Users you follow and users who follow you
Users you have blocked or who have blocked you
Categories and subcategories you browse
Search queries and filters you use

1.5 Device and Usage Information

We automatically collect:

Device type, operating system version
App version and crash diagnostics
Unique device identifier
Date and time of access
Approximate IP-based region (for security)

1.6 Push Notification Token

If you enable notifications, we receive a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) device token from your device. We use this only to send you the notifications you have opted into. You can disable notifications anytime in your device settings.

1.7 Contact Form

If you contact us through the App's "Contact Us" feature, we collect your email, phone number (if you choose to provide it), and your message.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

Create and manage your account, including OTP verification and authentication
Personalize your experience based on your interests, saved places, and language
Provide location-based features such as nearby search, navigation, and trip planning
Enable communication between you and accommodation providers, tour guides, and other users you interact with
Display your public profile, comments, and follows to other users
Moderate user-generated content to ensure a safe community
Investigate and respond to abuse reports filed by you or against you
Send push notifications for chat messages, comment approvals, replies, and important updates (only if you opt-in)
Operate and improve the App, fix bugs, analyze usage patterns, and develop new features
Detect and prevent fraud, spam, security issues, and policy violations
Respond to legal requests when required by law

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.

3.1 Other Users

The following information is visible to other users of the App:

Your display name and profile photo
Your approved comments, replies, and likes
The number of followers and people you follow
The list of users you follow and your followers (subject to your privacy settings)
Places you mark as "Been There" (your travel activity)

Information that is not visible to other users:

Your email address and phone number
Your saved trip plans
Your search history
Users you have blocked

3.2 Hotels, Tour Guides, and Other Businesses

When you start a conversation with a business, the business owner and their authorized staff can see:

Your display name and profile photo
The full text of your messages and attachments
Whether you have visited or saved their listing

Businesses cannot see your email, phone number, or other private account details unless you choose to share them.

3.3 Service Providers

We share limited information with trusted service providers who help us operate the App:

Hostinger — backend hosting and database (data stored in Hostinger data centers)
Mapbox — interactive maps
Google Firebase Cloud Messaging — push notification delivery
Google Maps — when you request navigation directions

These providers are bound by contractual and legal data protection obligations.

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our users, our staff, or the public.

3.5 Business Transfers

If Explore Jordan is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new owner. We will notify you of any such change.

4. Content Moderation and Community Safety

Explore Jordan is a community platform. To keep it safe, we apply the following:

Pre-publication moderation: All comments and replies are reviewed by our admin team before becoming visible to other users.
Reporting: You can report any comment, chat message, or user that violates our community standards directly from the App.
Blocking: You can block other users to prevent them from messaging you, commenting on content you care about, or appearing in your interactions.
Account actions: We may remove content, suspend accounts, or permanently ban users who violate our Terms of Service or applicable law.
Zero-tolerance policy: We do not tolerate hate speech, harassment, threats, sexually explicit content, content that endangers minors, fraud, impersonation, or illegal activity.

Our content moderation policies are described in detail in our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

All data transmission uses HTTPS (TLS/SSL) encryption
Passwords are never stored — we use one-time OTP authentication only
Sensitive data on your device is stored in encrypted secure storage
API requests are signed and authenticated to prevent tampering
Server access is restricted to authorized personnel
Regular security reviews and patching

No system is 100% secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security against all threats.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information as follows:

Account data — retained while your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion request, except where required by law.
Public content (approved comments, replies) — may remain visible after account deletion in an anonymized form (your name removed, content kept for community context).
Chat messages — retained for as long as the conversation exists, or up to 12 months after either party's account is deleted.
Reports and moderation records — retained for up to 2 years for safety, fraud prevention, and legal compliance.
Logs and analytics — retained for up to 12 months in aggregated/anonymized form.

7. Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time. There are two ways:

In the App: Go to Profile → Account Information → Close Account Permanently → confirm
By email: Send a deletion request to info@explorejordan.org from the email address registered on your account

When you delete your account:

Your profile becomes immediately inaccessible
Your "Been There" and "Want to Go" lists are deleted
Your follow relationships are removed
Saved trip plans are deleted
Comments and chat history are either deleted or anonymized (your display name and photo removed)
Within 30 days, your account data is permanently deleted from our active systems
Records required for legal, security, or fraud-prevention purposes may be retained for up to 2 years in restricted form

8. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Correction — update or correct inaccurate information through your profile settings
Deletion — request deletion of your account and associated data (see Section 7)
Restriction — request that we limit how we process your data
Portability — request your data in a portable, machine-readable format
Objection — object to certain processing of your data
Withdraw consent — withdraw consent you have previously given (e.g., for notifications)
Lodge a complaint — with your local data protection authority

To exercise these rights, please contact us at info@explorejordan.org. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Third-Party Services and Their Privacy Practices

The App integrates with the following third-party services, each with its own privacy policy:

Mapbox — https://www.mapbox.com/legal/privacy
Google Maps — https://policies.google.com/privacy
Firebase (Google) — https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party services. Please review their policies separately.

10. Local Storage on Your Device

The App stores some data locally on your device for performance and offline use:

Login session token (in encrypted secure storage)
Language and theme preferences
Cached map tiles
Cached lists of saved places
Trip plans you have saved offline

You can clear this data at any time by signing out, clearing app data in device settings, or uninstalling the App.

11. Children's Privacy

Explore Jordan is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at info@explorejordan.org immediately and we will delete the information.

Users between 13 and 18 may use the App with parental consent where required by local law. The App contains user-generated content (comments and chat) which may be unsuitable for younger users. Parents should supervise minors using the App.

12. International Data Transfers

Explore Jordan is operated from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Our backend data is hosted in Hostinger data centers, which may be located outside Jordan. If you access the App from outside Jordan (including the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, or elsewhere):

Your information may be transferred to and processed in Jordan and other countries
Data protection laws in those countries may differ from those in your country of residence
By using the App, you consent to such transfer and processing

We take appropriate safeguards to ensure your data remains protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy regardless of where it is processed.

13. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) provide you with additional rights:

Right to know what personal information we collect, use, share, or sell about you
Right to delete personal information we have collected
Right to correct inaccurate personal information
Right to opt-out of sale or sharing — we do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising
Right to limit use of sensitive personal information
Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at info@explorejordan.org.

14. European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides you with the rights described in Section 8 above. The legal bases on which we process your personal data are:

Consent — for optional features such as push notifications and location
Contract — to provide the App service you have requested
Legitimate interest — for analytics, security, and product improvement
Legal obligation — to comply with laws applicable to us

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do:

We will post the updated Privacy Policy in the App and on our website
We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top
For material changes, we will notify you through the App or via email

Your continued use of the App after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: info@explorejordan.org
WhatsApp: +962 79 380 7938
Website: www.explorejordan.org
In-App: via the Contact Us feature

We will respond within 30 days.

Explore Jordan is committed to helping you discover the beauty of Jordan while protecting your privacy.