Hop – Privacy and Data Protection Policy
Version applicable as of 13 September 2026
1. General
Hop LLC ("Hop", "we", "our", or "us") is the owner and operator of the Hop mobile application (the "App"), a carpooling and ride-sharing service that connects drivers travelling to a given destination with passengers travelling in the same direction, so that they can share rides and the associated costs.
Hop LLC is registered under the laws of the Arab Republic of Egypt and under the laws of the Russian Federation, and operates the App in both of these markets as well as in other markets where the App is made available. Depending on the market in which you use the App, Hop LLC's Egyptian-registered branch or its Russian-registered branch acts as the data controller for your Personal Data, as further described in Section 12 (Contact).
The Hop service is provided exclusively through the App. The website at https://hopapp.tech/ is an informational page only. It does not process bookings, payments, or account registrations, does not set cookies or similar tracking technologies, and is not part of the Platform described in this Policy. All references in this Policy to "the Platform" mean the App.
The App's backend infrastructure and databases are operated for Hop through Google Firebase (Google Cloud infrastructure). This means that, in addition to being controlled by Hop LLC, your Personal Data is technically hosted and processed on Google's cloud servers, as described in Section 4.
This Privacy Policy (together with our Terms & Conditions) explains how we process the personal data we collect and that you provide to us through the App. We invite you to read this document carefully.
2. Information we collect
We may collect and process the following data:
2.1. Information you send to us directly
By using the App, you may provide us with information, some of which may identify you or the passengers for whom you are making a booking ("Personal Data"). This is particularly the case when you fill out forms (such as the registration form), when you contact us, or when you report a problem concerning the use of the App.
2.1.1. Data necessary for registration and provision of the service:
Creation of an account: your first and last name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and password, or, if you choose to sign in with your Google account, the name, email address, and profile photo shared with us by Google Sign-In.
Publishing a ride (drivers): your telephone number, and details of each vehicle you register (see Section 2.3).
Booking a ride (passengers): your telephone number, so the driver can coordinate the meeting point.
Without this information, Hop cannot provide you with the services offered through the App, and you will not be able to register an account.
2.1.2.
A photograph published on your profile, taken with your device's camera or selected from your photo library.
2.1.3.
Your ride preferences, when you provide this information.
2.1.4.
The ratings and reviews you submit regarding other members, and the messages exchanged via the in-app messaging system.
2.1.5.
Your mini-biography and gender, when you provide this information.
2.1.6.
A copy of all written exchanges between you and Hop; we may record and/or listen to telephone conversations between you and Hop Customer Support.
2.1.7.
A copy of all bookings or ride publications made through the App, including the status of each ride (published, ongoing, completed, or cancelled).
2.1.8.
Details of financial transactions carried out through the App, including payment card, bank account, or UPI details, wallet balance, commission payments, and withdrawal requests. These details are collected and processed on our behalf by the payment providers described in Section 5.
2.1.9.
Details of your use of the App and the content you access within it.
2.1.10.
The data you provide when reporting a problem or contacting Customer Support, including for the financial issues described in Section 6.
2.1.11.
Data linked to your location, so you can search for rides near you, publish a ride, allow passengers to see the driver's estimated arrival time, and allow passengers to track the driver on the map before pickup.
2.1.12.
A copy of your passport, national identity card, or driving licence, and, for drivers, your vehicle registration documents, which you provide to us as part of identity verification and vehicle approval (see Section 2.3). Where you use the App's document-scanning feature, this image is processed on your device using on-device machine-learning software before the relevant extracted details are submitted to us (see Section 2.4).
2.2. Data we collect automatically
2.2.1.
If you register or sign in using Google Sign-In, Hop will receive certain data (your first name, last name, photograph, and email address) from Google, in accordance with Google's own terms.
2.2.2.
Each time you use the App, we collect technical and device data needed to operate the service, including your IP address, device identifiers, operating system and app version, and in-app navigation and usage data. The App does not use cookies or similar web-tracking technologies, as all data described in this section is collected directly through the App's own functionality rather than through a browser.
2.2.3.
We collect information about your activity on the App (such as the number of rides published or completed, your response rate to messages, and your average rating), which may be displayed on your public profile.
2.2.4.
If you enable fingerprint or biometric login, your device's operating system verifies your biometric data locally on your device to unlock the App; Hop does not receive or store your fingerprint or biometric data itself, only confirmation that the device-level check succeeded.
2.2.5.
If your device supports it and the feature is enabled, the App may use your device's NFC (near-field communication) reader as part of identity or document verification, or for contactless interactions. Data read via NFC is processed as described in Section 2.1.12.
2.3. Vehicle registration
Drivers may register more than one vehicle to their account. Every vehicle, whether it is your first or an additional one, must pass an administrative check before it can be used to publish rides on the App. As part of this check, we collect and verify the vehicle's registration documents, licence plate, make, model, and year, and we may request supporting identity or ownership documents. A vehicle that has not completed this check cannot be selected when publishing a ride.
2.4. On-device document processing
The App uses on-device machine-learning software (Google's ML Kit) to read and pre-process images of identity documents and vehicle registration documents that you choose to submit — for example, extracting text from a photo of a licence plate or ID card. This initial processing happens locally on your device; the image and any extracted data are then submitted to Hop as described in Section 2.1.12 and 2.3.
2.5. Ride lifecycle and account activity
To keep the App reliable for both drivers and passengers, Hop enforces a one active ride at a time rule: you cannot publish or start a new ride while you have an ongoing published ride that has not yet been marked as completed or cancelled. Once a ride moves to "ongoing" status, it must be marked complete or cancelled before a new ride can be published from that account.
We process ride status and location data to apply this rule and to prevent the accidental or fraudulent publication of overlapping rides. This processing is necessary for the performance of our contractual obligations and is also based on our legitimate interest in the safety and integrity of the App.
2.6. Duration of retention of your data
2.6.1.
With the exception of the categories in 2.6.2 and 2.6.3, your Personal Data is archived:
- 5 years after your last use of the App, if you have not closed your account;
- 30 days after closing your account, unless you have received a negative review or report, in which case your data is kept for 2 years following closure.
2.6.2.
The following categories may be retained for different periods:
- Financial data (payments, commissions, withdrawals) is kept for the period required by applicable tax, accounting, and anti-money-laundering laws, and in any case for at least 5 years from the date of the transaction;
- Vehicle registration and administrative-check documents are kept for as long as the vehicle remains registered to an account, plus 1 year after removal;
- Identity-verification documents are kept for 30 days after verification, for fraud-detection purposes;
- Logging and technical usage data is retained for up to 12 months;
- Recorded Customer Support calls are kept for up to 1 month, and related analysis records for up to 1 year;
- Ride status and location data used to enforce the one-active-ride rule is retained for the duration of the ride plus 30 days.
2.6.3.
If your account has been suspended or blocked, we retain your data for 2 to 10 years, depending on the severity of the violation, to prevent circumvention of the App's rules.
2.6.4.
We may keep Personal Data in archives for up to 5 years for the management of possible legal disputes.
3. How do we use the data we collect?
Allowing you to use the App
3.1.
Execute the contract between you and us and provide the services requested.
3.2.
Process driver commission payments and passenger fare payments through the payment providers described in Section 5.
3.3.
Allow you to personalise your profile.
3.4.
Allow you to communicate with other members regarding rides taken or planned.
3.5.
Allow you to use location-based features: searching for rides, publishing rides, estimated arrival times, and live driver tracking.
3.6.
Enforce the one-active-ride rule described in Section 2.5, and the vehicle-approval requirement described in Section 2.3.
3.7.
Provide Google Sign-In as an alternative way to create and access your account, and provide biometric login as a way to secure access to the App on your device.
Customer Support
3.8.
Give you access to, and allow you to communicate with, Hop Customer Support, including for the financial issues described in Section 6 — failed or delayed payments, disputed commissions, and withdrawal problems.
3.9.
Improve our support service and train our support staff by recording your calls with us. You can object to this during each call.
Fraud prevention, anti-money-laundering, and compliance
3.10.
Detect, prevent, and react to breaches of our Terms and Conditions, including publishing more than one active ride at a time, registering a vehicle without completing the administrative check, or attempting to circumvent the commission or withdrawal process. We use automated analysis of ride, payment, and account data for this purpose, and we use Google's App Check service to verify that requests to our backend genuinely come from an unmodified copy of the App. Where a decision affecting you is made solely on an automated basis, you have the right to obtain human review, express your point of view, and contest the decision by contacting Customer Support.
3.11.
Review and approve cash withdrawal requests, as described in Section 5.4, as part of our fraud and anti-money-laundering (AML) controls.
3.12.
Verify your identity and, for drivers, your vehicle documents, as part of account and vehicle approval.
Communications
3.13.
Send you service-related information (booking confirmations, commission notices, withdrawal status) by push notification, SMS, or email.
3.14.
Inform you of changes to the App and support you in its use.
3.15.
Contact you for marketing purposes about Hop's own services. You may object at any time via your profile settings or by contacting Customer Support.
Improving and securing the App
3.16.
Operate the App and carry out internal technical operations such as troubleshooting, data analysis, and testing.
3.17.
Analyse and improve the App's features and performance.
Legal compliance
3.18.
Respond to legal requisitions or other legally founded requests.
3.19.
Defend and protect our interests where necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of a legal right.
4. Who are the recipients of the information we collect?
4.1. Other members
Some of your information is shared with other members you are travelling with — for example, we share your telephone number with the driver or passenger you are matched with, and we display your ratings, reviews, and public profile information to other members.
4.2. Google / Firebase
The App's backend — including account authentication, the ride and message database, file storage, and push notifications — runs on Google Firebase. Google therefore processes your Personal Data as our infrastructure provider, under Google's own data processing terms. This includes:
- Firebase Authentication (account sign-in, including Google Sign-In);
- Firebase Firestore and Firebase Realtime Database (ride, message, and account data);
- Firebase Cloud Storage (profile photos and uploaded documents);
- Firebase Cloud Messaging (push notifications);
- Firebase App Check (verifying that requests come from a genuine copy of the App);
- Google Maps (location search, route display, and live tracking);
- Google ML Kit (on-device processing of document images, as described in Section 2.4).
4.3.
We may share information about you with other Hop LLC branches or affiliated entities, within the scope described in this Policy.
4.4.
We may disclose information about you to courts, police, customs, tax, or other public authorities in Egypt, Russia, or elsewhere, where we have a legal obligation to do so, or where we believe in good faith it is necessary to respond to a claim, comply with a legal request, enforce our Terms and Conditions, respond to an emergency, support an investigation, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Hop, its members, or others. This includes disclosures made in connection with our anti-money-laundering obligations regarding cash withdrawals (Section 5.4).
4.5. Payment providers
We work with the payment processors described in Section 5, each of which acts as a separate data controller for the payment data it collects directly from you.
4.6.
We share data with the providers in this Section only where necessary to perform our contract with you, to run identity or vehicle checks, to process payments and withdrawals, or where you expressly request it.
5. Commissions, payments, and withdrawals
5.1.
Hop charges drivers a commission on rides booked through the App. The commission becomes due once a driver accepts a passenger's ride request — that is, once the driver has reviewed the requesting passenger's profile, rating, and ride details and confirmed the booking. Acceptance of the request is the driver's confirmation that they consider the passenger a proper match for the ride, and it is this acceptance that triggers the commission charge, regardless of whether the ride is subsequently completed, cancelled, or modified. We process ride, acceptance, and payment data to calculate and apply the correct commission for each accepted booking.
5.2.
Depending on your location and payment method, your payment is processed by one of the following providers, each acting as an independent data controller for the payment details you provide to them directly, subject to their own privacy policies:
- Stripe — for card payments, Google Pay, saved payment methods, and bank-account-linked payments;
- Razorpay — for UPI and other locally supported payment methods;
- PhonePe — for UPI payments made through the PhonePe app.
Hop does not itself store your full card number, bank account number, or UPI credentials; these are collected and held by the relevant payment provider. Hop receives confirmation of successful payment, the payment method type, and any details needed to process refunds, commissions, or disputes.
5.3.
We process payment and wallet data to record commission charges, fare payments, and account balances, and to make these visible to you within the App.
5.4.
Cash withdrawals from your Hop wallet require prior approval from Hop's administration before funds are released. This approval step is a fraud and anti-money-laundering (AML) review: we check the withdrawal request against your account, ride, and payment history to confirm the funds are legitimate and that the request is not connected to fraudulent activity. Because this review is manual, a withdrawal request may take several hours to be approved and paid out. We process the data described in Sections 2.1.8, 2.1.9, and 2.1.11 for the purpose of carrying out this review.
5.5.
If Customer Support identifies a problem with a payment, commission charge, or withdrawal — including what is sometimes referred to internally as a "financial drop" (a payment or withdrawal that fails to complete or reconcile correctly) — we process the relevant transaction and account data to investigate and resolve the issue, and may contact you for additional information.
6. Customer Support and financial issue resolution
Hop Customer Support is available to help with financial drops and other payment-related problems, including failed transactions, disputed commission charges, and delayed or rejected withdrawals. To investigate these issues, Support may access your transaction history, ride history, and account verification status. You can reach Customer Support through the in-app help section.
7. Vehicle approval
As described in Section 2.3, every vehicle registered to a driver account — including any additional vehicles beyond the first — must pass an administrative check before it can be used on the App. Hop reviews the vehicle's registration documents and related information as part of this check. A vehicle is not eligible to be selected for a ride publication until this check is complete and the vehicle has been approved.
8. Targeted Advertising
We may use profile and in-app usage data (but not cookies, as none are used) to display targeted advertisements to you within the App or, where you have connected a social media account, on that platform. This processing is based on our legitimate interest in showing you relevant advertising, or your consent where required by applicable law. You can object to this processing via your in-app settings or by contacting Customer Support.
9. Is your data transferred, how and where?
Because Hop LLC operates through branches registered in both Egypt and Russia, and because the App's backend runs on Google Firebase, your Personal Data may be transferred between these jurisdictions and Google's cloud infrastructure, and to the payment providers described in Section 5, as necessary to operate the App. Where we transfer data to a country that does not provide an equivalent level of data protection to the jurisdiction in which you are located, we put appropriate contractual safeguards in place. You can request more information about these safeguards from our Data Protection contact in Section 12.
10. What are your rights over your personal data?
10.1.
You have the right to receive a copy of your Personal Data in our possession.
10.2.
For processing carried out on the basis of your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
10.3.
You may request the erasure of your Personal Data and the rectification of inaccurate or outdated Personal Data. We may retain certain information where required by law, or where we have a legitimate reason — for example, ongoing fraud, AML, or dispute investigations under Sections 3.10 and 3.11.
10.4.
You have the right to object to processing carried out for direct marketing, or on the basis of our legitimate interest, for reasons relating to your particular situation.
10.5.
You have the right to request that we limit the processing of your Personal Data in the circumstances provided for by applicable law.
10.6.
You have the right to receive the Personal Data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, and to transmit it to another controller.
10.7.
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority in Egypt or Russia, or to seek redress through the competent courts.
10.8.
To exercise these rights, contact us using the details in Section 12. Note that for payment data held directly by Stripe, Razorpay, or PhonePe, you may also need to exercise certain rights directly with that provider.
11. Permissions
The Hop App uses the following phone permissions and hardware features:
- Location: to search for or publish rides without manually entering your address, to show passengers the driver's estimated arrival time, to allow live driver tracking before pickup, and to determine whether you currently have an ongoing published ride under Section 2.5.
- Photo library and camera access: to upload a profile picture, to take photos for identity verification, and, for drivers, to submit vehicle registration documents for the administrative check described in Section 2.3.
- Biometric / fingerprint: to let you lock and unlock the App using your device's fingerprint or biometric authentication, verified locally on your device as described in Section 2.2.4.
- NFC: used, where supported and enabled, as part of identity or document verification as described in Section 2.2.5. This feature is optional and the App functions without it.
- Notifications: to send you push notifications about bookings, ride status, payments, and account activity.
You can change these permissions at any time in your phone's settings.
12. Contact
For questions about this Privacy Policy, or requests relating to your Personal Data:
If you are using the App in Egypt, contact Hop LLC's Egyptian branch at privacy-eg@hopapp.tech.
If you are using the App in Russia, contact Hop LLC's Russian branch at privacy-ru@hopapp.tech.
For all other markets, or if you are unsure which branch applies to you, contact privacy@hopapp.tech, and we will route your request to the correct branch.
13. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We keep this Privacy Policy under regular review. We may modify it from time to time; where required, we will notify you in-app and/or seek your consent. Please check this page periodically for updates.