Privacy policy

Who we are and how to reach us

BesBes (بسبس) is an app and a website (besbes.app) for selling and adopting pets, a directory of vets and pet shops, lost-pet alerts and pet-care guides. BesBes is currently run by its two founders as individuals: [👤 founders' legal names], [👤 postal address], Arab Republic of Egypt. We are the "controller" of your data under the Personal Data Protection Law No. 151 of 2020 (the "Law"). When we form a company to run BesBes, it will take over this role and we will tell you in the app.

• Data protection officer: [👤 name] — privacy@besbes.app
• General support: support@besbes.app

This policy covers the BesBes app for Android and iPhone and the website besbes.app in Arabic and English.

The data we collect

We only collect what we need to run the service safely. Some data you give us; some comes from using the app.

What we don't collect: your contacts, text messages, call log, background location, voice recordings, advertising ID, bank card details or national ID number (for now).

Sponsored ads: BesBes shows a few ads that our team sells directly to pet businesses (food, clinics, shops). Each is labelled «Sponsored» and has "Why am I seeing this ad?" and "Report this ad". An ad is chosen only by where it appears and what's on the screen (the species, the governorate and the language you're looking at), never by your data, your pets or what you've done in the app. Advertisers who buy from us get nothing about you: only how many times their ad was seen and tapped, in totals. These totals are kept whether or not you turn on "Help improve BesBes", because they hold no personal data; the anonymous analytics events about ads (seen, tapped) are sent only if you turn it on.

Google ads in unsold ad spaces: when no sponsored ad was sold for a space, the same space may show an ad from Google instead — Google AdMob in the app (on Home, in the guides and at the top of the services directory) and Google AdSense on the website's guide pages — labelled «Ad · by Google». Never in reels, listings, posting, payments, chats, "Ask BesBes", Lost & Found or your account screens. To show such an ad, Google receives your IP address, device or browser information and app or page information, and may use cookies or similar identifiers to show the ad, limit how often you see it, measure it and prevent fraud. We ask Google for non-personalized ads: they are chosen by context and rough location (from the IP address), not by a profile of you. The Android app doesn't give Google your advertising ID, and the iPhone app doesn't ask to track you. Where the law requires consent (for example in the European Economic Area and the UK), Google asks you first, and only if you agree there may ads be personalized. Google is responsible for these ads and for its own use of the data (policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites).

The website keeps your language choice in your browser, and your sign-in session only if you sign in (for example, to delete your account). Apart from Google's ads on guide pages (above), we use no advertising cookies.

Why we use your data

We don't sell or rent your data or use it for targeted ads (Google may personalize its ads only if you agree in Google's own consent form, where one is shown). No automated decision affects you on its own: automatic checks help our reviewers, and a person makes the final call on sale listings.

Who sees your data and who we share it with

Everyone, including visitors: published listings with their photos, description, pet details and area, your display name, the date you joined and your verification badges; lost and found alerts with a location rounded to about 300 m (only the person who posted sees the exact spot); reviews with your display name; business pages, including any offer the business is running. Live reels with their video, caption, the pet and listing you tagged and the number of likes, also on the share page our website shows for a reel link; comments on reels with your display name; and your public profile: display name, picture, governorate, how many people you follow and follow you, and your live reels. If you share your invite link, whoever opens it sees your first name.

Signed-in users only: when a signed-in user taps "Contact" on your listing, they get a WhatsApp or call link to the contact number you chose for that listing. Visitors never see your number, and people you've blocked can't get it. Document photos (such as a vaccination card) are shown to signed-in users only.

Sellers and business owners: numbers only — how many people viewed, contacted or saved their listing or page each day, never who. A business on Business Pro also sees how many people tapped each of its buttons. When you tap "Book" on a business page, WhatsApp opens with your request (service, day and time) for you to send; the business only gets it if you send it, and we keep the tap, not what you picked.

The person who posted an alert: when you tap "I saw this pet!", we send them where and when you saw the pet and your note, without your name or number.

WhatsApp chats: once you open WhatsApp from BesBes, the conversation is covered by WhatsApp's policy, not ours.

The BesBes team: reviewers see only what they need to review listings and reports.

Service providers (they process data only for us and on our instructions):

Authorities: we disclose data when the law, a court order, the Public Prosecution or a competent authority requires it (for example the Veterinary Directorates on Law 29 of 2023 matters), or to protect a person or an animal from serious harm.

If BesBes changes hands: if a company is formed or the service moves, the data moves with it and this policy keeps applying until we tell you otherwise.

Transfers outside Egypt

Our servers and database are in the European Union (Germany), and some providers are in the United States and other countries. The Law and its Executive Regulations (Ministerial Decree No. 816 of 2025) require a licence or permit from the Personal Data Protection Center for cross-border transfers, to countries that offer adequate protection. [👤⚖️ status of our application to the Center — the lawyer sets this before publishing]. We only use providers who are contractually bound to protect data and who use encryption. By using BesBes you agree to these transfers for the purposes in this policy.

Your choices

• Analytics: off until you turn them on in Me → Privacy & data; turn them off at any time.
• Google ads: non-personalized by default. Where Google asked for your consent, change your answer at any time in Me → Privacy & data → Ad choices (app) or with Google's privacy link on the website. Google's "AdChoices" icon on each ad explains it and lets you report it.
• Notifications and "BesBes call": per phone, in Me → Notifications. When you turn off "BesBes call", we delete your approximate location at once.
• Location permission: optional. Without it, you pick your area by hand.
• Camera, photos and microphone: optional. The phone asks only when you first add a photo or tap the microphone in "Ask BesBes" (we explain why first), and you can turn them off in your phone's settings. Without them you type your questions. Only the photos you pick are uploaded. "Read answers aloud" uses your phone's own voice and sends nothing.
• Contact number: you choose it for each listing, and you can delete a listing at any time.
• Block and report: you can block any user and report any listing or review.

Your rights

Under the Law you have the right to:

1. know what data we hold about you, see it and get a copy;
2. withdraw your consent at any time (this doesn't affect what happened before);
3. correct, edit, add to or update your data;
4. have your data erased;
5. limit processing to a specific scope;
6. be told about any breach of your data;
7. object to processing or its results when it conflicts with your fundamental rights and freedoms.

How to use them: most of these rights are built into the app (edit your profile and listings, download a copy of your data, delete your account). For anything else, write to privacy@besbes.app from the e-mail address of your account. We may ask you to prove who you are. We answer as soon as we can, within the time the Law sets, free of charge. If you're not happy with our answer, you can complain to the Personal Data Protection Center.

How long we keep data

We may keep specific data longer if the law or a court requires it, and only for as long as needed.

Download your data and delete your account

• Download a copy: in the app, Me → Privacy & data → Download a copy of your data. We prepare a JSON file (encrypted in storage), notify you when it's ready, and keep it available for 7 days. One copy every 24 hours.
• Delete your account: in the app, Me → Delete account; on the web at besbes.app/delete-account; or by writing to privacy@besbes.app from your account's e-mail address. If you sign in with Apple, you confirm with Apple once more and we ask Apple to end BesBes's access to your Apple ID; we don't keep the tokens Apple gives us for this.
• What stays after deletion: payment records the law requires — what was bought, when, the amount and the payment provider's references, with nothing else about you (not even your card's last digits) — reports you filed (without your name), and the page of any business you managed (it becomes a public, unclaimed page again).

Keeping your data safe

• All connections are encrypted (HTTPS), and data is encrypted in our database and storage.
• Data export files are encrypted with a key of their own, and download links are signed and expire within 15 minutes.
• Phone verification codes are never stored, and visitors never see your number.
• Our team's access is limited to what each role needs, and admin accounts use two-step verification.
• If a breach affects your data, we notify the Personal Data Protection Center within 72 hours and you within the time the Regulations set.

No system is perfectly secure; if you notice anything suspicious, write to privacy@besbes.app straight away.

Children

BesBes accounts are for people aged 18 and over, and everyone confirms this when they sign in. Anyone can browse listings and guides without an account, and then we collect nothing that identifies them. The service is not aimed at children. If we learn that a child has made an account, we delete it. If you're a parent and think your child gave us data, write to privacy@besbes.app.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when we add services or the law changes. The date and version are at the top of the page; we tell you in the app before any significant change and ask for your consent where the change needs it.

• 0.6 (10 Oct 2026): Google ads (AdMob in the app, AdSense on guide pages) that may fill an ad space nobody bought: non-personalized by default, consent where the law requires it, "Ad choices".
• 0.5 (10 Oct 2026): sponsored ads (how they are chosen, what we count, advertisers' contact details); photos you attach to questions to "Ask BesBes" (checked automatically, sent to the AI provider, deleted with the conversation); speaking your questions (your phone turns your voice into text; we never receive audio); the camera, photos and microphone permissions.

Language and governing law

This policy is governed by the laws of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is available in Arabic and English; if they differ, the Arabic text prevails.