Privacy Policy
Document ID: HOSTLY-PRIV-1.0.1
Version: 1.0.1
Last updated: 18 October 2026
Status: Published
Effective date: 18 October 2026.
This policy explains how Hostly handles personal information. Hostly is a trade name of Eric Cotton, Israel ("Hostly", "we", "us"). Questions: hello@hostlystay.app.
Hostly is currently offered in Israel. Before we launch in another country, we expect to update this policy with the rights that apply there.
1. Who this policy covers
This policy covers everyone who uses Hostly: guests, hosts, event organisers, people invited to an event, service providers and their clients, and anyone who contacts us.
2. Information we collect
| What | Examples |
|---|---|
| Account | Name, email, password, phone number, profile photo, area and country, language, and whether you're a guest, host, organiser or service provider |
| Profile | Bio, interests and how you're connected to other members |
| Optional preferences | Kosher or Shabbat preferences, accessibility needs, children in your group, only if you choose to share them |
| Stays | Dates, requests, booking status, house rules and stay messages |
| Homes (hosts) | Listing details and photos, approximate area, exact address and access details (see Section 6), safety and amenity information |
| Events | Events you organise or join, who has joined, and whether you've viewed, reacted to or confirmed event messages |
| Services | For providers: business details, services, prices and availability. For clients: bookings and messages, and the email address a provider used to invite you. Calendar details if a provider connects a calendar |
| Messages and reports | Messages, support requests, reviews and safety reports |
| Search history | Your recent stay searches, so you can repeat them. They are stored with your account, or on your device if you're signed out. You can clear them at any time |
| Voice typing | When you tap the microphone, your device's speech service turns your voice into text. We don't keep the audio, only the text you choose to send |
| ID number (older accounts only) | An ID or passport number, if you gave one before we stopped asking for it in October 2026. We no longer ask for it |
| Device and security | IP address, device and browser type, and sign-in activity |
No law requires you to give us information. To create an account you need to give us your name, email, a password, a profile photo, a phone number, and your area and country. Everything else is your choice, but some features don't work without it. For example, a host can't list a home without its address.
3. Why we use information
We use information to:
- create your account;
- show you matches, search results and connections;
- run stays, events, services and messages between members;
- keep Hostly safe, and prevent fraud and misuse;
- answer support requests and help resolve disputes;
- send you messages about your account, stays, events and bookings;
- send you marketing, only if you agree;
- understand how Hostly is used and improve it;
- meet our legal obligations.
We ask for your consent before sending you marketing. You choose whether to add optional details, and you can remove them at any time. You can withdraw a consent at any time (see Section 12).
4. Who we share information with
We share personal information only as described here. We do not sell personal information.
Other Hostly members. What others see depends on how you use Hostly:
- Members can find you in Find people unless you turn off "Appear in Find people" in Settings. People you're already connected with, and hosts and organisers of your stays and events, can still see your profile. Your profile photo can be opened by anyone who has its link.
- A host sees a guest's profile, stay request and messages. A guest sees a home's exact address and access details only once their stay is confirmed.
- An event organiser sees who has joined their event, whether each person has viewed, reacted to or confirmed event messages, and the availability of hosts linked to the event. Organisers may also see the stay details a guest adds for the event, such as party size, dates, rooms and beds, children's ages and accessibility needs. Organisers do not see private messages between hosts and guests, exact addresses, access details or ID documents.
- A service provider sees the name, booking details and messages of clients who book them. A provider can send you promotional announcements only if you agreed to receive them.
Companies that help us run Hostly. These providers process information on our behalf, only for the purposes shown:
| Type of provider | What they do | Information | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting and database providers | Run the website, app, database and file storage | Account, profile, listings, bookings, messages, photos, email address | EU (Ireland). The website itself is delivered through a global network |
| Email delivery providers | Send Hostly's account and notification emails | Email address, name, the notification's content | EU and/or USA |
| Email and support providers | Our inbox for questions and requests | Anything you email us | USA |
| Sign-in and security services | Optional sign-in with another account; checks that visitors are not bots | Name, email, profile picture; device and browser signals, IP address | USA / global |
| Mapping services | Maps and address search | Approximate location, addresses searched | USA / global |
| Your device's speech service | Voice typing, only when you tap the microphone | Your voice while dictating; we keep only the text you send | USA / global |
| Calendar services (only if a service provider connects one) | Sync Services appointments | Appointment times and titles | USA / global |
| Development and support tools, including AI tools | Help us build, maintain and fix Hostly | May include member information while we fix a problem | USA / global |
Our advisers. We may share information with our lawyers, accountants, auditors and other professional service providers where needed, under a duty of confidentiality.
Payments. Hostly does not take payments yet. We expect to update this policy before that changes.
Authorities. We may share information with courts, police or regulators where the law requires or allows it.
If the business changes hands. If Hostly's business is transferred, for example to a company set up to run Hostly, your information may pass to the new owner, who must continue to protect it in line with this policy.
Information stored outside Israel. Some providers above store or process information outside Israel. We transfer information abroad only as Israeli law allows.
5. Your network
Hostly works through personal networks. Other members can see how you're connected to them, but not your other contacts. You can turn off "Appear in Find people" in Settings; people you're already connected with can still see your profile. Please only invite people you know, and only share someone else's details with their permission.
6. Home addresses and location
Before a stay is confirmed, other members see only the approximate area of a home. The exact address and access details are shown only to the host, to the guest once their stay is confirmed, and to Hostly staff where needed.
7. Children
Hostly accounts are for people aged 18 and over. An adult can include children in their group, for example for a family stay or an event. We ask only for what's needed, and only if you choose to add it.
8. How matching works
Hostly suggests stays, hosts, events and services based on your preferences, area and connections. Suggestions are only suggestions: hosts, guests and organisers make their own decisions. Matching doesn't use sensitive details, such as religious practice or health, unless you chose to add them, for example accessibility needs or a kosher preference.
9. How long we keep information
We aim to keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy, or as Israeli law requires. When we no longer need it, we aim to delete it or make it anonymous.
If you delete your account. We aim to delete or anonymise your account and profile within 30 days. Some records are kept longer because the law requires it or we may need them for safety, a dispute or a legal claim. We use those records only for those reasons.
Backups. Copies may remain in our backups for a limited time before they are overwritten.
10. Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your information. No online service is completely secure. If you think your account or information has been misused, or you have found a security problem, email hello@hostlystay.app with the subject "Security".
11. Security incidents
If a security incident affects your personal information, we handle it as the law requires. Where required, this includes notifying the data protection authority in your country (in Israel, the Privacy Protection Authority) and the people affected. If there is something you can do to protect yourself, we try to let you know.
12. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- show you the information we hold about you;
- correct or delete information about you that is wrong, incomplete, unclear or out of date;
- stop sending you marketing messages;
- withdraw a consent you gave us, for example for optional profile details. This doesn't affect what we did before you withdrew it.
You can ask us to delete your account at any time, from Settings or at hostlystay.app/delete-account.html.
To make a request, email hello@hostlystay.app from the email address on your account, with the subject "Privacy request". We may ask you to confirm your identity first. We aim to reply within 30 days. If we can't do what you ask, we explain why.
If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can contact the data protection authority in your country (in Israel, the Privacy Protection Authority).
13. Cookies and marketing
We use only the cookies and similar storage needed to run Hostly, for example to keep you signed in and remember your language and recent searches. We don't use advertising cookies or tracking pixels. If we add analytics cookies, we ask you first. We send marketing only if you agree, and you can stop it at any time.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make an important change, we aim to tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
15. Contact us
Email hello@hostlystay.app. Use the subject "Privacy request" for requests about your information, or "Security" to report a security problem. Hostly is a trade name of Eric Cotton, Israel; a postal address is available on request. You can also contact the Israeli Privacy Protection Authority.