A Privacy Policy is a legal document or statement that outlines how an organization collects, uses, discloses, stores, and protects the personal data of individuals (typically users or customers).

The primary purpose of a privacy policy is to inform users about their privacy rights and how their personal information is handled, in compliance with the Philippines Data Privacy Act, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in California.

This Privacy Policy is part of our Terms and Conditions. By using our services, you agree to the Terms and Conditions, which include additional terms governing your use of our platform. Using the Services constitutes acceptance of both this Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions. In case of any conflicts, the Terms and Conditions will prevail.

1. Types of Data Collected

1.1 User-Provided Data

1.1.1 Personal Information

We collect data that you provide directly to us when you create an account, fill out forms, or interact with our application. This includes your email address, which is required to send you the magic link for authentication.

You can also sign up using your email and a password. We will retain this information to authenticate you and occasionally contact you with product updates and account changes.

1.1.2 Payment Information

We ask users to input their Credit / Debit Card information and those data are processed and manage by secure payment gateways. We do not store any payment related information of our users.

1.2 Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using our service, which may include:

Device Internet Protocol (IP) address
Operating System
Browser type and version
Time and date of visit
Pages of our services visited
Time spent on those pages
Unique device identifiers
Other diagnostic data

1.3 Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We utilize cookies and similar tracking technologies to monitor activity on our service and retain specific information. The tracking methods employed include beacons, tags, and scripts, which help us gather and track data to enhance and analyze our service. The technologies we use may include:

1.3.1 Cookies or browser cookies

A cookie is a small file that is stored on your device. You can configure your browser to refuse all cookies or to alert you when a cookie is being sent. However, if you choose not to accept cookies, you may be unable to access certain features of our service. Unless you have modified your browser settings to reject cookies, our service may utilize them.

1.3.2 Web beacons

Web beacons are powerful tools for tracking user engagement across websites and emails. These allow us to track users who have visited specific pages or opened an email, as well as gather related website statistics, such as measuring the popularity of certain sections and ensuring the integrity of our systems and servers.

1.3.3 Necessary / essential cookies

These cookies are essential for delivering the services available on the website and enabling you to utilize certain features. They assist in authenticating users and preventing fraudulent activity on user accounts. Without these cookies, the services you have requested cannot be provided, and we use them solely to offer you those services.

1.3.4 Cookies / policy / Notice acceptance cookies

These cookies determine whether users have consented to the use of cookies on the Website. A cookie banner will be displayed on our website to collect explicit consent for non-essential cookies in compliance with GDPR and other regulations.

1.3.5 Functionality cookies

These cookies enable us to remember the choices you make while using the website, such as your login information or language preference. It enhances your experience by providing a more personalized service and preventing you from having to re-enter your preferences each time you visit the Website.

1.3.6 Tracking and performance cookies

These cookies are utilized to monitor traffic to the website and how users interact with it. The information collected through these cookies may directly or indirectly identify you as an individual visitor, as it is usually linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with the device you use to access the website. Additionally, we may use these cookies to test new pages, features, or functionalities of the website to gauge user reactions.

2. Purpose of Data Collection

The data is collected for the following purposes:

To create and manage your account
To personalize your travel experience
To provide customer support and respond to inquiries
To process payments securely
To send notifications and updates
To conduct research and improve our services

3. Purpose of Data Retention

We are committed to ensuring that your personal data is handled securely and responsibly. Our data retention policy defines how long we store your information and why we retain it.

3.1 Retention Period

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, or for as long as required by law, contractual obligations, or legitimate business interests. The specific retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the context in which it was collected.

3.1.1 Account Information: We retain account data as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services to you.

3.1.2 Transactional Data: Transaction data is kept for a period necessary to process your transactions and comply with applicable financial or legal reporting requirements.

3.1.3 Marketing Data: If you have opted into marketing communications, your data will be retained until you withdraw your consent.

3.2 Legal Compliance

In some cases, we may need to retain your personal data for longer periods to comply with legal or regulatory obligations (e.g., tax laws, financial record-keeping requirements, or other legal claims). Where retention is legally required, we will retain the data for the minimum period mandated by law.

3.3 Anonymization and Deletion

When your personal data is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected, we will securely delete or anonymize it. Anonymization ensures that the data can no longer be linked to an individual, while deletion ensures the data is irreversibly removed from our systems.

3.4 Business Needs

We may also retain certain data if it is necessary for our legitimate business purposes, such as fraud prevention, dispute resolution, or improving our services. However, in all cases, we ensure that the retention period is reasonable and justified by the business need.

3.5 Your Rights

You have the right to request that we delete or correct your personal data, subject to certain exceptions (such as when data is retained for legal or business purposes).

4. Recipients of User-Provided Data

This section of Privacy Policy explains who may have access to the personal data that users provide to the organization.

We take your privacy seriously and are committed to ensuring that your personal data is handled with care. In certain situations, we may share or disclose the personal data you provide to us with third parties, but we do so only when necessary and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

4.1 Service Providers and Contractors

We may share your personal data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in delivering our services, including but not limited to:

Cloud storage providers
Payment processors
Customer support and communication platforms
Data analytics providers
Marketing and advertising partners
Website hosting and IT services

These service providers are contractually obligated to handle your data only in accordance with our instructions and to take appropriate measures to safeguard your personal information.

4.2 Affiliates and Business Partners

We use cookies to track affiliate links. Users will be asked to provide explicit consent for affiliate tracking through our cookie banner or consent mechanism.

We may share your personal data with our affiliates, subsidiaries, or business partners to enhance our services and provide you with personalized experiences. For example:

Service Improvements: Sharing aggregated data to improve service quality and performance.
Marketing: Providing data to trusted partners to deliver tailored content and offers, strictly based on your explicit consent.

All such data sharing complies with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and the Philippines Data Privacy Act.

Our partners are contractually bound to:

Use your data only for the agreed purposes
Maintain the confidentiality and security of your data
Implement robust safeguards to protect your information from unauthorized access

You can withdraw your consent for such sharing at any time by contacting us at support@happytrip.io

4.3 Business Transactions

In the event that we merge, acquire, or sell all or part of our business, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you in advance if your personal data is transferred or becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

4.4 Payment Processors

To facilitate payments for your purchase of our service, we share necessary information (such as payment details, billing address, etc.) with secure third-party payment processors. These payment processors are responsible for:

Processing credit card or other payment method transactions
Managing billing and invoicing details

We use secure, PCI-compliant payment processors to ensure your financial information is handled safely.

4.5 Third-Party Advertising Analytics and Providers

We may share aggregated, non-identifiable information with third-party advertising and analytics providers to help us understand user behavior, improve our services, and deliver targeted advertisements. These third parties may use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect data about your interactions with our website or app.

4.6 International Transfer

If your personal data is transferred to recipients outside your country of residence (e.g., to a service provider or affiliate in another country), we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the data is protected in accordance with applicable data protection laws. This may include using legal mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses or ensuring that the recipient has adequate data protection measures in place.

Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs):

For data transfers outside the EU, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to ensure compliance with GDPR.

Global Compliance:

We also comply with applicable local data protection laws for international data transfers to maintain data integrity and privacy.

5. Your Rights Regarding User-Provided Data

We are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. Depending on the jurisdiction in which you reside, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data. These rights allow you to control how your data is collected, used, and shared. Below, we outline the rights you may have and how you can exercise them:

5.1 Right to Access

You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. This includes information such as:

Your account details
Transactional data (e.g., payment history, travel related data generation)
Communication records with our support team

To request access to your data, please contact us at support@happytrip.io. We will respond to your request within the timeframes required by law.

5.2 Right to Rectification

If you believe the personal data we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to request that we correct or update it. You can edit certain information directly within your account settings. For other updates, please contact our support team.

To request corrections to your personal data, please reach out to us by email: support@happytrip.io

5.3 Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten)

You can request that we delete your personal data if:

You no longer need our services or wish to close your account
You withdraw your consent to data processing (if applicable)
We no longer need to process your data for the purposes for which it was collected

Please note that there may be exceptions where we are required to retain certain information (e.g., for legal obligations or transaction history). In such cases, we will explain why your data cannot be deleted.

To request erasure of your data, please contact us by email: support@happytrip.io

5.4 Right to Restrict Processing

You have the right to request that we limit or stop processing your personal data under certain conditions, such as when:

You believe the data we hold about you is inaccurate and you are verifying its accuracy
Our processing of your data is unlawful, but you prefer to limit its use rather than delete it
You have objected to our processing (see "Right to Object") and we are considering your request

If you wish to restrict the processing of your data, please contact us by email: support@happytrip.io

5.5 Right to Data Portability

You have the right to request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. You can also request that we transfer your data to another service provider, where technically feasible.

To exercise this right, please contact us at support@happytrip.io. We will process your request in a timely manner, in accordance with applicable laws.

5.6 Right to Object

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain situations, such as when:

We are processing your data for direct marketing purposes (e.g., personalized offers or advertising)
Our processing of your data is based on legitimate interests (e.g., improving our services or preventing fraud)

If you wish to object to certain processing activities, you may contact us by email: support@happytrip.io

5.7 Right to Withdraw Consent

In cases where we process your personal data based on your consent (for example, for marketing purposes or optional data sharing), you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before the withdrawal.

To withdraw your consent, you can adjust your preferences in the app, unsubscribe from marketing emails, or contact us by email: support@happytrip.io

5.8 Do Not Sell My Personal Information

California residents have the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information. To exercise this right, contact us directly at support@happytrip.io

5.9 Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you believe that we have not handled your personal data in accordance with privacy laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority or regulatory body in your country. You are encouraged to contact us first to address any concerns you may have, but you are also entitled to file a complaint directly with the relevant authority.

5.10 Right to Opt-Out of Marketing Communications

You have the right to opt-out of receiving promotional or marketing emails from us. You can do this by:

Clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any marketing email you receive from us
Contacting us directly to request that we stop sending you marketing communications

Please note that you may still receive transactional or service-related communications, such as email verification, password reset and customer service updates.

6. Security of Your Personal Data

We take the security of your personal data very seriously and employ a variety of measures to protect it. While no system can be completely secure, we implement industry-standard practices and robust safeguards to minimize the risk of unauthorized access, loss, or disclosure of your personal data. Below, we outline the security measures we have in place:

6.1 Encryption

We use encryption technology to protect your personal data when it is transmitted over the internet. For example, when you provide sensitive information such as payment details, we use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols to ensure that your data is encrypted during transmission. This helps prevent unauthorized third parties from intercepting your data.

6.2 Access Controls

Access to your personal data is restricted to authorized personnel only. We have implemented strict internal controls to limit access to personal data based on the needs of specific employees or contractors who are required to process or handle your data. All employees are trained on our data protection policies, and access to personal data is regularly reviewed.

6.3 Data Storage Security

We store your personal data on secure servers protected by firewalls and other advanced security mechanisms. Our cloud service providers also adhere to strict security protocols, and we use physical and logical security measures to protect the servers where your data is stored.

6.4 Payment Data Security

When processing payments, we work with third-party payment processors that are fully compliant with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). These providers use advanced security measures, such as tokenization and encryption, to ensure that your payment information is handled securely.

6.5 Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

To enhance the security of your account, we may offer two-factor authentication (2FA) for an added layer of protection. When enabled, 2FA requires you to verify your identity through a secondary method (such as a code sent to your phone) in addition to your usual login credentials.

6.6 Regular Security Audits and Monitoring

We conduct regular security audits and assessments to identify vulnerabilities and ensure that our security practices remain effective. Additionally, we monitor our systems for suspicious activity and have measures in place to detect and respond to potential security incidents.

6.7 Data Retention and Disposal

We only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy or to comply with legal obligations. When data is no longer needed, we take steps to securely delete or anonymize it to prevent unauthorized access.

6.8 Incident Response and Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach, we have an incident response plan in place to promptly address and mitigate the impact of any security incidents. If your personal data is compromised, in compliance with the PDPA, we will notify affected users and the Philippine National Privacy Commission (NPC) of any data breach within 72 hours of detection, or sooner where feasible.

6.9 Third-Party Security

We ensure that any third-party service providers we work with (such as cloud storage providers, payment processors, and customer support platforms) are committed to maintaining strong security measures. These providers are required to meet our security standards and comply with applicable privacy and data protection laws.

6.10 Your Role in Protecting Your Data

While we implement robust security measures, it is also important that you take steps to protect your own data. You should use a strong, unique password for your account and avoid sharing your account credentials with anyone. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately so we can assist you in securing your account.

7. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We disclaim any responsibility for the privacy practices, data handling, or content of these external sites. Users are encouraged to exercise caution and thoroughly review the privacy policies of any third-party websites they visit to understand how their data may be collected, used, and protected. This ensures users make informed decisions regarding their interactions with these platforms.

8. Compliance with Laws

We are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations regarding data privacy and security. Our practices adhere to prominent laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Philippines Data Privacy Act, and other relevant local data protection laws.

Users have specific rights under these regulations, including the right to access, rectify, delete, or restrict the use of their personal data. To exercise these rights, users can contact us via the provided email address. We are dedicated to ensuring the safety, integrity, and lawful processing of all user information.

9. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

This policy is governed by the laws of the Philippines. Any disputes arising from this policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in the Philippines.

10. Dispute Resolution

In the event of a dispute, we encourage amicable resolution through negotiation. If such efforts fail, disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration/Mediation conducted in accordance with the rules of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Centre, with the venue in the Philippines.

10.1 Initial Resolution

We encourage users to contact us first with any privacy-related concerns at support@happytrip.io. We will make reasonable efforts to address your concerns promptly and appropriately.

11. Acknowledgment and Acceptance of Terms

11.1 Express Consent

By using our services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of our services constitutes your acceptance of these terms.

11.2 Electronic Acceptance

You agree that your use of our services, including clicking "I agree" or similar buttons, checking boxes, or continuing to use our services after being notified of updates to this Privacy Policy, constitutes your legal signature and acceptance of these terms.

11.3 Capacity to Accept

You represent that you have the legal capacity to accept this Privacy Policy or, if you are under the legal age of majority, that you have obtained parental/guardian consent.

If any provision of this Privacy Policy is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

12. Changes to the Policy

This Privacy Policy will be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. Users will be notified of significant updates.

We reserve the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. Users are encouraged to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect the personal information we collect. Notifications regarding significant updates may be provided via email or a prominent banner on the website.

13. Contact Us

We welcome your feedback, comments, and requests for technical support. Please feel free to reach out:

By email: support@happytrip.io