Privacy Policy

1Who This Privacy Policy Covers

Darija Academy is the data controller responsible for your personal data. We are based in Vienna, Austria, and provide private, live, one-on-one online lessons in Moroccan Darija, Modern Standard Arabic, and Quran with Tajweed to students of all ages worldwide. This Privacy Policy applies to darijaacademy.com and to the booking and communication channels we use to deliver our Services, as described in our Terms and Conditions.

2Information We Collect

We may collect the following information when you use our Website, book a lesson, or contact us:

• Your name.
• Your email address.
• Your phone number or WhatsApp number.
• Your country or location.
• Your lesson preferences (subject, level, preferred tutor, scheduling).
• Information you submit through contact forms, booking forms, or email.
• Payment-related information, processed securely by Stripe, our payment provider; we do not store your full card details ourselves.
• Technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, and pages visited.

If you contact us through WhatsApp, email, or a form on the Website, we also store the information you provide in that message so we can respond to you.

3How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Respond to your questions and messages.
• Process lesson bookings, payments, and class scheduling.
• Match you with the right tutor.
• Provide online lessons and customer support.
• Send booking confirmations, reminders, or class updates.
• Improve our Website and Services.
• Comply with legal, tax, or administrative obligations.

4Legal Basis for Processing

Where the GDPR or similar law applies, we process your personal data based on one or more of the following:

• Consent — for example when you opt in to marketing communications or non-essential cookies.
• Contract — the need to perform our contract with you, for example to process a booking and deliver a lesson.
• Legitimate interest — our interest in running, securing, and improving Darija Academy.
• Legal obligation — for example tax and accounting record-keeping.

5Cookies and Tracking

Our Website uses cookies and similar technologies to help the site function properly, understand how visitors use it, and improve the experience. You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where available, our cookie banner. For full details on the categories of cookies we use and how to manage your preferences, see our Cookie Policy.

6Sharing Your Information

We only share your data when necessary to run Darija Academy, such as with:

• Website hosting and infrastructure providers.
• Stripe, our payment processor, to handle bookings and payments securely.
• Email and contact-form service providers.
• Scheduling and video-call platforms used to deliver lessons.
• Other technical service providers who help us operate the Website.

These third parties are only permitted to use your data to perform services for us, and not for their own independent purposes.

7International Data Transfers

Darija Academy works with students and service providers in different countries, so your data may be processed outside your country of residence, including outside the European Economic Area. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is protected to a standard consistent with EU data protection law, such as relying on providers that offer appropriate safeguards (for example, EU Standard Contractual Clauses) where required.

8Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this Policy — generally for the duration of our relationship with you plus a reasonable period afterward for support, legal, and accounting purposes — unless a longer retention period is required by law.

9Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request deletion of your data.
• Object to or restrict certain processing.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 14. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

10Children’s Privacy

Many of our students are children, and lessons for minors are booked by a parent or legal guardian, consistent with our Terms and Conditions. We collect only the information necessary to provide the lesson and communicate with the parent or guardian, and we do not knowingly collect more personal data from children than is needed for that educational purpose.

11Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure, including using reputable, secure providers for hosting and payment processing. However, no online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and we cannot promise that data transmission over the internet will be 100% secure.

12Links to Other Websites

Our Website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those external websites, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before submitting any personal data to them.

13Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or the law, and the current Privacy Policy always governs. Any changes will be posted on this page with a new “Last updated” date; continuing to use our Website after that point means you accept the revised Policy.