Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 October 2026

1. Who we are

Arabic Bridge (الجسر العربي) is a UK-based business run by Ali Issa, a sole trader, from 43 Tanfield Avenue, London NW2 7SA. In this policy, "we" and "us" mean Arabic Bridge.

We are the "controller" of your personal information under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025). We're registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number ZC264730.

We're a small business, so we don't have a Data Protection Officer. For anything about your information, contact us at arabicbridge.uk@gmail.com or on WhatsApp at +44 7835 524366.

2. What we collect, and where it comes from

The information we collect

When	What we collect
You book a free trial	On our booking page (run for us by Wise): your name, email address, phone number, what you'd like to learn, whether you're interested in group or private classes, any note you add, and the day, time and time zone you choose.
You message us	Your WhatsApp name, number and messages; your email address and emails; or your Instagram or TikTok name and messages if you contact us there.
Free trial and lessons on Zoom	Your name as it appears on Zoom, and what's discussed about the student's learning. Zoom also collects technical information about the call.
Session recordings	We record every session, including the free trial, on video (picture and sound). The recording is made through Wise, which runs our lessons using Zoom, and it includes everyone who joins the call. This website doesn't record anything.
You take paid lessons	The lessons you've booked, attendance, and notes about the student's progress. Your invoices and records of what you've paid. You pay through our portal on Wise, where you can also see your invoices and payment history. Card payments are processed by Stripe, the payment company linked to our Wise account. We don't see your full card number. There are no subscriptions or automatic payments: each payment is a one-off.
You tell us about a learning need	Only if you choose to, for example a learning difficulty you'd like the teacher to know about. This can be "special category" information, so we only use it with your explicit consent (see section 3).
You visit this website	The website doesn't use cookies or tracking. Our website host, Cloudflare, keeps basic server logs (such as IP address, pages requested and browser type) to keep the site secure.

To book a free trial, you need to give your name, email address and phone number, because we need them to arrange the lesson. Everything else is optional.

3. Why we use it, and our legal basis

UK law says we must have a valid reason (a "lawful basis") for each use of your information.

Why we use your information and our lawful basis

Why	Lawful basis
Arranging your free trial and matching you with a teacher	Taking steps you've asked for before entering into a contract
Teaching and managing paid lessons	Performing our contract with you (if the student is under 18, the contract is with their parent or guardian, and we use the student's information because it's needed to teach the lessons the parent asked for: our legitimate interests)
Recording sessions, including free trials	Legitimate interests: keeping students safe, especially children; making sure lessons are run properly; having a record if there's ever a complaint or concern about a lesson; and, for paid lessons, letting students watch a lesson again to revise. We don't ask for consent to record, because recording is part of how all our sessions run. Instead, we tell you before you book, and you can object (see section 4).
Keeping payment and tax records	Legal obligation (HMRC record-keeping rules)
Answering your questions	Legitimate interests: replying to people who contact us
Keeping the website and our accounts secure	Legitimate interests: protecting our business and the people who use it
Using information about a learning need	Your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time
News or offers	We don't send marketing. If that changes, we'll only send it with your consent, and you'll be able to opt out at any time.

We don't make decisions about you using only automated systems, and we don't build profiles of you.

4. Session recordings

• What's recorded: every session from start to finish, including the free trial. That means video and sound of everyone on the call, and anything shared on screen.
• Why: to keep students safe, especially children, and to make sure lessons are run properly. If there's ever a complaint or concern about a lesson, the recording helps us look into it. Recordings of paid lessons also let students watch a lesson again to revise.
• Who can watch them:
  • Free trial: only Arabic Bridge's management.
  • Paid lessons: Arabic Bridge's management, the student's teacher, and the student (or their parent or guardian), so they can go back and revise. In a group class, the recording shows the whole class, and everyone in that class can watch it.
  Wise, which provides our lesson platform, stores the recordings for us. We never post recordings online or use them for advertising.
• Where they're kept: by Wise, which provides our lesson platform (see sections 6 and 7).
• How long: 30 days. They're then deleted automatically, for everyone. If there's a safety concern or a complaint about a session, we save that recording before it's deleted and keep it only until the matter is resolved.
• Reminder in every session: your teacher will tell you at the start of each session that it's being recorded.
• Your choices: you can join using just a first name. You can object to being recorded, or ask for a copy of a recording or for it to be deleted, by contacting us. If we can't run sessions for you without recording them, we'll explain why.

5. Children and young people

• If the student is under 18, a parent or guardian books the trial and stays nearby during lessons. We deal with the parent or guardian about bookings and payment.
• We only collect the information about a child that we need to teach them.
• Sessions with children are recorded like all our sessions, mainly to keep them safe. Parents and guardians are told before booking and can watch their child's paid lesson recordings. Recordings are never shared publicly.
• Data protection rights belong to the child. A young person who understands what they're asking can use their rights themselves. (In Scotland, children aged 12 or over are presumed to be able to.) A parent or guardian can act for a child who can't yet, or with the child's permission.

6. Who we share it with

We only share what each one needs to do its job:

• Our teachers, who are based in Egypt, so they can prepare for and teach your lessons.
• Wise (Wise Leap Technologies), which runs our booking page, lesson platform and payment portal (including invoices), stores session recordings, and may store your details in India or the United States.
• Zoom (Zoom Video Communications), which Wise uses to run and record the free trial and lessons.
• WhatsApp (WhatsApp LLC, part of Meta), when you message us on WhatsApp.
• Instagram (Meta) and TikTok, when you message us there.
• Google, which provides our email.
• Cloudflare, which hosts this website.
• Stripe, which processes card payments made through our Wise portal. Like all payment companies, it also uses payment details for its own purposes, such as preventing fraud, under its own privacy policy.
• Authorities such as HMRC or the police, but only if the law requires it.

We never sell your information, and we never share it for advertising.

7. Sending information outside the UK

Some of the people and services above are outside the UK, so your information may be sent abroad. When it is, we make sure it's protected as UK law requires:

• Teachers in Egypt: the UK hasn't approved Egypt's data protection laws, so each of our teachers signs the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement with us before they receive any student's information.
• Wise (India and the United States), including session recordings: we rely on our data processing agreement with Wise, which includes UK transfer safeguards.
• Zoom, Google, Cloudflare (our website host) and Stripe (United States): all four are certified to the UK–US "data bridge", which UK law recognises as protecting your information (checked October 2026).
• WhatsApp (United States): WhatsApp LLC, which runs WhatsApp for UK users, isn't part of the data bridge. It protects information sent from the UK using contract terms approved by the UK government (the International Data Transfer Agreement and Addendum). If you'd rather not use WhatsApp, you can email us instead.
• Instagram and TikTok: if you message us there, the companies that run these apps handle and transfer your messages under their own privacy policies and safeguards.

You can ask us for a copy of these safeguards.

8. How long we keep it

How long we keep your information

Information	How long
Free trial bookings, if you don't go on to take lessons	12 months, then deleted
Session recordings	30 days, then deleted automatically for everyone. Longer only if we need a recording to deal with a safety concern or complaint, and only until it's resolved
Student and lesson records	While lessons continue, then 2 years
Payment and tax records	At least 5 years after the 31 January Self Assessment deadline for the tax year they relate to, as HMRC requires
Messages and emails	The same as the booking or lesson they relate to
Website server logs	Kept by our website host only as long as needed to keep the site secure, then deleted
Information about a learning need	Until lessons end or you withdraw consent, whichever is sooner

9. Keeping it safe

We limit access to your information, including session recordings, to the people who need it to teach or run lessons. We protect our accounts with strong passwords and two-step sign-in, and we only use service providers who commit to keeping data secure.

10. Your rights

You have the right to:

• see the information we hold about you, and get a copy
• have it corrected if it's wrong
• have it deleted
• ask us to limit how we use it
• object to how we use it
• get it in a form you can take to another provider
• withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent

To use any of these rights, email arabicbridge.uk@gmail.com or message us on WhatsApp. It's free. We'll reply within one month (or tell you within that month if we need up to two more months for a complex request). We may need to check your identity first.

11. Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you have the right to complain to us. Contact us in any way that suits you. We'll acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it properly, and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

12. If you live outside the UK

We're based in the UK, so we handle your information under UK data protection law wherever you live. The laws where you live may give you extra rights too. To use them, contact us in the same way.

13. Cookies

This website doesn't use cookies. Our booking page, run by Wise, has its own cookies and asks for your consent first. See our Cookie Policy.

14. Changes to this policy

If we change how we use your information, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll tell you before it takes effect.