Privacy policy

Who is responsible

Hostel Ventos e Dunas (HOSTEL VENTOS E DUNAS LTDA, CNPJ 68.105.710/0001-10), Rua Caminho das Dunas, 76, Cumbuco, Caucaia (CE), CEP 61619-300, Brazil. For any privacy matter: admin@hostelventosedunas.com.br. Data protection officer: the Administrator of Hostel Ventos e Dunas, at the same e-mail.

What data we process

When you book

Name, phone/WhatsApp, e-mail, dates, room, number of guests, amounts and payment method. If you booked through a platform (such as Booking.com), it sends us the booking code and details.

Guest registration (online pre-check-in or at the reception desk)

Full name, nationality, document type and number (CPF or passport), date of birth, gender, mobile number, e-mail, country of residence and address (in Brazil or abroad), reason for travel, means of transport, expected arrival time and comments. In the pre-check-in you declare that the details are true and that you have read this policy; we keep a record of that declaration (date, time, language and version of the text).

Sensitive data (optional)

Race/colour, whether you have a disability (and which one) and anything you write about your health in the comments (for example, an allergy) are sensitive data under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). They are optional: you can choose "Prefer not to say" or leave them blank, and this changes nothing in your booking.

During your stay

Check-in and check-out date and time, locker number, what you buy at the mini market and from the minibar (items, quantities, amounts, date and time) and the tax invoices issued.

On the website

The website does not ask for personal data. The dates and number of guests you choose stay on your device and in the page address (which appears in the hosting provider's access logs). They are not sent to the hostel's server; they only go to WhatsApp if you tap "Book on WhatsApp". As with any website, the hosting provider logs technical access data (IP address, page, date, time and browser). The hostel's server uses your IP address to block excessive requests and writes it to the log when it refuses a request.

What we use it for

• Booking and stay: to confirm and manage your booking, check you in and out, record what you consume and talk to you. Legal basis: performance of our contract with you.
• Legal obligations: the guest register (FNRH, from Brazil's Ministry of Tourism) and tax invoices (NFS-e for accommodation and services, NFC-e for the mini market). Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation.
• Sensitive data: race/colour and disability are used only for the guest register, when you choose to provide them; health comments are used only to look after you during your stay. Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation (guest register, Brazilian Law 11.771/2008) for what the register requires and, for what is optional, your consent.
• Security and operation: backups, protection against abuse and internal staff alerts. Legal basis: the hostel's legitimate interest, always with as little data as possible.

We do not sell personal data, we do not use it for advertising and we do not build profiles.

Where the data is kept

• The hostel's server: a virtual private server (VPS) rented from Hostinger. Access requires a password and the connection is encrypted (HTTPS). The server is located in Brazil.
• Backups: on the server itself and in the hostel's Google Drive account. The Drive copies are encrypted (without the hostel's password nobody can open them, not even Google) and are deleted after 30 days.
• Reception devices: the reception app keeps a copy of the database in the device's browser, so it works offline, until the staff tap "Sair deste aparelho" (sign out of this device).
• Messages: in the hostel's WhatsApp and in the staff's internal Telegram.
• E-mail: Booking.com reservation e-mails arrive in the hostel's mailbox. The mailbox is hosted by Hostinger.
• Old spreadsheet: until 8 October 2026 the system used a Google spreadsheet. It still holds guest data up to that date and will be deleted by 31 December 2026.

Who we share it with

Only what is needed, and each one only for its own service:

• Government: the guest register (FNRH, Ministry of Tourism) receives your registration data. We also respond to authorities when the law or a court order requires it.
• Caucaia city council (NFS-e): invoices for accommodation and services (such as rentals and day use) include name, document, address, e-mail and amounts. The invoice also goes to Brazil's national NFS-e system.
• Ceará state tax office, SEFAZ (NFC-e for the mini market): items and amounts. The invoice is issued without a CPF.
• ViaCEP (viacep.com.br): during pre-check-in, the Brazilian postcode (CEP) you type, to fill in the address. As with any website, the service also receives your IP address.
• WhatsApp (Meta): our conversations and the personal links we send (pre-check-in, house rules, mini market self-service). The ready-made message from the website includes the dates and number of guests.
• Telegram: internal staff messages: only the guest's name and the dates of the stay (daily summary and alerts about bookings, cancellations and pending pre-check-ins).
• Google: only Google Drive, to store the encrypted backups. The hostel uses the Google Drive API only to keep these copies in the hostel's own Google account: through this access it does not read other files, does not use anything for advertising and does not share anything with third parties.
• Hostinger: hosting for the website, the hostel's server and the automation tool (n8n) that sends the guest register, invoices and alerts.
• Booking.com (or the platform where you booked): it sends us your booking and handles changes and cancellations with us.
• Accountant: receives the tax invoices (with the data printed on them) to keep the hostel's accounts. Card machines and Pix receive only the amount paid, never your registration data.

Data outside Brazil

Google, Meta (WhatsApp), Telegram and Booking.com may store data in other countries (for example, the United States and countries in Europe). We use these services because they are needed for your booking and for running the hostel, and we only send what is needed. The Google Drive backups are encrypted. These transfers happen when they are needed to perform the contract with you, with providers that adopt data protection safeguards (art. 33 of the Brazilian LGPD).

How long we keep it

• Registration, bookings and guest register: 5 years after your last stay, purchase or tax invoice. After that the system anonymises your registration automatically: the name becomes "Hóspede anonimizado" (anonymised guest) and the document, date of birth, contact details, address, comments and booking codes are deleted. What stays, without identifying you, is the dates, room, amounts, purchases, tax invoice numbers, nationality, country of residence and Brazilian state (UF), for accounting and statistics.
• Registration with no stay, no purchases and no tax invoice (only a cancelled booking, or no booking at all): the registration is anonymised 1 year later.
• Tax invoices and the sales linked to them: at least 5 years, the period required by tax law.
• Optional data (race/colour, disability, comments) and contact details (mobile number and e-mail): together with your registration, until it is anonymised or until you ask us to delete them. We delete them whenever you ask. Anything already sent to the FNRH stays with the government.
• Change history and recycle bin of the reception system: 30 days (deleted earlier when the registration is anonymised or when you ask us to delete it).
• Backups: on the server, one per day for the last 30 days and one per month for the last 12 months; on Google Drive, 30 days. Deleted data disappears from the backups as they expire.
• Reception devices: until the staff tap "Sair deste aparelho" (sign out of this device).
• WhatsApp conversations and Telegram messages: deleted after 1 year.
• Booking.com e-mails: deleted after 1 year.
• Technical logs (IP address): the control of excessive requests is kept only in the server's memory, for a few minutes. Server and hosting logs: up to 6 months.

On your device (website, pre-check-in and self-service)

The website does not use cookies, analytics, advertising or tracking tools, and it does not load scripts or fonts from other websites. Your browser only keeps:

• the language you chose, until you clear the site's data;
• your search (dates and number of guests), until you close the tab;
• a copy of the availability, prices and mini market products (public information, no personal data). The website uses this copy for up to 30 minutes so it opens faster; it stays in the browser until it is replaced by a new one or until you clear the site's data;
• during pre-check-in: the booking code and the key of your link, until you finish sending the form or close the tab;
• in the self-service page: the personal link stays in the page address and in the browser history. While an order is waiting for an answer, the booking code and the items of the order are kept in the tab (for up to 2 hours), so the order is not recorded twice.

To delete everything, clear the site's data in your browser settings or use a private window. The WhatsApp, Instagram and Google Maps buttons open services from other companies, with their own policies.

Mini market self-service

During your stay, the reception may send you a personal mini market link on WhatsApp. It shows your first name, your room and your tab (items, quantities, amounts, date and time). When you place an order, the server records the sale in your booking (items, total, date, time and the label "self-service") and updates the stock. You pay at the reception desk. The link only works during your stay.

If you tap “Scan barcode”, your browser asks for permission to use your phone's camera, only to read the product's barcode. The image stays on your device: it is not recorded or sent to anyone, and the camera turns off when you close the reader.

Personal links and security

The pre-check-in link and the self-service link work like a key: anyone who has the link can use it. Do not share these links. The pre-check-in link only lets you fill in or correct your data before check-in. If you lose your phone or think someone has used your mini market link, tell the reception: they will create a new link and the old one will stop working.

The reception system is password-protected, communication is encrypted (HTTPS), the server limits excessive requests and the Google Drive backups are encrypted.

Your rights

Under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD, Law 13,709/2018), you can ask for: confirmation that we process your data; access to it; correction; anonymisation, blocking or deletion of unnecessary data; portability; deletion of data processed with your consent; information about who we share it with; and to withdraw your consent (for example, to delete race/colour, disability or comments).

How to ask: write to admin@hostelventosedunas.com.br saying what you want and the name on the booking. We may ask you to confirm it is you. We reply within 15 days. If you ask for access, we send you a copy of everything the system keeps about you (as a PDF and, if you wish, as a data file). Some data must be kept by law (tax invoices and the guest register). You can also complain to Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), at gov.br/anpd.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will appear on this page with the new date.