Privacy Policy
last updated: october 26, 2026
at Ouidah Origins, we believe privacy is a right, not a luxury. this policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data.
what we collect
information you provide
when you use our contact form ("send a missive") or our concierge service, we collect:
- Your name
- Email address
- intent/reason for contact (return to roots, cultural discovery, visit, group, partnership)
- optional message content
- for a concierge request: phone number, travel dates, project details (e.g. genealogy research, itinerary) and payment information where applicable
automatically collected information
we collect minimal technical data:
- audience measurement: page views, browser and device type, country, via Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC), with cookies only if you accept in the banner; if you refuse, no cookie is set and Google only receives anonymous signals, with no identifier, to estimate overall traffic; visits are also counted by Umami, a self-hosted tool with no cookies or identifying data; your choice is kept for up to 13 months
- PWA cache: offline content stored locally on your device (you control this)
- theme preference: day/night mode saved in browser localStorage
Note
we do NOT use:
how we use your data
we use collected information solely for:
communication: responding to your inquiries via the contact form
site improvement: understanding which content resonates (aggregate data only)
technical maintenance: ensuring the PWA and offline features work correctly
we never sell or rent your personal information. it is shared only with the technical providers necessary to operate the service (hosting, email, request management — see "third-party services" below), or as required by law.
data storage & security
Email Provider
contact notifications are sent by email through our mail service (gmail, google llc).
retention of contact requests
information submitted through our contact form or concierge service (name, email, intent, message, and project details where applicable) is stored in a secured google sheets spreadsheet and in the network’s administration tool (database hosted on our own server, hostinger, lithuania, european union; backup copies at cloudflare, inc., r2 storage in the european union jurisdiction, covered by the provider’s data processing agreement), used to follow up on your request and manage our business relationship. this data is kept for 3 years from your last contact with us, then deleted, unless a longer legal retention period applies (notably for accounting purposes on paid services). you may request its deletion at any time (see "your rights" below).
PWA/Offline Storage
content cached for offline use is stored locally on your device via service workers. you can clear this at any time through your browser settings.
Security Measures
- HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
- restricted access to stored data, limited to people handling your request
- regular security audits of dependencies
Passing your request to a property
when you request a stay and tick the transfer box, we send your name, e-mail address, dates, number of travellers and message to the property you chose, so that it can reply to you directly. these properties are located in benin, a country the european union does not recognise as offering an equivalent level of data protection: the transfer therefore relies on your explicit consent (box not pre-ticked; the version of the text and the date are kept). without it, nothing is passed on. the property uses this data under its own responsibility, to answer you and organise your stay; to exercise your rights with it, contact it directly.
Third-Party Services
we use the following external services:
- hostinger – site hosting and administration tool database (server located in lithuania, european union); cloudflare, inc. – backup copies of that database (r2 storage in the european union jurisdiction, provider’s data processing agreement)
- gmail (google llc) – email delivery
- google sheets – storage of contact and concierge requests (governed by Google's privacy policy)
- google fonts – typography (self-hosted to avoid tracking)
- carto – base maps of the mapping pages: your browser contacts their servers, which gives them your ip address
- cloudinary – delivery of some article images: your browser contacts their servers, which gives them your ip address
we choose vendors who respect user privacy. no service has unrestricted access to user data.
Children's Privacy
this site is intended for general audiences. we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. if you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.
Your Rights
under GDPR and similar privacy laws, you have the right to:
Erase my data
You can request deletion of the profile and identifiers tied to this device at any time. This is immediate and irreversible.
Questions?
if you have questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please reach out.