Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The Voyage Co (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, how we protect it, and your rights.

This Privacy Policy applies to travellers, local experts (“locals”), and anyone using our platform, specifically users of www.thevoyage.co (the “Site”), other services, or when you otherwise interact with us.

We may update this policy at any given time and such changes will become effective immediately. We recommend reviewing the Privacy Policy regularly.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please send an email to support@thevoyage.co.

2. Our Role as a Platform

The Voyage Co is an online platform that connects travellers with vetted locals who provide personalised travel advice, tips, guidance and recommendations.

Local experts operate independently. We facilitate introductions, communication and payment processing, but we do not own or control the advice shared between users.

We collect and process personal data to operate this marketplace safely and effectively.

3. Information We Collect

A. Information You Provide

For Travellers:

• Name
• Email address
• Travel preferences (optional — if provided)
• Travel dates (optional — if provided)
• Messages exchanged with locals
• Payment information at checkout

For Locals:

• Name
• Email address
• City of operation
• “About Me” information
• Profile photos and optional video
• Phone number (if opting into SMS notifications)
• Identity verification documents (see below)

B. Identity Verification (Locals)

To maintain trust and safety on the platform, we verify the identity of local experts before they can be considered available for bookings.

If requested:

• Identity documents are submitted securely
• Access to documents is restricted only to roles required to conduct vetting
• Two-factor authentication is enabled
• Any ID documents are deleted from the system within 7 days after the ID verification check is completed. We do not permanently store identity documents.

C. Communications and Content

We store:

• Messages exchanged through the platform
• Booking details
• Personal traveller preferences and travel dates
• Call scheduling information

Video calls may be recorded only if the local expert chooses to record and all participants are notified in advance. Recordings are stored by our third-party video provider (Cal.com). We do not download or store local copies.

D. Payment Information

Payments are processed through Stripe, our secure third-party payment provider. We do not store full credit card details on our servers.

As part of operating a marketplace:

• Traveller payments may be held temporarily before distribution
• Funds are distributed to locals minus our commission

We retain all transaction records as required for legal, accounting and tax purposes.

E. Automatically Collected Information

When you use our website, we may collect:

• IP address
• Device and browser type
• Usage data and pages visited
• Cookies and similar technologies

We use PostHog for product analytics to understand how users interact with our platform. PostHog may set cookies to track usage sessions. Cal.com is used for booking and scheduling. Stripe is used for payment processing. Each of these services may set their own cookies — please refer to their respective privacy policies for details.

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our platform.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal data to:

• Facilitate bookings between travellers and locals
• Process payments
• Provide customer support
• Monitor communications for safety and fraud prevention
• Resolve disputes
• Improve our services
• Send marketing communications (where you have opted in)
• Comply with legal obligations

5. Monitoring and Platform Safety

To maintain a trusted environment:

• Communications may be reviewed manually by authorised team members
• Monitoring may occur proactively or if a conversation is flagged. This is done for safety, fraud prevention and dispute resolution.
• We may introduce automated tools in the future to support these safety measures. Any such use will be transparently disclosed.

6. Sensitive Personal Data

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal data (such as health or religious information). If travellers or locals choose to share sensitive information with each other, they do so at their own discretion.

7. Marketing Communications

We may send marketing emails to travellers and locals. Either party can unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in the emails or by contacting us. We do not sell personal data or email lists.

8. International Data Transfers

Because we operate globally, your data may be processed or stored outside your home country, including in Australia, the United States (where some of our service providers are based), and the European Economic Area.

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the use of Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or reliance on service providers who participate in recognised data protection frameworks.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal data:

• For as long as your account remains active
• As necessary to provide our services
• As required by law for financial and accounting records
• To resolve disputes or enforce our agreements

You may request deletion of your account at any time by contacting support@thevoyage.co. We will delete identity verification documents after verification is complete.

10. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach. Where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will also notify you directly.

11. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion
• Restrict processing
• Object to processing
• Data portability
• Withdraw consent (for example, marketing or call recordings)
• Lodge a complaint with a data protection authority

For users in the European Economic Area, your supervisory authority can be found at edpb.europa.eu.

To exercise your rights, contact: support@thevoyage.co

12. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including:

• Restricted access to sensitive information
• Secure cloud infrastructure
• Two-factor authentication for administrative access
• Secure payment processing via Stripe

However, no system can guarantee absolute security.

13. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact:

The Voyage Co
Sydney, Australia
Email: support@thevoyage.co