Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Arvenu collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use the Arvenu platform — including our website, mobile application, and related services (together, the "Platform").

By creating an account or using the Platform, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.

1. Who We Are

Arvenu operates an event marketplace that connects people planning events with venues and vendors who provide event-related services. We are registered in Ghana and expanding across Africa.

For data-related questions, contact our privacy team at privacy@arvenu.com.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information three ways: directly from you, automatically from your use of the Platform, and occasionally from third parties.

Information you provide directly

• Account details — your name, email address, phone number, and password when you register
• Vendor profile — for vendors, your business name, service category, portfolio, pricing, coverage area, and availability
• Event and booking details — event type, date, location, guest count, and any information you submit when making or receiving a booking inquiry
• Reviews and ratings — content you submit when reviewing a vendor or venue after a confirmed booking
• Messages — communications between you and other users through the Platform's messaging feature, or with our support team
• Payment information — billing details submitted at checkout (see Section 5 — these are not stored on Arvenu's servers)
• Verification documents — for vendors, identity and business documents submitted as part of the verification process

Information generated automatically

• Usage data — searches performed, listings viewed, pages visited, and actions taken on the Platform
• Device data — device type, operating system, browser type, IP address, and mobile advertising identifiers
• Location data — approximate location inferred from your IP address; precise location only if you grant permission within the mobile application
• Log data — server logs including request timestamps, referring URLs, and error reports

Information from third parties

• If you sign in using a third-party service (Google, Apple), we receive basic profile information — name, email address, and profile picture — from that provider
• Payment processors share transaction status with us to confirm or reject a booking; they do not share your full card details

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to operate and improve the Platform. Specifically:

• Create and manage your account
• Process booking requests and facilitate transactions between event planners and vendors
• Verify vendor identities and review listings before they appear on the Platform
• Display vendor profiles, pricing, availability, and reviews to event planners
• Process payments and manage payment escrow until the event date is confirmed
• Send booking confirmations, reminders, and status notifications
• Respond to your support requests and help resolve disputes between users
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service
• Analyse usage patterns to understand how people use the Platform and where we can improve it
• Send platform updates and relevant service announcements — you can opt out of non-essential communications at any time
• Comply with applicable legal obligations

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only in the circumstances below.

Between users on the Platform

When you submit a booking inquiry, your name and event details are shared with the vendor you are contacting. When a vendor responds, their business contact details are visible to you. Reviews you submit are published publicly on the vendor's profile, attributed to your display name.

With service providers

We work with third-party companies to run the Platform — including cloud hosting, payment processing, identity verification, email delivery, and analytics. These providers access your data only to perform services on our behalf and are required by contract to protect it.

For legal and safety purposes

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or a legitimate request from a competent authority. We will notify you before disclosing where the law permits us to do so.

Business transfers

If Arvenu merges with, is acquired by, or transfers substantially all of its assets to another entity, your information may form part of that transfer. We will notify affected users before their information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy.

5. Payment Processing

All payments on the Platform are processed by third-party payment providers. When you enter payment details, those details go directly to the payment processor — they are not stored on Arvenu's servers and Arvenu staff cannot access them.

Payments are held in escrow from the time of booking until the event date is confirmed. If a vendor cancels or fails to deliver, your payment is returned according to our Cancellation Policy.

Arvenu retains records of transaction amounts, booking references, and dates for accounting, dispute resolution, and legal compliance purposes.

6. Data Retention

We keep your personal information for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterwards. Specific retention periods are:

• Account data — retained for the lifetime of your account, and up to 3 years after account deletion in case of reactivation or disputes
• Booking and transaction records — retained for 7 years for accounting and legal compliance
• Reviews — retained as part of the marketplace record while the Platform operates, unless removed under our review policy or at the user's valid request
• Usage and device data — retained for up to 24 months
• Support communications — retained for 3 years

When data is no longer needed, we delete or irreversibly anonymise it.

7. Your Rights

Under the Ghana Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), and other applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights:

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction — ask us to correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date
• Deletion — request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records
• Portability — request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format
• Objection — object to processing your data for direct marketing purposes at any time, with immediate effect
• Withdrawal of consent — where processing is based on your consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of past processing

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@arvenu.com. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.

If you believe we have not handled your data appropriately, you may lodge a complaint with the Ghana Data Protection Commission.

8. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies on the Arvenu website and mobile application. The types we use are:

• Essential cookies — required for the Platform to function, including login sessions and security tokens. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies — help us understand how users navigate the Platform so we can identify and fix problems and prioritise improvements
• Preference cookies — remember your settings and choices across sessions

You can control non-essential cookies through your browser or device settings. Disabling analytics cookies does not affect your ability to use the Platform.

9. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed at anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a person under 18 has provided us with their information, contact us at privacy@arvenu.com and we will delete it promptly.

10. International Users

Arvenu is designed for users in Ghana and Nigeria. If you access the Platform from another country, your information may be transferred to and processed in Ghana, where data protection standards may differ from those in your home jurisdiction.

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you may have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Where the GDPR applies, our lawful basis for processing is typically contract performance for bookings and account management, and legitimate interests for security, fraud prevention, and product improvement. Contact us to discuss your specific rights under the GDPR.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes — changes that meaningfully affect how we use your data — we will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before the change takes effect.

Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

For any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, contact our privacy team: