Privacy Policy

1. What we collect

Information you give us: your name, email, phone number, password (stored only in scrambled form), profile details, booking details, messages with hosts or guests, reviews, and anything you send our help team.

Hosts and owners also give us property addresses, photos, prices, tax and payout details (such as a tax ID or bank account). Tax IDs and bank numbers are stored encrypted and shown only in masked form.

Information collected automatically: device and browser type, pages viewed, approximate location from your IP address, and cookies that keep you signed in and remember your choices.

Payment card details are collected directly by our payment processor. We see only limited details such as the card brand and last four digits.

2. How we use it

To create and secure your account (including two-step sign-in if you turn it on), to run bookings and payments, to send confirmations, reminders and check-in details, to let guests and hosts message each other, to pay hosts and owners, to collect and file taxes, to prevent fraud and misuse, to answer support requests, and to improve the platform.

We send marketing emails only if you have agreed to receive them, and every one has an unsubscribe link.

3. Who we share it with

With the other side of a booking: hosts see the guest's name, contact details and trip details they need to host the stay; guests see the host's name and, close to arrival, the address and check-in details.

With a host's team members and cleaners, only what they need to prepare the home. Property owners see booking dates and amounts for their homes, not guests' contact details.

With service providers that run parts of the platform for us, such as hosting, database, payments, email and text-message delivery, maps and smart-lock providers. They may use the data only to provide their service to us.

With tax authorities, courts or police when the law requires it, and with a buyer if our business is sold (they must keep this policy's promises).

We do not sell your personal information.

4. How long we keep it

We keep account information while your account is open. We keep booking, payment and tax records for as long as tax and accounting laws require (usually up to 7 years). Messages are kept while either party's account is open, unless the law requires otherwise.

5. Your choices and rights

You can see and update most of your information in your account settings. You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, or to delete your account by contacting us; some records may need to be kept for legal reasons.

You can turn off non-essential emails at any time. You can block cookies in your browser, but you may then not be able to stay signed in.

6. Security

We use encryption in transit, encrypted storage for the most sensitive fields, access controls so each person sees only what they need, and optional two-step sign-in. No system is perfectly secure; tell us right away if you think your account has been misused.

7. Children

Hostara is not for children under 18 and we do not knowingly collect their information.

8. Changes and contact

We will post any changes here and tell you about important ones. Questions about privacy can be sent through the Help page.