Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 November 2026

Who we are

Muslim Solo Travel (“MST”, “we”, “us”) is a community and directory for Muslim women who travel solo, run by Ruhfar Sdn Bhd, Level 15 dPulze, Cyberjaya 63000, Malaysia. Our website is https://muslimsolotravel.com.

Your privacy matters to us, especially as a community of women who travel alone. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. Questions? Email community@muslimsolotravel.com.

This policy covers this website only. It doesn’t cover information collected offline or on other platforms, including our Facebook groups, which follow Facebook’s own policies.

The short version

• We only ask for what we need. Every form tells you why we’re asking.
• Reviews show as “Verified MSTer” by default, unless you choose to show your name.
• Photos on travel buddy and meetup requests are visible to logged-in members only.
• We never sell your personal data.
• We don’t store card details. Payments are handled by our payment partners.
• You can ask to see, correct, export or delete your data at any time.

Information we collect

Information you give us

• Account: your name, email address, password, whether you joined as a traveler or a host, and anything you add to your profile.
• Host pages and listings: business name, description, location, contact email, WhatsApp number, social links, prices, photos, availability, and an optional Google Maps link. You can choose to share the exact location of a stay only after booking.
• Reviews, requests, Q&A answers and comments: what you write, the places you tag, travel dates, ratings and the photos you upload. This content is public, apart from request photos (see above). You choose how your name appears.
• Messages and forms: when you contact us, message a host, claim a page, recommend a service, fill in a survey or share a travel alert, we receive what you type, plus your name and email where the form asks for them.
• Newsletter: your email address and where you signed up.
• Purchases and plans: your name, email, billing details and order history. Our payment partners collect and process card details; we never see or store them.

Information collected automatically

• Server logs: IP address, browser type, device, date and time, and pages visited. Our hosting and security providers keep these to run and protect the site.
• Listing counters: we count page views and clicks on WhatsApp and email buttons on host and listing pages, so hosts can see how their page is doing. These are totals only. They don’t identify you, and your browser stores a small note so you’re counted once a day.
• Search terms: what people type into site search, without names, so we can improve suggestions and see which countries MSTers want next.
• Your preferences: your chosen currency for price estimates and similar settings are stored in your own browser (local storage), not on our servers.
• Spam protection: comments and forms are checked for spam. Cloudflare Turnstile may check your browser to confirm you’re not a bot.

How we use your information

• To run the directory and community: show listings, reviews, requests and your profile, and let you save places.
• To pass your message to a host when you contact them through MST. The host receives your name, email and message so they can reply to you.
• To review content before it goes live, such as reviews, claims, recommended services and travel alerts.
• To send emails you asked for (account, password reset, form replies, purchase receipts) and, if you subscribe, our newsletter.
• To process payments and manage host plans.
• To keep the site safe, prevent fraud and spam, and fix problems.
• To understand what’s useful and improve the site. We use our own counters and anonymous search terms for this.

Our lawful bases: your consent (for example, the newsletter); our agreement with you (your account, listings and purchases); our legitimate interests (keeping the community safe and improving the site); and legal obligations (for example, tax records).

Photos and your safety

• Before you upload a photo, remove location data (EXIF/GPS) from it. Many phones add this automatically, and anyone can read it from an image file.
• Only upload photos of other people if they’ve agreed to it.
• Request and meetup photos are blurred for visitors who aren’t logged in.
• Never post your room number, home address or exact live location publicly. Use the safety tips on each request before meeting anyone.

Who we share your information with

We never sell your personal data. We share only what’s needed with:

• Hosts: when you message them through MST, or when you click to email or WhatsApp them (your own app opens, and they see what you send).
• Service providers who run the site for us: Cloudways (hosting), Cloudflare (security, speed and bot checks), ZeptoMail by Zoho (sending site emails), EmailOctopus (our newsletter, only if you subscribe), SureCart and Stripe (payments), and Google (only if you choose to sign in with Google).
• Affiliate and advertising partners: see below.
• Authorities: if the law requires it, or to protect someone’s safety.

Some of these providers process data outside Malaysia. When they do, we rely on their safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) to protect it.

Affiliate links

Some links on MST are affiliate links. If you book or buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps keep MST running. When you click an affiliate link, the partner may place a cookie on your browser to credit the booking to us. You never have to use these links.

We currently work with or may work with partners including Booking.com, Stay22, Viator, Klook, Involve Asia, Travelpayouts, 12Go and Airalo. Each partner has its own privacy policy.

Advertising

We may show ads from advertising partners on content pages such as articles, reviews and Q&A, never on booking forms. These partners may use cookies, web beacons or similar technology to measure and personalise ads, and they receive your IP address when an ad loads. We don’t control these cookies. Please see each partner’s privacy policy, and use your browser settings or the partner’s choices to opt out. Where the law requires it, we’ll ask for your consent first.

Cookies and similar technology

• Essential: keep you logged in (login cookies last 2 days, or 2 weeks if you tick “Remember me”), protect forms from spam, and remember items in your cart.
• Comments: if you tick the box, your name and email are saved for one year so you don’t have to retype them.
• Preferences (local storage): your currency choice and similar settings, kept in your own browser.
• Affiliate and advertising: set by partners, as described above.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some features, like staying logged in, won’t work without essential cookies.

Embedded content

Pages may include videos, maps or posts from other sites, such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Google Maps. These behave as if you visited that site, and the other site may collect data about you, use cookies and track your interaction, especially if you’re logged in there.

How long we keep your information

• Account and profile: until you delete your account or ask us to.
• Reviews, comments, Q&A answers and requests: kept so the community can benefit, until you ask us to remove them. Expired requests stay marked as expired.
• Form messages: as long as needed to handle them, then deleted or kept only in our email records.
• Newsletter: until you unsubscribe (every email has a link).
• Purchase and billing records: as long as Malaysian tax and accounting law requires (usually 7 years).
• Server logs: kept for a short time by our hosting and security providers.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

• tell you what personal data we hold about you and give you a copy;
• correct anything that’s wrong or incomplete;
• delete your data, unless we have to keep it for legal, security or accounting reasons;
• stop or limit how we use it, or withdraw your consent (for example, to the newsletter);
• send your data to you or another service in a common format.

Email community@muslimsolotravel.com from the address on your account. We’ll reply within 21 days, or within one month where the GDPR applies. We may need to confirm it’s really you first. Making a request is free, unless it’s clearly excessive or repeated.

Malaysia (PDPA 2010): we handle your data under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, including your rights to access and correct your data and to limit how it’s used. If you’re not satisfied with our reply, you can contact the Personal Data Protection Commissioner of Malaysia.

EU and UK (GDPR): you have the rights above, plus the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to complain to your local data protection authority.

California (CCPA/CPRA): you can ask what personal information we collect and why, ask us to delete it, and ask us not to “sell” or “share” it. We don’t sell personal information. If ad partners’ cookies count as “sharing” where you live, you can opt out by emailing us or by using your browser’s privacy controls (such as Global Privacy Control).

Keeping your information safe

We use secure connections (HTTPS), security and bot protection, limited admin access with two-factor login, and trusted providers. No website is 100% secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us right away if you think your account has been misused.

Children

MST is made for adults. You must be 18 or older to create an account, list a service or post a request. We don’t knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 (under 16 in the EU and UK). If you think a child has given us personal data, please contact us and we’ll remove it promptly.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as MST grows. We’ll change the date at the top, and tell members by email or on the site if the changes are significant.

Contact us

Ruhfar Sdn Bhd (Muslim Solo Travel)
Level 15 dPulze, Cyberjaya 63000, Malaysia
community@muslimsolotravel.com