This policy explains what personal data Shamflare collects when you visit shamflare.com or contact us, why we collect it, how long we keep it and what rights you have.

Who we are

Shamflare ("we", "us") is a software development studio registered in Syria and currently operated online by its founders. We are responsible for the personal data described in this policy.

Contact for anything related to your data: [email protected]

What we collect

When you send us an inquiry

Through the form on our contact page we collect:

• your name and email address (required);
• your company name, the service you are interested in and your budget range (all optional);
• your project description and preferred language;
• your consent and the date and time of the inquiry.

To protect the form against spam and abuse we also store a one-way, keyed hash of your IP address — never the address itself — and your browser's user-agent (browser and device type).

Please do not include sensitive information such as passwords, payment details or health information in your description.

When you browse the website

• Server logs. Like every website, our server automatically records technical information about each request: IP address, date and time, the page requested, browser type and the referring page.
• Language cookie. A single cookie, NEXT_LOCALE, remembers the language you chose. It contains only the language code and is deleted when you close your browser.
• Theme preference. If you switch between light and dark mode, your choice is saved in your browser's local storage (sf-theme). It stays on your device and is never sent to us.

We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies, social-media pixels or third-party scripts that follow you across websites. Our fonts are served from our own server.

When you contact us by WhatsApp or email

If you write to us on WhatsApp or by email, we receive the details you send there (such as your phone number or email address and your messages) and keep the correspondence as described below.

Why we use your data

Purpose	Legal basis
Replying to your inquiry and preparing a proposal	Your consent, and steps you ask us to take before a possible contract
Protecting the website against spam, abuse and attacks	Our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure
Meeting legal obligations, if any arise	Legal obligation

We do not sell your data, use it for advertising, add you to a mailing list or make automated decisions about you.

Who can access your data

• Our team — only the people who handle inquiries and projects.
• Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) — hosts our servers and database. Your data is stored in data centres in Germany, in the European Union.
• Microsoft (Outlook / Hotmail) — our email provider. Notifications about new inquiries and our email correspondence are stored in our mailbox.
• WhatsApp (Meta) — only if you choose to contact us on WhatsApp. WhatsApp's own privacy policy applies to those messages.
• Authorities — only where we are legally required to disclose information.

International access

Your data is stored in Germany. Our team works remotely and may access it from other countries, including Syria. Access always takes place over encrypted connections and is limited to the people who need it.

How long we keep your data

Data	Retention period
Inquiries that do not lead to a project	Deleted 6 months after our last communication
Inquiries and correspondence with clients	For the duration of our work together, then as long as legal, tax or accounting obligations require
Server logs	A limited period for security and troubleshooting, then deleted automatically
Language cookie	Until you close your browser
Theme preference	On your device until you clear your browser data

You can ask us to delete your inquiry earlier at any time.

How we protect your data

• The whole website is served over encrypted HTTPS connections.
• IP addresses submitted with inquiries are stored only as a one-way hash.
• Our dashboard is limited to authorised team members, and sessions end automatically after 12 hours.
• Access to servers and backups is restricted to the people who maintain them.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your data.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

• access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy of it;
• correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• delete your data;
• restrict or object to how we use it;
• withdraw your consent at any time — this does not affect processing that took place before.

Email [email protected]. We reply within 24 hours and may ask you to confirm your identity first. If you live in a country with a data protection authority, such as a member state of the European Union, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with that authority.

Children

Our website and services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has sent us their data, please contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

When we change this policy we update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, we will highlight it here.

Contact

Questions or requests about your data: [email protected]