This policy explains what personal information Darya Expeditions collects when you enquire, book or travel with us, why we need it, who we share it with, and the control you have over it. We keep it in plain language on purpose.
Last updated: 28 July 2026
1. Who we are
Darya Expeditions is a licensed Afghan tour operator (AFGTO) based at Pul-e-Surkh Road, Kabul City, Afghanistan. We are the data controller for the information described here. The fastest way to reach us about privacy — or anything else — is the chat on this website, which the Kabul team answers 24 hours a day.
2. What we collect, and when
When you enquire or chat
Your name, email address, phone number, the language you write in, and whatever you tell us about your trip (dates, group size, interests). Conversations with our booking assistant are stored so that you can pick up where you left off and so a human colleague in Kabul can follow up properly. Messages are processed by an AI language service to generate replies.
When you book
Booking details, nationality, and any dietary requirements, allergies or medical information you choose to share with us so we can look after you on the ground. You are never obliged to disclose health information; if you do, we treat it as confidential and share it only with the guide and hotels who need it.
After your deposit — passport details
Full passport scan, passport number, date of birth, and issue and expiry dates. We ask for these only after your deposit is paid, never at first contact. Afghanistan requires them: they are mandatory for your visa Letter of Invitation, for provincial travel permits, for hotel registration, and for domestic flight tickets. Without them we cannot legally operate your trip.
When you pay
Payments are processed by our UAE payment partner. Card numbers never reach our servers — we only ever see that a payment succeeded, the amount, and the last digits of the card. Bank transfer details are retained for accounting.
When you subscribe to our newsletter
Your email address and preferred language, with double opt-in confirmation, managed through our email provider MailerLite. One click unsubscribes you, permanently.
When you use the partner portal
If you are a travel agency with portal access, we log each sign-in — date, time, IP address and approximate city and country — so that you and we can spot unauthorised access to your account.
When you browse
Aggregate, non-identifying website statistics through Google Analytics and Google Search Console: pages viewed, country, device type. We use no advertising cookies and no cross-site tracking of any kind.
3. Why we are allowed to use it
- To perform our contract with you — planning, quoting, booking and delivering your tour.
- To meet legal obligations — Afghan immigration, permit and hotel-registration rules, and accounting law.
- Our legitimate interests — keeping accounts secure, preventing fraud, and improving our service.
- Your consent — the newsletter and any non-essential cookies. You can withdraw it at any time.
4. Who we share it with
Only those who need it to make your trip happen:
- The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provincial authorities — for your Letter of Invitation and travel permits.
- Hotels and guesthouses on your itinerary — for the registration they are legally required to keep.
- Domestic airlines — for internal flight tickets.
- Your guide and driver — name and any needs relevant to your care.
- Our UAE payment partner — to take card payments securely.
- MailerLite, Google and our AI assistant provider — as described above.
We do not sell your data. We do not share it with advertisers. We do not pass it to anyone else without your instruction, unless we are legally compelled to.
5. Where your data goes
Your information is processed in Afghanistan, where our team works, and by service providers in the UAE, the European Union and the United States. Afghanistan is not covered by a European Commission adequacy decision, which means it is not formally recognised as offering equivalent data-protection standards. We handle this by collecting the minimum required, restricting access to named staff, and deleting what we no longer need. Booking with us means accepting that transfer as necessary to perform your trip.
6. How long we keep it
- Enquiries that never became bookings — 24 months, then deleted.
- Chat transcripts — 24 months.
- Passport copies — deleted 12 months after you travel, unless a permit authority requires us to hold them longer.
- Booking and payment records — 7 years, as accounting law requires.
- Newsletter — until you unsubscribe.
7. Your rights
You can ask us to give you a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, restrict how we use it, or send it to another provider. You can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent for marketing at any moment. Write to us in the chat or by email and we will respond within 30 days, free of charge.
If you are in the EU, UK, or another region with data-protection authorities, you also have the right to complain to your national regulator. We would rather you told us first — we will try to put it right.
One limit worth being honest about: where information has already been submitted to Afghan authorities for a permit or visa, we cannot retrieve or erase it from their records.
8. Cookies
We use two kinds only: essential cookies that make the site and chat work, and anonymous analytics cookies that tell us which pages are useful. No advertising, no profiling, no tracking you across other websites. You can refuse analytics cookies in the banner or block them in your browser and the site will work exactly the same.
9. Security
The site runs over encrypted HTTPS. Passport documents are held on access-controlled storage and are not publicly reachable. Access to booking data is limited to the Darya team members who need it, each with their own account.
10. Children
Our tours are sold to adults. Travellers under 18 are welcome when accompanied by a parent or guardian, who provides their details and consents on their behalf. We do not knowingly collect data directly from children.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle your data we will update this page and the date at the top. Material changes affecting existing bookings will be emailed to you.
Contact
Questions, requests or complaints about your data: message us in the chat on any page of this site, or email info@daryaexpeditions.com. Darya Expeditions, Pul-e-Surkh Road, Kabul City, Afghanistan.