Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Hot Spots Technologies L.L.C-FZ ("Hot Spots," "we," "us"), the operator of the Hot Spots mobile application (the "App"), collects, uses, and shares your information. It is part of our Terms of Service & EULA. By using the App you agree to this Policy.
We built Hot Spots to connect real people at real places. We collect only what we need to do that, we don't sell your data, we don't show ads, and we don't track you across other companies' apps.
1. Information you give us
- Account: first and last name, username, email address, mobile phone number, date of birth (used to confirm you meet the 16+ age requirement), and a password.
- Profile: anything you add — bio, city/country, and profile or banner photos.
- Content you create: posts, photos, videos, stories, comments, messages, check-ins, meetups, bookings, reviews/offers, venue submissions, and reports you file.
- Venue/business information: if you register, claim, or manage a venue, the details and verification materials you provide (including a business-card photo and a short verification video, if you choose to submit them).
2. Information we collect automatically
- Precise location (GPS): used only while you are actively using the App, to check you in to nearby venues and to show Hot Spots near you. We do not track your location in the background, and your location is not shared with other users except through a check-in you choose to make.
- Camera and microphone: used when you take a photo, or record a video (including the short venue-verification video). We access them only for the action you initiate.
- Basic device and log data: limited technical information needed to run the App reliably and securely (for example, error and connection information).
- In-app activity: actions needed to provide features (for example, which communities you've joined or checked in to).
Product analytics and crash reporting. To understand how the App is used and to detect crashes and performance problems so we can improve it, we use two service providers: PostHog (product analytics, hosted in the European Union) and Sentry (crash and performance monitoring). Through them we collect in-app activity (such as which screens you view and features you use), approximate — city-level — location derived from your IP address, crash reports, and performance data (such as app start-up time and responsiveness), linked to your account. This information is used only to operate and improve the App. Neither provider uses it for advertising, and we do not include advertising SDKs or collect advertising identifiers, so we never track you across other companies' apps.
3. Contacts — matched privately, never uploaded
If you choose to use Find Friends, we help you find people you know who are already on Hot Spots. Your phone numbers are normalized and hashed on your device, and only those one-way hashes are sent to check for matches. Your contact list is never uploaded or stored on our servers, and the hashes are not retained after matching.
4. How we use your information
- To provide and operate the App and its features (check-ins, nearby discovery, messaging, meetups, bookings, offers).
- To create and secure your account and verify age eligibility.
- To match you with friends and communities.
- For safety, moderation, and enforcement — reviewing reports, hiding or removing content, and blocking or banning users who violate our Community Standards.
- To communicate with you about your account, security, and important updates.
- To comply with law and protect the rights, safety, and property of you, other users, and Hot Spots.
5. How we share your information
- With other users: the content and profile information you choose to share, shared with the people or communities you select. You control your visibility in Settings.
- With venues: details of bookings, meetups, or interactions you initiate with them.
- With our service providers: we use a backend platform (Supabase) to host and process data, and analytics and crash-reporting providers (PostHog, hosted in the EU, and Sentry) to help us understand usage and fix problems. Each acts on our behalf under obligations to protect your information and may not use it for their own purposes. We may use other processors strictly to run the App.
- For legal and safety reasons: to comply with valid legal requests, enforce our Terms, and protect users — including reporting unlawful content (such as anything that endangers a child) to law enforcement and relevant authorities.
- In a business transfer: if Hot Spots is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for third-party advertising.
6. How long we keep your information
We keep your information while your account is active. You can delete your account at any time in the App (Settings → Delete Account); this permanently removes your account and associated content, except for limited copies we are required to keep for legal, security, or safety reasons (for example, records of a report or a ban). Content you shared that others have re-shared, and contact hashes (which aren't retained anyway), are handled as described above.
7. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information. No system is completely secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your data and to limit access to it.
8. Children
Hot Spots is for people 16 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16. If we learn that we have, we will delete it and close the account. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us information, contact us.
9. International data transfers
We are based in the United Arab Emirates, and your information may be processed in the UAE or other countries where we or our service providers operate. Where required, we take steps to ensure your information receives an appropriate level of protection wherever it is processed.
10. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live (including under the UAE Personal Data Protection Law and, where applicable, the GDPR), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict the use of your personal data, and to object to certain processing. You can:
- Edit your profile and privacy settings in the App at any time;
- Control location and other permissions in your device settings;
- Delete your account (and its data) from Settings → Delete Account;
- Contact us to exercise any other rights.
We will respond to valid requests as required by applicable law.
11. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date and, where appropriate, notify you in the App. Your continued use after the changes take effect means you accept the updated Policy.
12. Contact us
For any privacy question or request, or to exercise your rights, contact us at hello@hotspotssocial.com (or the address shown in the App under Settings → Contact support).