Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 26th, 2026

Kizomba Foundations ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information when you use our website and the Kizomba Dance Competition System, including Private Lesson Booking Services (collectively, the "Services"). By using our Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Personal Information

When you register for an account, we may collect the following personal information:

Full name
Email address
Username
Profile picture
Phone number (optional)
Location (city, state, country)
Biography
Social media links (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
Dance role (lead or follow)
Dance skill levels (Kizomba, Urban Kiz)
Competition ranking points
Member/Competition ID
Personal interests

1.2 Event & Competition Data

When you register for or participate in events, we collect:

Event registration records
Competition participation history
Winner and finalist placements
Waitlist records
Event attendance history

1.3 Payment Information

When you make payments or receive payouts through our platform, we collect:

Payment transaction history and receipts
Stripe Customer ID (for participants)
Stripe Connect account data (for event organizers)

Note: We do not store your credit card numbers directly. All payment information is securely processed and stored by our payment processor, Stripe.

1.4 User-Generated Content

When you submit content to our platform, we collect:

Event reviews and ratings
Comments and feedback

You have the option to submit reviews anonymously, in which case your name will not be publicly displayed. However, we still retain your identity internally for moderation and abuse prevention purposes.

1.5 Usage Data

We may also collect information about how you use and interact with our Services, including:

IP address
Browser type and version
Pages visited and time spent on our website
Date and time of your visit

1.6 Private Lesson Booking Data

When you use the Private Lesson Booking Services, we collect different information depending on your role:

As a Student:

Phone number and timezone
Booking requests, including requested service, date, time, and location type
Messages sent to Instructors as part of booking requests
Booking status history (pending, approved, declined, cancelled, completed)
Cancellation reasons

As an Instructor:

Teaching biography and dance genres
Services offered, including name, description, duration, price, and supported location types
Availability schedule and blocked dates
Cancellation policy and booking requirements
Timezone and payment method preferences
Booking approval and decline actions, including decline reasons

Booking Records:

Booking IDs and status transitions
Scheduled date, time, and timezone
Service details associated with each booking
Approval deadlines and grace period timestamps
Calendar event IDs
Audit timestamps (created, updated, approved, cancelled)

1.7 Calendar Integration Data

When you connect your Google Calendar to Kizomba Foundations, we collect and store:

Google OAuth 2.0 access and refresh tokens (encrypted using AES-256-GCM)
Calendar email address
Calendar event data, including event summaries, start/end times, and busy/free status
Calendar sync tokens and webhook channel IDs

OAuth tokens are encrypted at rest and are used solely for the purpose of synchronizing your calendar availability and creating/updating lesson calendar events. You may disconnect your Google Calendar at any time through your account settings, which will delete stored tokens and cached calendar data.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information to:

Provide, maintain, and improve our Services
Communicate with you about updates, promotions, and events
Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience
Detect, prevent, and address technical issues
Facilitate private lesson booking requests between Students and Instructors
Send booking notifications, confirmations, and calendar invitations related to private lessons
Synchronize lesson schedules with connected Google Calendars
Display Instructor availability and prevent scheduling conflicts

3. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your personal information with third parties in limited circumstances, such as:

To comply with a legal obligation or protect our rights
To provide certain services, such as payment processing
With your consent, such as when you choose to share your information with Facebook

3.1 Data Sharing with Event Organizers

When you register for an event through Kizomba Foundations, certain personal information is shared with the event organizer to facilitate event management. This includes:

Your name and email address
Your dance role (lead/follow) and skill level
Your registration status and any preferences you provided

Event organizers may use this information to communicate with you about the event, including sending updates, schedule changes, and important announcements. For more details on organizer communications, please see our Terms of Use.

3.2 Data Sharing in Private Lesson Bookings

When you use the Private Lesson Booking Services, certain personal information is shared between Students and Instructors to facilitate the booking process:

Information Shared with Instructors:

Student's full name
Email address
Phone number
Timezone
Message included with the booking request
Booking details (requested service, date, time, location type)

Information Shared with Students:

Instructor's name and profile photo
Teaching biography and dance genres
Email address (included in booking confirmation emails)
Services offered, including pricing and duration
General availability schedule
Cancellation policy
Accepted payment methods

Calendar Data Sharing:

Calendar invitations (ICS files) sent via email contain both parties' names, email addresses, and lesson details
Google Calendar events created through the platform include attendee information for both the Instructor and Student

For rules governing acceptable use of shared data, please see the "Data Sharing in Private Lesson Bookings" section of our Terms of Use.

3.3 Public Profile Visibility

Certain information on your profile is publicly visible to other users of the platform:

Your name, username, and profile picture
Your biography and location
Your dance role and skill levels
Your competition ranking points and leaderboard position
Competition placements (winners and finalists are publicly displayed)

Your email address and phone number are not publicly displayed. Reviews you submit may display your name and profile picture unless you choose to submit them anonymously.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our platform. Each service has its own privacy policy governing how they handle your data:

Firebase/Google Cloud - We use Google's Firebase platform for hosting, database storage, and user authentication. See Firebase Privacy Policy.
Stripe - We use Stripe for payment processing and Stripe Connect for event organizer payouts. See Stripe Privacy Policy.
Algolia - We use Algolia for user and event search functionality. See Algolia Privacy Policy.
Brevo - We use Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) for transactional email delivery. See Brevo Privacy Policy.
PostHog - We use PostHog for analytics and usage tracking. See PostHog Privacy Policy.
Social Login Providers - If you sign in using Google, Facebook, or Twitter, we receive basic profile information from these providers according to their respective privacy policies.
Google Calendar API - We use the Google Calendar API to synchronize Instructor availability and create lesson calendar events. Our use of data received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. See also Google API Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy.
Cloudflare - We use Cloudflare for email routing, including processing calendar reply webhooks for booking-related email communications. See Cloudflare Privacy Policy.

Our Services may also contain links to other third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties and encourage you to review their privacy policies.

5. Security

We are committed to protecting the security of your personal information. While no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we use commercially acceptable means to protect your information.

6. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not intended for use by anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

8. Data Deletion

You have the right to request that we delete your personal data, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to request the deletion of your personal data, please contact us at contact@kizombafoundations.com. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable laws and ensure that your data is deleted in a secure manner.

If you have connected your Google Calendar, you may disconnect it at any time through your account settings. Disconnecting will delete your stored OAuth tokens and cached calendar data. Booking records associated with your account may be retained in an anonymized form for legal, dispute resolution, or audit purposes, as described in the Data Retention section below.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at contact@kizombafoundations.com.

10. Your Data Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data, including:

The right to access your personal data
The right to correct inaccurate personal data
The right to restrict or object to processing
The right to data portability
The right to withdraw consent at any time
The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

11. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. When we no longer need to use your information, we will either securely delete it or anonymize it.

Private lesson booking records are retained for the duration of your account plus any additional period required for legal compliance or dispute resolution. Google Calendar OAuth tokens are deleted immediately upon disconnection of your calendar. Cached calendar availability data is regularly refreshed and not retained beyond its operational purpose.

12. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. If you are located outside the United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data to the United States and process it there.

13. Cookie Policy

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our Services and hold certain information. Cookies are files with small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.