Privacy Policy

Shama Institute for Cultural Exchange ("Shama," "we," "us," or "our") provides language-learning and cultural-exchange services through our website and related online channels.

We may collect the following types of information:

• Information you provide directly, such as your name, email address, phone number, language interests, level, availability, message content, booking details, and any profile information you submit.
• Account information, such as login credentials and preferences if you create an account.
• Payment-related information, such as the fact that a payment was made, the amount, the date, and the selected payment method. We normally do not store full card numbers ourselves; those are handled by third-party payment providers such as Visa, PayPal, or Stripe.
• Tutor or service information, such as tutor profiles, booking history, lesson notes, and communication between you and us related to scheduling and support.
• Information collected automatically, such as IP address, device type, browser type, pages visited, referring pages, timestamps, and cookie or analytics data.
• Information from third parties, such as payment confirmations, fraud-prevention signals, or data you choose to share with us from connected services.

We use personal information to:

• Create and manage accounts.
• Match learners with suitable tutors.
• Process bookings, payments, refunds, and scheduling.
• Provide lesson confirmations, reminders, support, and service updates.
• Improve the website, user experience, and service quality.
• Monitor security, prevent fraud, and protect our users and platform.
• Send service-related messages and, where permitted, marketing messages.
• Comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations.
• Handle disputes, complaints, and requests.

Where applicable, we rely on one or more of the following grounds to process personal information: performance of a contract, your consent, our legitimate interests, compliance with a legal obligation, and other grounds permitted under applicable law.

If we ask for your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

We may share personal information with:

• Tutors or service providers assigned to your booking.
• Payment processors and financial service providers.
• Hosting, email, analytics, customer-support, and security providers.
• Professional advisers, auditors, and legal or tax advisers.
• Authorities, regulators, or other third parties when required by law or to protect our rights, users, or services.

Because we use online tools and service providers that may operate in different countries, your information may be transferred outside your country of residence. Where required, we take reasonable steps to use lawful transfer mechanisms and appropriate safeguards.

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working, remember preferences, measure performance, and understand how people use the website. Some cookies are necessary; others may require your choice or consent depending on the law and the setting used.

You can control cookies through your browser settings and, where available, our cookie banner or preferences tool.

We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer period is required or allowed by law. Retention periods may vary depending on account status, booking history, tax records, dispute handling, and security requirements.

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect personal information. No online system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain processing, and the right to request portability of some data. You may also have the right to withdraw consent and to complain to a data protection authority where available.

You can also opt out of non-essential marketing messages using the unsubscribe link or by contacting us directly.

Our website is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without appropriate authorization. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact us so we can review and take appropriate action.

Our website may link to third-party services, including payment processors, social media platforms, and scheduling or communication tools. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this one.

We may update this policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Continued use of the website after an update means you accept the revised policy.

If you have questions or privacy requests, contact us at hello@shama.institute.

Mailing location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.