Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 24, 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how CiaoCity collects, uses, stores, protects and otherwise processes personal information when you visit or use the CiaoCity website, digital platform, mobile applications when available, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

CiaoCity is a digital city guide and travel platform designed to help travelers discover destinations, access local information and find independent local service providers, including guides, translators, photographers, drivers and other professionals.

This Privacy Policy applies to website visitors, registered users, travelers, professionals and other individuals who interact with the Service.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect information that you provide directly to us, information generated through your use of the Service and information received from certain third-party services.

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • WhatsApp number or other contact information
  • Country of residence
  • City or destination
  • User role, such as traveler or professional
  • Professional service category
  • Languages spoken
  • Professional description
  • Profile information
  • Professional listing information
  • Messages and inquiries
  • Reviews and user-generated content
  • Information submitted through forms

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

  • IP address
  • Browser type and version
  • Device type
  • Operating system
  • Language and regional settings
  • Approximate location information
  • Pages visited
  • Referring websites
  • Date and time of access
  • Technical and diagnostic information
  • Security and server logs
  • Cookie and similar technology information

3. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

  • Operate and maintain the Service
  • Create and manage user accounts
  • Provide requested functionality
  • Facilitate connections between travelers and professionals
  • Display professional listings
  • Respond to inquiries
  • Provide customer support
  • Improve destination guides and content
  • Improve website functionality and performance
  • Understand how users interact with the Service
  • Detect fraud, abuse and automated attacks
  • Protect the security of the Service
  • Measure website performance
  • Display advertising where applicable
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Establish, exercise or defend legal claims

4. Legal Bases for Processing

Where the EU GDPR, UK GDPR or another applicable data protection law requires a lawful basis for processing, we may rely on:

  • Performance of a contract where processing is necessary to provide an account or requested Service.
  • Legitimate interests including service administration, security, fraud prevention, improvement and protection of legal interests.
  • Consent where consent is legally required, including certain analytics, advertising and cookie processing.
  • Legal obligations where processing is necessary to comply with applicable law.

5. Applicable Data Protection Laws

Depending on your location, the nature of your interaction with CiaoCity and the circumstances of the processing, your personal information may be protected by different privacy and data protection laws.

These may include, where applicable, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the UK Data Protection Act 2018, the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK), and applicable United States federal and state privacy laws.

6. European Union and EEA — EU GDPR

Where the EU GDPR applies, CiaoCity processes personal data in accordance with applicable data protection principles and requirements.

Individuals may have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection, data portability and withdrawal of consent where applicable.

7. United Kingdom — UK GDPR

Where the UK GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018 apply, CiaoCity processes personal information in accordance with applicable requirements.

Individuals in the United Kingdom may have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, data portability and withdrawal of consent where applicable.

8. Türkiye — KVKK

Where the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK) applies, CiaoCity processes personal data in accordance with applicable Turkish data protection requirements.

Depending on the circumstances, individuals may have rights concerning access to personal data, information about processing, correction, deletion or destruction where legally applicable, objection and other rights provided under KVKK.

9. United States Privacy Laws

CiaoCity may be accessed by individuals located in the United States. United States privacy requirements vary between states and may apply depending on the user's location, the nature of processing and applicable statutory thresholds.

Where applicable, CiaoCity will provide rights and protections required by relevant United States privacy laws.

Depending on the applicable law, these rights may include access, correction, deletion, opt-out rights and other applicable privacy rights.

10. Professional Listings

CiaoCity may allow independent professionals to create public profiles or service listings.

Information intentionally submitted for public display may be visible to travelers and other visitors.

Public information may include a professional's name, service category, destination, languages, description, profile image and other information voluntarily submitted for publication.

11. Traveler and Professional Communications

CiaoCity may facilitate communication or introductions between travelers and independent service providers.

Depending on the available functionality, communication may take place through CiaoCity, email, WhatsApp or other third-party communication services.

Once you communicate directly with a third party, that party may independently process information you provide to them. Such processing is subject to the third party's own privacy practices.

12. Cookies and Similar Technologies

CiaoCity may use cookies, local storage, pixels, tags and similar technologies for functionality, security, analytics and advertising.

These technologies may be used to remember preferences, maintain sessions, measure website usage, improve performance, detect security threats and support advertising.

Where consent is required by applicable law, non-essential cookies and similar technologies will be activated only after the appropriate consent has been obtained.

13. Google Analytics

CiaoCity may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with the Service and to measure website performance.

Depending on configuration, analytics technologies may process information such as pages viewed, traffic sources, device information, approximate geographic information, interactions and technical information.

Where legally required, analytics cookies and similar technologies will be used only after the applicable consent has been obtained.

14. Google Search Console

CiaoCity may use Google Search Console for website administration, technical optimization, indexing monitoring and search visibility.

Search Console may provide information relating to search performance, indexing, search queries, technical errors and website visibility in search results.

15. Google AdSense and Advertising

CiaoCity may display advertisements through Google AdSense and other advertising providers.

Depending on the user's location, device, consent choices and applicable law, advertising technologies may process information relating to browsers, devices, cookies, advertising identifiers and interactions with advertisements.

Personalized advertising will be used only where permitted by applicable law and, where required, following appropriate consent.

16. Cloudflare and Security Services

CiaoCity may use Cloudflare and similar infrastructure and security services for DNS, content delivery, caching, traffic management, DDoS protection, bot protection, security monitoring and other technical functions.

These services may process technical information such as IP addresses, request information, browser and device information, security signals and network logs for infrastructure and security purposes.

17. Other Third-Party Service Providers

CiaoCity may use third-party providers for:

  • Website hosting
  • Cloud infrastructure
  • Database services
  • Authentication
  • Email delivery
  • Analytics
  • Advertising
  • Security and monitoring
  • Content delivery
  • Customer support
  • Communication services

Such providers may process personal information as reasonably necessary to provide their services and subject to applicable contractual, technical and organizational safeguards.

18. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell personal information.

Personal information may be disclosed where reasonably necessary to:

  • Provide the Service
  • Facilitate requested connections
  • Operate infrastructure
  • Provide security and technical services
  • Provide analytics and advertising where applicable
  • Comply with applicable law
  • Protect the Service and its users
  • Establish, exercise or defend legal claims
  • Complete a merger, acquisition or business transfer

19. International Data Transfers

CiaoCity operates online and may use service providers located in different countries.

Personal information may therefore be processed outside the country in which you reside, including outside the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom.

Where required by applicable law, appropriate safeguards may include adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses, UK-approved transfer mechanisms or other legally recognized safeguards.

20. Data Retention and Security

Personal information is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including providing the Service, maintaining records, complying with legal obligations, resolving disputes and protecting legal interests.

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Security measures may include access controls, authentication, encryption where appropriate, monitoring, network protection, backups and other security controls.

No method of transmission or storage over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

21. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights including:

  • Access to your personal information
  • Correction of inaccurate information
  • Deletion of personal information
  • Restriction of certain processing
  • Objection to certain processing
  • Data portability
  • Withdrawal of consent where applicable
  • Opt-out rights under applicable US state laws
  • The right to lodge a complaint with a competent authority

These rights are subject to applicable legal limitations, exemptions and verification requirements.

To exercise your rights, contact us using the contact information provided in Section 26.

22. Children

CiaoCity does not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children where parental consent is required by applicable law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information in circumstances where such collection was not permitted, please contact us.

23. Third-Party Websites and Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, applications, maps, communication platforms, social media services and other external services.

We do not control third-party privacy practices. Third-party services may operate under their own privacy policies and terms.

24. Legal and Regulatory Requests

We may process or disclose information where reasonably necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, lawful governmental requests or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

25. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, technology, legal requirements or processing practices.

The revised version will be published on this page with an updated effective date.

26. Contact Us

Questions concerning this Privacy Policy, personal information or privacy rights may be submitted to us. CiaoCity operates within the European Union.

Within the scope of the above, you may send all your requests regarding your personal data to our e-mail address.