§ Privacy

Privacy policy

v0.1 · effective 2026-05-14 · governing law: Ecuador

1. Who we are

YapaTree is a bilingual real estate agency in Cuenca, Ecuador. We help buyers, renters, and owners with sales, long-term rentals, short-term rentals, and a buyer's agent program. You can reach us at info@yapatree.com or via WhatsApp at the number on our contact page.

2. What we collect

We collect information you provide directly and a small amount of technical data automatically.

You give us

Contact details (name, phone, email) when you submit any form on this site or message us on WhatsApp.
What you're looking for (rent / buy / short stay, neighborhoods, budget, dates, preferences).
Identity documents (cédula, RUC, passport) only when required to draft a contract or process a booking.
Payment information when you book a stay (PayPal handles the card data; we receive only the transaction record).

We collect automatically

Standard server logs (IP address, browser, referring page) for security and to keep the site running.
Anonymous analytics on which pages and listings are viewed, so we can improve the site.
Essential cookies that keep your language preference and remember if you've already opted in to WhatsApp.

3. How we use it

To respond to your inquiry and shortlist properties that match what you're looking for.
To send transactional messages about a booking, viewing, contract, or property update you asked about.
To honor regulatory and tax obligations in Ecuador (invoicing, SRI declarations).
To improve the site and our services (aggregated analytics only, never to sell your data).

We do not sell your personal information. We do not run advertising retargeting on you outside our own properties without your consent.

4. Sharing

We share your information only when one of the following applies:

With the property owner or your assigned agent, when needed to complete a viewing, contract, or booking.
With service providers that help us run the site (hosting on Google Cloud, email and WhatsApp infrastructure, PayPal for payments). They handle data on our behalf and under contract.
When required by Ecuadorian law (SRI, UAFE, court order).

5. Where your data lives

Site infrastructure runs on Google Cloud (us-central1, Iowa, USA) and Firebase Hosting. Email is delivered via Amazon SES (us-east-1, Virginia, USA). WhatsApp message routing runs on our own infrastructure in the same Google Cloud region. We are based in Cuenca, Ecuador.

6. How long we keep it

Active leads and clients: while you are in conversation with us, plus three years.
Contracts and invoices: ten years (Ecuadorian tax retention requirement).
Server logs and analytics: 90 days.
If you ask us to delete your data, we honor that within 30 days unless we are required to retain it for tax / regulatory reasons.

7. Your rights

You can ask us to:

Show you what we have on file about you.
Correct anything that's wrong.
Delete your information (subject to the tax retention rule above).
Stop sending you messages (you can also reply STOP to any WhatsApp conversation).
Withdraw consent to any optional data use.

Email info@yapatree.com with the subject "Privacy request" and we'll get back to you within 30 days.

8. Cookies

We use only essential cookies (language preference, session state). We do not use third-party advertising cookies on this site. If we ever add analytics that require consent, we will surface a banner first.

9. Children

This site is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has submitted information, email us and we will delete it.

10. Changes

We may update this policy as our services evolve. The version and effective date at the top of the page always reflect the current text. Material changes will be noted on this page.

11. Contact

Email info@yapatree.com. For Spanish, see Política de privacidad.