Hostshare Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated
Oct 20, 2023

Hostshare Privacy Policy

Who are we? 🏡

We are Hostshare (Hostshare LLC) (‘Hostshare’, ‘we’ or ‘us’) and operate under the name of Hostshare.

We’re committed to safeguarding your privacy. It's essential to us that this privacy policy (‘Privacy Policy’) is not just legal jargon but a document that's clear and understandable.

If you have any questions about your data or our privacy practices, please email us at [email protected].

How often does this change? 🖐

As Hostshare evolves and expands, this Privacy Policy might undergo modifications. Should there be any changes, we will keep you informed by sending an email or by prominently displaying a notice on our website. Additionally, we will update the date and version number at the beginning of this policy.

Minor alterations or clarifications take effect right away. However, any significant changes will be implemented 30 days after we've provided notice.

How does this policy apply? 😬

This Privacy Policy pertains to the data we gather through our Hostshare platform (referred to as the ‘Services’). By "data," we are referring to any piece of information that can either identify you or be used to identify you.

Children's Privacy

Hostshare's Services are not designed for children under the age of 13 (“Children”).

We intentionally avoid collecting personally identifiable information from Children under 13. Should you come to know that a Child has shared their Personal Data with us, please reach out to us. If it comes to our attention that we have inadvertently obtained Personal Data from Children without appropriate parental consent, we will act promptly to eliminate that data from our servers.

The information we hold about you 👀

We collect the following types of data:

Information you submit through our website

When you create an account with us or sign up to our waitlist and provide details such as your name,  e-mail address, phone number, and address. We’ll only use this information in strict accordance with the law.

Details about how you use our Services

Details we collect about how you use or navigate within the mobile app, website, and other parts of our Services.

Details about your transactions with us

This includes any order history and subscription transactions on your account.

Information on how you use your computer

The browser you use, your IP address or operating system.Information from online accountsInformation and data from any accounts that you share with us, including your access credentials for those accounts.

Cookie information

Read our Cookie Policy below for more info on what cookies are and how we use them.

Who we share it with 🤝

At Hostshare, your data's confidentiality is paramount. However, there are circumstances where we might share your data:

  • Hostshare Team Members: This encompasses anyone who is part of our operational process, including our full-time employees, part-timers, and contractors, provided they need the data to perform their tasks.
  • Supportive Third-Party Services: Only when essential to ensure the seamless operation of the Services you enjoy. This includes:
  • Customer interaction platforms, such as those powering our chat support.
  • Database managers, cloud storage providers, and email/SMS communication services.
  • Marketing collaborators, but rest assured, identifiable personal data is never shared for third-party direct marketing without your consent. You're always free to opt out.
  • Legal Authorities: Especially those involved in counter-terrorism activities.
  • Explicit Permissions: Any other entity or individual that you've explicitly permitted us to share your data with.

How long we keep it 📁

Your Personal Data's safety is a priority. We retain this data only as long as it serves the purposes highlighted in this Privacy Policy. This might include compliance with legal obligations, settling disputes, or upholding our agreements and regulations.

Moreover, we hold onto Usage Data for analytical insights. Typically, this data is kept for a briefer period unless it's pivotal to enhance our Service's security and functionality or when legal bindings mandate longer retention.

Your rights ✅

Your privacy is of utmost importance at Hostshare. Therefore, you possess the right to:

  • View and Obtain: Access your data or request a duplicate of the information we possess.
  • Modify: Instruct us to rectify or update any incorrect or outdated data about you.
  • Erase or Suppress: Ask us to delete, block, or suppress your data. However, legal bindings may occasionally prevent us from fulfilling this.
  • Voice Concerns: Object to specific uses of your data, like direct marketing or for research/statistical agendas.
  • Data Portability: Request that we transfer your data either to you or another third party of your choice.
  • Withdraw Consent: At any given moment, you're free to withdraw any prior permissions you've granted us.

Third party services 💳

Hostshare partners with several third-party service providers to enhance and streamline our services for you. Here's a brief overview of how we integrate with some of the key players:

  • Stripe: We use Stripe as our primary payment processing platform. Stripe manages transactional details and ensures secure payment processing. When you make a payment or receive one through Hostshare, you are also agreeing to Stripe's terms of service and privacy policy.
  • Google: We integrate with Google services for functionalities like maps, analytics, and user authentication. This assists us in offering geolocation features, understanding user behavior, and facilitating smoother logins.
  • Airbnb & VRBO: As platforms that share our space in the home-sharing and rental market, we have built integrations with Airbnb and VRBO. These integrations allow users to sync their listings, availabilities, and more between platforms, making it easier to manage multiple rental spaces.
  • Other API Integrations: From time to time, we may also integrate with other platforms to provide added functionality and services to our users.

By using Hostshare, you acknowledge and grant permission for Hostshare to access, transmit, and store your personal information with these third-party services as required to offer our services. The handling and processing of your data by these third parties are governed by their respective privacy policies, which we recommend you review.

Security 🔒

Your data's safety remains a top priority for Hostshare. When you input sensitive details, such as credit card numbers, we employ secure socket layer technology (SSL) to encrypt this information, ensuring it remains confidential.

We've adopted advanced security measures to shield your data from unintended loss, unauthorized access or use, modification, or disclosure. Access within Hostshare to your data is stringently controlled. Only those within our team, our agents, contractors, and certain third parties with a valid business justification can access it. Such individuals only process your personal data according to our directives and are bound by stringent confidentiality agreements.

Cookie Policy 🍪

As with many websites and applications, Hostshare utilizes cookies. By using the Hostshare platform, both our website and app, you signify your acceptance of our use of cookies, as elaborated in this Cookie Policy.

What are cookies and how do they benefit you?

Imagine cookies as virtual bookmarks. Each time you access a platform, it places this bookmark on you. This allows platforms like Hostshare to track your visits, gauge the time you’ve spent, and monitor your activities. Such tracking helps us tailor our content to your preferences, offering a more personalized experience based on the information you’ve shared or content you’ve browsed. Depending on the type of cookie, they might be stored for a few minutes or last up to two years.

Rest assured, cookies do not store sensitive financial information, such as your bank or card details.

Different types of cookies we use
  • Session and Persistent Cookies: These are essential for tracking your activities during a specific visit. Session cookies provide insights into areas of interest and assist us in enhancing our platform. Persistent cookies, on the other hand, remember you upon your return, allowing us to display content tailored to your preferences.
  • Third-party Cookies: These cookies, managed by third-party platforms (like Facebook or Twitter), help us gauge the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. They share your browser ID with third parties, enabling them to display customized advertisements on their platforms based on your browsing habits.
Managing your cookie preferences

You hold the power to enable or disable cookies. The method for managing cookies is generally found within your browser’s settings or its 'Help' section. If you require assistance, consider searching for “How to manage cookies in [your browser name]”.

Do note, if you choose to disable cookies, you can still use Hostshare. However, the advertisements you encounter might be more generic, lacking the personal touch tailored to your preferences.

Additional Disclosures for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance (EU) 🇪🇺

Data Controller / Data Processor

Under the GDPR, a distinction is made between "data controllers" (entities that define how and why personal data is processed) and "data processors" (entities that process data on behalf of data controllers). Hostshare operates as both a Data Controller and a Data Processor depending on the context of the personal data in question.

Legal Grounds for Processing Your Data

Your data will only be processed when there's a legitimate legal basis for it. We ensure that your data is always processed lawfully, transparently, and fairly. The grounds for our data processing include:

  • Consent: We might process your data because you've given us explicit permission to use your information for a specific reason.
  • Contractual Obligations: Sometimes, we need to use your data to fulfill our contractual obligations.
  • Legitimate Interests: In some situations, we require your data for our legitimate interests, such as website analytics, business operations, or service improvement.
  • Legal Compliance: If the law mandates, we might need to collect or share your data.
International Transfers

When transferring personal data out of the European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure that the data is treated securely and in line with this privacy policy. We utilize mechanisms like standard data protection clauses approved by the EU Commission to ensure proper safeguards.

Your Rights under GDPR

You're entitled to several rights under the GDPR:

  • Access: You can request copies of your personal data.
  • Correction: You can request rectification of any inaccurate personal data about you.
  • Erasure: Under specific circumstances, you can request the deletion of your personal data.
  • Restriction: You may have the right to prevent or limit processing of your personal data.
  • Objection: You can object to our processing of your personal data based on our legitimate interests.
  • Data Portability: If you wish, we can transfer your data to another organization or directly to you.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us. Furthermore, if you have given consent for data processing, you can withdraw it at any time. This won't affect data processing that has already taken place.

Lastly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you feel your rights have been violated.

Data Security

Your personal data's security is paramount. We have put robust measures in place to prevent your personal data from being accidentally accessed, used, lost, or disclosed in unauthorized ways. We also have procedures to manage any suspected data breach, and we will inform you and any applicable regulators in such an event, where we are legally required to do so.

Remember that the transmission of data over the internet is never completely secure. Although we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to our website. Any transmission is at your own risk.

Additional Disclosures for California Compliance (US) 🐻

Your California Privacy Rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, commonly known as the "Shine the Light" law, allows California residents who have an established business relationship with us, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, to request information regarding our disclosure of certain categories of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

To request this information, please contact us with “Request for California privacy information” in the subject line. This request can be made once a calendar year. We will provide a list of the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year, as well as the names and addresses of the third parties that received such information. However, not all personal data shared in this manner is covered by the "Shine the Light" requirements.

Do Not Track

Certain web browsers have a "Do Not Track" feature which, when turned on, signals to websites and online services that you do not wish to be tracked. Presently, we do not respond to such "Do Not Track" signals.

Cookies and Pixels

Our website may utilize cookies, pixel tags, and other tracking technologies. You have the choice to decline these cookies if your browser allows, but doing so might affect your online experience. For more details, please refer to the Cookies section in our privacy policy.

CCPA Financial Incentives

In line with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), we might provide financial incentives, in the form of price or service differences, which are directly linked to the value of your personal information. Any such incentive would be presented with clear terms, and your participation would require your prior consent, which can be revoked at any time.

California Notice of Collection

Over the past year, we have gathered the following categories of personal information as detailed in the CCPA:

  • Personal details like billing and shipping address, credit card information.
  • Demographics such as age, gender, which might fall under protected categories under other laws.
  • Commercial data like purchase history.
  • Inferences about your interests, preferences, and favorites.

For an exhaustive breakdown of the types of information we collect and its sources, please refer to the “Information We Collect” section of our privacy policy.

Right to Know and Delete

If you're a resident of California, you're entitled to specific information about our data practices in the last 12 months and can request the deletion of your personal data. More specifically:

  • The types of personal data we have collected about you.
  • The sources of said data.
  • The business reason for collecting or selling the data.
  • Categories of personal data sold or disclosed for business.
  • Categories of third parties with whom this data was shared.

To exercise these rights, reach out to us using the provided contact details.

Shine the Light

California residents, besides the rights already mentioned, can ask for details about how we share certain categories of personal data as specified by California's “Shine the Light” law. This pertains to sharing with third parties and affiliates for their direct marketing.

To request this information, use our contact details and mention “California Privacy Rights Request” at the start of your message. Ensure you provide your name, address, city, state, and ZIP code.

How to Make a Complaint 😔

We sincerely regret any inconvenience you may have experienced. At HostShare.co, our primary goal is to ensure our users are always satisfied with our services. If you believe there's an area where we can improve or if you have specific concerns, please let us know.

To lodge a complaint:

  1. Email Us: Please reach out to us at [email protected]. Provide detailed information about your complaint, including any steps leading to your concern, the specific issue, and what you'd like us to do to address it.
  2. Our Commitment: After receiving your complaint, we'll acknowledge it within a reasonable timeframe. We'll then investigate the matter thoroughly and strive to provide a resolution as quickly as possible.
  3. Feedback: Your feedback is essential. It not only helps us address immediate issues but also assists in the continual improvement of our services.

Questions? 📝

If you have questions or need clarification about our Privacy Policy or any of our practices, please don't hesitate to contact us. Our commitment is to keep you informed and comfortable with our operations.

Contact Us:

Email: [email protected]

Your trust is paramount to us, and our team is always here to address any concerns or queries you might have.