Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Service, including:

• Personal Identification Information: This is information that can identify you as an individual — for example, your name, address, email address, and date of birth. We collect these when you register an account or place an order.
• Contact Data: Such as your phone number and email, which we use to communicate with you (e.g., order updates, support).
• Delivery Information: The physical delivery addresses you provide for receiving meal deliveries, and details like access instructions (e.g., gate code, reception, etc.).
• Account Credentials: If you register, we collect the username (or email) and password you choose. Passwords are stored in encrypted form.
• Demographic and Preference Information: This includes any information you volunteer about your preferences, e.g., dietary preferences, allergies, meal plan selections, and other preferences like communication language. If we ever run surveys or ask for feedback, that information is also collected.
• Payment Information: We collect transaction data when you make a purchase. This includes the date/time of purchase and amount. We do not store full credit/debit card numbers or security codes on our servers for payments; those are handled by our payment processor. We may store a payment token or card brand and last 4 digits (for reference and if you opt for auto-billing) in a secure manner, but not the sensitive data itself.
• Usage Data: We automatically collect certain information when you interact with our website:
  • Log and Device Data: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and the dates/times of access.
  • Cookies and Tracking: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons or pixels) to enhance your experience (e.g., keeping you logged in, remembering preferences) and to collect analytics on site usage. Cookies may collect information about your browsing actions and patterns. (See "Cookies and Tracking Technologies" below for more.)
• Location Information: When you provide an address for delivery, that inherently gives us location info. We do not use GPS tracking on you, but we know the general area of our customers by their addresses. If you use a mobile device, we might derive approximate location from your IP or if you explicitly allow location access for features like finding the nearest delivery slot.
• Third-Party Data: If you log in via a social media account or link your account to other services, we might receive information from those third parties as per your settings on those services. For example, if in future we enable "Sign in with Google/Facebook", we'd receive basic profile info from them with your consent.
• Publicly Shared Content: If you tag us on social media or post public reviews, we might collect that content (especially if addressing a customer service issue or to repost testimonials, with permission).

We limit our collection to what is necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. You have the option not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to register or use some features (for instance, we need an address to deliver meals, so that's mandatory).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for various legitimate business purposes, including:

• To Provide Services: Primarily, we use your information to fulfill our contract with you, i.e., to process your orders and deliver your meal plan. For example, we use your delivery address to send you meals, your contact info to send order confirmations or resolve any issues.
• Account Management: To maintain your account, authenticate you when you log in, and provide you with customer support. For instance, if you forget your password, we use your email or phone to verify your identity and reset it.
• Communication:
  • Transactional: We use your email/phone to send transactional messages: confirmations, invoices, delivery notifications, responses to inquiries, and similar service-related updates.
  • Customer Support: If you contact us with questions or requests, we will use your info to respond and resolve issues. We might also record those communications for training or future reference.
  • Marketing: With your consent, we use your contact information to send promotional communications (e.g., newsletters, special offers), tailored to your preferences where possible. You can opt out as detailed in section 5 below.
• Customization and Improvements: We may use your data and usage patterns to personalize your experience — for example, remembering your previous meal plan selections or addresses to speed up checkout. Analyzing usage data also helps us understand how customers use our website so we can improve layout, content, and features.
• Analytics: Internally, we analyze order history and website interactions to make business decisions like menu planning and identifying which features are used most. This analysis may be done with the help of third-party analytics tools, which typically provide us aggregated statistics rather than personal info tied to your name.
• Advertising: Currently, we do not host third-party ads on our site beyond our own content. We may in future use your information to form custom audiences for online advertising (e.g., using hashed email addresses to target ads on social media to existing customers). Any such practices will be done in accordance with law and platform policies, and you can opt out by adjusting your preferences or contacting us.
• Logistics and Operational Purposes: We share necessary details with our delivery partners to get the meals to you. They use your name, address, and phone to execute deliveries and may call or WhatsApp you if needed for directions. We ensure they use this info solely for delivering your orders.
• Security and Fraud Prevention: Information (especially usage and device data) may be used to protect our platform and you — for example, monitoring login locations and times to detect suspicious account access.
• Legal Compliance: We may process your personal data to comply with legal obligations, such as maintaining transaction records for audit/tax purposes or responding to government requests or lawful subpoenas. Under UAE law, e-commerce providers must retain certain data and provide information to authorities upon request.
• Research and Development: With appropriate safeguards, we might use aggregated and anonymized data for research purposes (for example, average age of our clientele, popular delivery areas, etc.) to improve our offerings. Such statistical data cannot identify you individually.
• Business Transfers: If we undergo a business transaction like a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal data might be part of the assets transferred. In such cases, we would ensure the new owner continues to respect your personal data in line with this policy or obtains your consent for any new uses.

We will not sell your personal information to third parties for their marketing independent of us. Any usage of your data is either internal, in partnership with service providers who act on our behalf, or with your consent.

3. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your information with selected third parties in the following situations and with the following safeguards:

• Within Our Organization: Your information may be accessed by our team members who need it to perform their duties (for example, our customer service team uses your profile information to assist you). All staff are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Service Providers (Processors): We use third-party companies and individuals to support our Services — they process data on our behalf and are contractually obligated to protect it and use it only for the contracted purpose. Key examples include
  • Delivery Partners: As mentioned, we give our courier or delivery service your name, address, contact number, and delivery instructions. They are obligated to use this info solely for delivering your meals and not for any marketing or other purposes.
  • Payment Processors: When you make a payment, you are effectively providing your card data to our payment gateway. They process your payment and inform us of success/failure. These payment providers are compliant with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and are not allowed to use your card info for anything except processing our charges.
  • IT and Cloud Infrastructure: Our website may be hosted on cloud servers or we might use cloud storage for data. These infrastructure providers technically have access to data stored on their equipment, but we use reputable providers with strong security. They are not allowed to access or use the data except to maintain the service.
  • Analytics and Marketing Tools: We might share some data (often anonymized or aggregated) with analytics services to understand usage. We might also use email service providers (for sending out newsletters) where we give your email and name to send the email.
  • SMS/WhatsApp Gateways: If we use a service to send bulk SMS or WhatsApp notifications, we provide your phone number and message content to that service. They are similarly obligated to only use it for sending our messages and not to retain or misuse your number.
• Advertising Partners: Currently, we do not share personal data with ad networks except possibly hashed data for custom audiences as described above. We do not give your data to other companies for them to advertise their products to you.
• Legal Requirements: We might disclose personal information if required to do so by UAE law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., law enforcement or government agencies). We will attempt to ensure any request is legally valid.
• Protecting Rights: We may disclose your information to third parties if we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person, or violations of our Terms & Conditions.
• Business Transfers: If TAAZA FOOD SERVICES FZCO is involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that deal. We would ensure the new entity continues to protect your data according to this Policy or notify you of any changes.
• With Your Consent: Apart from the cases above, we will only share your personal information with third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so. For example, if we wanted to feature your testimonial on our website, we'd ask your permission to post your name or photo.

Importantly, when we share data with third parties as described, we adhere to the principle of data minimization — we give them only what they need to perform their function. We also require any third party that processes personal data on our behalf to implement adequate security measures.

We do not sell or rent your personal data to unrelated third parties for their marketing.

4. Data Security

We implement a variety of security measures to reduce the risk of loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or alteration of your information. However, please note that no website or Internet transmission is completely secure.

Our security practices include:

• Encryption: Our website is secured via SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. When you enter personal information (like login credentials or payment data) on our site, that information is encrypted during transmission.
• Payment Security: Payments are processed by PCI-compliant providers. We do not handle raw credit card data ourselves beyond the initial entry form, which is securely transmitted. We never store your CVV code.
• Access Controls: Personal information within our organization is accessible only to those employees or contractors who require it to perform their job. Access to sensitive data is restricted and protected by authentication (passwords, two-factor where applicable).
• Secure Storage: We store your data on secure servers, using reputable hosting providers that employ strong security measures (firewalls, intrusion detection systems, etc.). Regular backups are performed but also stored securely.
• Data Minimization: We only keep data as long as necessary (see Data Retention below). When data is no longer needed, we dispose of it safely (e.g., securely erasing digital records).
• Monitoring: We monitor our systems for potential vulnerabilities and attacks, employ anti-malware tools, and regularly update our software to patch security issues.
• Third-Party Audits: Where possible, we use third-party services that have verifiable security track records. We may also periodically undergo security assessments or penetration tests on our own infrastructure.
• Incident Response: In the unlikely event of a data breach or security incident, we have a response plan in place — identifying and containing the issue, assessing scope of impact, and notifying affected users and authorities as required by law. Under UAE PDPL, for instance, we may have to notify the Data Office and possibly users if a breach poses a serious risk.

Despite all these measures, it's important you also play a role in protecting your data. Choose a strong password for our site and do not share it. Be cautious of phishing attempts — we will never ask for your password via email or unsolicited communications.

In summary, we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your personal data, but we cannot guarantee absolute security. You provide data at your own risk, understanding this context.

5. Your Rights and Choices

We want you to be in control of your personal data. Subject to UAE law and applicable regulations, you have certain rights regarding your data that we respect and uphold:

• Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how we process it. We will provide you with the data in a reasonable timeframe (usually within 30 days) as required by law.
• Correction (Rectification): If you believe any personal information we have is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct it. Many fields you can update yourself by logging in, or we'll assist.
• Deletion (Erasure): You may ask us to delete or remove your personal data in certain circumstances. However, please note we might retain certain information if we have an ongoing legitimate business need or legal obligation. Account deletion can be requested via contacting customer support.
• Restriction: You have the right to ask us to limit processing of your data in certain scenarios — for instance, if you contest the accuracy of data or object to our processing, we'll pause processing (aside from storage) until resolved.
• Withdraw Consent: If we rely on your consent for any processing (e.g., for sending marketing emails), you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
• Object to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data when we are doing so on legitimate interest grounds — for example, if you object to us using your data for direct marketing.
• Non-Discrimination: Exercising your privacy rights will not result in any discrimination or lesser service from us.
• Authorized Agents: If you want someone (e.g., an attorney or family member) to make a request on your behalf, we will need proper authorization and identification to ensure it's a legitimate request.
• Complaints: If you believe we have not complied with this Privacy Policy or your rights under applicable law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UAE Data Office or other relevant supervisory authority. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns first.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at our email or WhatsApp provided in the Contact section. We may need to verify your identity to fulfill requests. We will not charge a fee to process your request unless it is manifestly unfounded or excessive, in which case we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act on the request.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device (computer or smartphone) by websites you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the site owners. We use cookies and similar technologies for several reasons:

• Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the website to function properly — for example, keeping you logged in as you navigate pages. Without these, basic e-commerce functionality (like maintaining your cart) may not work.
• Analytics Cookies: We use these to collect information about how users interact with our site (pages visited, time spent, any errors encountered). This helps us improve our Service and user experience.
• Preference Cookies: These remember your settings and preferences, such as your language or region, so we can personalize your experience.
• Advertising and Social Media Cookies: At present, we do not have third-party ads on our site, but if we run campaigns, these cookies might be used to deliver relevant ads to you on other sites or to measure the effectiveness of our marketing. We would only use such cookies if you've permitted, as per applicable law.

Third-Party Cookies: Some cookies are placed by third parties acting on our behalf. For example, Google Analytics sets cookies to compile site usage reports. If we embed content from other platforms (like a YouTube video or Instagram feed), those platforms might set their own cookies. We do not have direct control over third-party cookies, but we do ensure that we only use reputable third-party services with their own privacy standards.

Your Choices: When you first visit our site, you will see a cookie notice or settings tool. You can choose to accept or reject certain non-essential cookies. Regardless, you can always manage cookies through your browser settings — you can typically set your browser to refuse all or some cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. Please note that if you disable or refuse cookies, some parts of our site might become inaccessible or not function properly (especially essential cookies).

Do-Not-Track Signals: Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" feature. There is currently no uniform standard for DNT signals, and as such our site does not respond differently to DNT signals. We will update our practices if an official standard is established in the future.

7. International Data Transfers

We are based in the UAE, and our primary operations and data storage are in the UAE. However, in today's digital world, some of the third-party services we use might process or store data in other countries. For example, our email service provider might route emails through servers outside the UAE, our cloud hosting might have backups or servers in multiple regions, and if you are using our service from outside the UAE, your data obviously travels internationally to reach us.

UAE Data Export Rules: The UAE Personal Data Protection Law has rules about transferring personal data outside the UAE. Generally, transfer is allowed to countries that the UAE considers as having adequate data protection, or if certain safeguards are in place, or with consent. We will monitor this and ensure compliance.

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UAE or your country of residence, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by implementing appropriate safeguards, which may include contractual clauses with service providers, reliance on recognized adequacy decisions, your consent where necessary, and encryption and other security practices during transfer and storage.

By using our Service or providing us with your information, you consent to the transfer of your data to countries which may be outside your own, including the UAE (and potentially others) for the purposes described. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

8. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

• Active Account Data: If you have an account or active subscription, we retain your data for as long as your account exists or as long as needed to provide you services.
• Inactive Accounts: If you cease using our service or request account deletion, we will either delete or anonymize your personal data, or if that's not immediately feasible (e.g., stored in backups), we will securely store your data and isolate it from further processing until deletion is possible.
• Legally Required Retention: Certain information we may need to keep for legal obligations — for instance, UAE law might require retaining transaction records and invoices for a number of years for audit/tax purposes.
• Marketing Data: If you have opted into marketing communications, we retain your contact details for that purpose until you opt out. If you opt out, we may still keep your contact info on a suppression list to ensure we don't accidentally send you marketing.
• Backups: If we delete data from live systems, it may remain in encrypted backups for a period until those backups expire and are overwritten.
• Anonymized Data: In some cases, we may convert your personal data into statistical or aggregated form that cannot be linked back to you. We may retain anonymized data indefinitely for research and analysis without further notice, since it no longer constitutes personal data.

In summary: we keep your data only as long as necessary. The exact duration varies by data type and purpose, but we apply criteria in line with legal requirements and business necessity.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website and Services are not intended for children under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you are under 18, do not use or provide any information on this site or on/through any of its features, and do not place orders.

If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal data from someone under 18, we will delete that information promptly. Parents or legal guardians: if you discover that your under-18 child has created an account or provided us personal info without your consent, please contact us and we will take steps to remove that data and (if applicable) terminate the child's account.

Note: We deliver food, so conceivably a parent could order on behalf of their family including children. That's fine, but the account holder must be an adult. Any information about family members is provided by the adult in charge and we treat it as part of the adult's account.

10. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by TAAZA FOOD SERVICES FZCO — for example, our social media pages, partner references, payment gateway pages, or embedded map integrations for address autofill.

This Privacy Policy applies solely to data we collect and process. If you click a third-party link or otherwise leave our site for another site/service, their privacy policy will apply, and we are not responsible for their content or practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site or service you visit.

We do not sell or share your personal data with third-party websites for their independent purposes, but if you interact with third parties through our Service, the information you provide to them is at your own risk and subject to whatever terms they have.

11. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or other operational reasons. We will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent. When we make a significant change, we will let you know:

• Posting on Website: We will post the updated Policy on this page with a new "Last updated" date.
• Notification: If changes are material, we may also provide a more prominent notice — for example, a banner on our website, or an email/WhatsApp notification.
• Effective Date: Changes will become effective when posted unless stated otherwise. If you continue to use the Service after the effective date, it means you accept the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you should stop using the Service and can request deletion of your data.

We encourage you to review this page periodically for the latest information on our privacy practices. For any substantial changes, we'll also archive previous versions of this Privacy Policy so you can see what's different.

12. Contact Us (Privacy Queries)

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data handling practices, or if you wish to exercise your rights regarding your personal data, please contact us:

We will address your inquiry as promptly as possible, typically within 30 days or sooner for standard requests. We might need to verify your identity for certain requests to protect your data from unauthorized access.

Thank you for trusting TAAZA FOOD SERVICES FZCO with your meals and your personal data. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy while providing you delicious and convenient meal services!