Effective date: 22 August 2026 · Last updated: 9 October 2026 (now covers the whole website, newsletter, legal bases, providers, retention, security and rights)
This notice explains how Manila Open House ("we", "us") handles personal data across manilaopenhouse.com (listings, the Knowledge Library blog, project pages and the weekly newsletter) and the Manila Open House property-listing app. We are the personal information controller and handle your data under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173), its Implementing Rules and the issuances of the National Privacy Commission (NPC). We do not sell your personal information. Contact for any privacy question, request or complaint: welcome@manilaopenhouse.com.
1. Information we collect
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Account details — your mobile number or email address (used to sign in by one-time code), your name, and your role (owner / agent / broker) | To sign you in and associate listings and photos with your account. |
| Professional/compliance details you choose to add — e.g. PRC licence number, DHSUD number, supervising broker details | Shown on your listings where Philippine real-estate advertising rules require licence disclosure. Optional; provided by you. |
| Listing content — property details and the photos you capture or select | This is the core purpose of the app: to create and manage your property listings. |
| Approximate/precise location — only if you grant location permission | To tag captured photos with the property's location, helping verify a photo was taken on-site. You can decline; the app still works. |
| Device & activity — a session token and basic events (captures, syncs, sign-ins) | To keep you signed in and for security/troubleshooting. |
2. Camera, Photos and Location permissions
The app asks for camera access to photograph properties, optional photo-library access if you pick an existing photo, and optional location access to tag photos with the property location. You can change any of these at any time in iOS Settings → Manila Open House.
3. Offline storage on your device
Captured photos are saved on your device first so the app works on-site without a signal, then upload to your account automatically when you have a connection. Local copies are removed when the photo has synced and you remove it, when you sign out, or when you delete your account.
4. How we share data
We share data only with service providers that operate the service on our behalf (for example hosting), and where required by law. Listing information you publish is shown publicly on manilaopenhouse.com by design. We do not sell your data or use it for third-party advertising.
5. Data retention
We keep your account, listings and photos until you delete them or delete your account. Some non-identifying records may be retained where required for legitimate business or legal compliance, dissociated from your identity when your account is deleted.
6. Deleting your account and data
You can delete your account from inside the app: Account → Delete Account. This removes your listings and their photos, signs you out of all devices, and removes your personal identifiers (name, mobile, email, licence numbers) from our records. You can also request deletion by emailing us at the address below.
7. Security
Traffic between the app and our servers uses HTTPS. Sign-in uses a one-time code sent to your mobile or email — there is no stored password. Your session token is kept in the iOS Keychain.
8. Children
The app is a professional/business tool and is not directed to children under 13.
9. Endorser Program (endorsers and invited members)
When a registered Endorser invites you, they enter your mobile number. We store that number, the Endorser's identity and the invitation date, and send you one SMS notice (no links) telling you that you were invited. This is done to operate the program and to tell you about it; you are not enrolled until you register and tap Accept in your Profile. If you ignore or decline the invitation, you are not enrolled; the invitation record is kept only to prevent repeated unwanted invitations and to resolve disputes.
If you accept, we record your acceptance (date and the version of the terms accepted) and link your account to that Endorser. The Endorser can see your name or number and the number of your qualifying paid orders and the credit earned from them — not your listings' contents, messages or payment details. We share this only with that Endorser and our administrators. Leaving the group is not yet available in the app; to be released, contact us and we will review your request. After release, no further credit is earned, while past credit records are kept for accounting and tax purposes.
Endorsers' own payout details (e.g. GCash/bank number and TIN) are used only to process their claims. Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173) you may access, correct, object to processing of, or request deletion of your data, and complain to the National Privacy Commission. Contact: welcome@manilaopenhouse.com. See also Terms — Endorser Program.
10. Identity, proof-of-life and company verification
To show a verified badge we may ask for: a photo of a government ID; a live selfie taken with your camera while you perform short actions (blink, smile, turn your head); and, for companies/realty firms, your BIR Certificate of Registration and SEC/DTI certificate. Your face images are biometric/sensitive personal information (RA 10173). We use them only to confirm that you are a real, live person and to let our reviewers compare the selfie with your ID. Selfie frames are analysed by an automated vision service (Anthropic) to check the requested actions and detect screen or printed-photo spoofing; this check does not identify you and the result can always be reviewed by our staff. We keep one small selfie and your documents securely, visible only to you and our administrators, and delete them when you ask or close your account (subject to legal retention). A verified badge shows publicly only your verified status, your declared supervising broker (for salespersons) and your verified company name.
11. Website inquiries and contact forms
When you send an inquiry from a listing page or a property page on manilaopenhouse.com, we collect the details you type in: your name, mobile number, email address (on project pages), message and any preferred visit date or time. We use them only to respond to your request (for example, to arrange a site visit or send a price list).
Inquiries sent from a listing page are passed to the contact person for that listing (the owner, agent or broker) and to our team so that you can be answered. We do not sell your details. Your inquiry does not subscribe you to anything: the newsletter is a separate choice (see section 12), offered through an unticked checkbox. We keep inquiry records only as long as needed to handle your request and for our legitimate record-keeping, and delete or anonymise them on request unless the law requires us to keep them.
12. Newsletter and marketing emails
Who we are. Manila Open House is the personal information controller for the weekly newsletter. Data protection contact: welcome@manilaopenhouse.com.
What we collect. Your email address, your name if you give it, the topics you choose (learning articles, properties for sale or lease, investment ideas), the page where you signed up, and proof of your consent: the wording you agreed to, the date and time, and your IP address. If you are a Manila Open House member, we may invite you by email; you are subscribed only after you confirm.
Why, and our legal basis. To send you the Manila Open House weekly newsletter (a learning article and featured properties) on the basis of your consent, which you give by subscribing or by ticking the newsletter checkbox on a form, and confirm by clicking the link in our confirmation email (double opt-in). Consent is optional and is never a condition for making an inquiry or using our service.
Email tracking. Newsletters contain a tiny image and trackable links so we can see whether an email was delivered, opened or clicked, and whether you pressed the "Yes, I read this" button. We use this only to improve the newsletter and to stop emailing people who never engage. You can block remote images in your email app to prevent open tracking.
Who handles it. The newsletter runs on our own servers and is delivered through our email provider (Hostinger). We do not sell or rent your email address or share it for third-party advertising.
How long we keep it. Sign-up requests that are never confirmed are deleted after 30 days. Opens and clicks are deleted after 24 months. If you unsubscribe, we keep only your email address on a do-not-email list so that we never contact you again by mistake, plus the record of your consent and withdrawal as evidence.
Your rights under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173): to be informed, to withdraw consent at any time (the Unsubscribe link in every email, one click), to access your data and receive a copy, to correct it, to object, and to erasure. Every newsletter has an Email preferences page where you can change your topics, pause the emails, download a copy of your data and erase your personal details yourself. You may also email welcome@manilaopenhouse.com. If you believe your rights were violated you may complain to the National Privacy Commission.
13. Why we may process your data (legal bases)
| What we do | Basis under RA 10173 |
|---|---|
| Create and run your account, publish and manage your listings, send one-time codes, billing and service messages | Contract / to provide the service you requested |
| Send your inquiry to the listing contact or our team so you get a reply | Your request (pre-contract steps) |
| Weekly newsletter | Your consent (double opt-in), withdrawable anytime |
| Identity and proof-of-life verification (ID, selfie, company documents) | Your specific consent (sensitive/biometric data) |
| Security, fraud prevention, abuse and rate-limit protection, server logs, anonymous site statistics | Legitimate interests (keeping the service safe and working) |
| Tax, accounting and legal records; responding to lawful orders | Legal obligation |
Where we rely on consent we ask for it separately for each purpose, never pre-ticked, and never as a condition for using the service. You can withdraw consent at any time; this does not affect processing done before.
14. Who receives your data, and where it is stored
We use a small number of service providers who process data on our behalf, only for the stated purpose:
| Provider | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | Server hosting and email delivery for our own systems | Our servers are currently in Indonesia |
| Namecheap | Domain name and DNS (no customer data) | United States |
| Optional "Sign in with Google", map and video embeds (YouTube) | United States / global | |
| Apple | Optional "Sign in with Apple" (iOS app) | United States / global |
| Anthropic | Automated checks on verification selfies and documents (section 10) | United States |
| SMS gateway providers | Delivering one-time codes and service SMS | Philippines / provider-dependent |
| OpenStreetMap | Turning an address into map coordinates when you add a listing | Europe / global |
Because some providers are outside the Philippines, your data may be transferred abroad. We remain responsible for it, limit what we send to what is needed, and use providers that offer appropriate safeguards. We also share data where required by law or a lawful order, and with the people you ask us to (for example, the listing contact for your inquiry, or developers for project inquiries).
15. How long we keep data
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account, listings, photos | Until you delete them or your account (see section 6) |
| Listing inquiries (name, mobile, message) | Up to 24 months after receipt, then deleted |
| Verification ID/selfie and company documents | Until you ask for deletion or close your account, subject to legal retention (section 10) |
| One-time-code request logs | 90 days |
| Blog visit statistics: IP address and browser details | Blanked after 90 days (an anonymous visit count remains) |
| Web-server access logs | About 14 days |
| Newsletter: unconfirmed sign-ups / opens and clicks | 30 days / 24 months |
| After you unsubscribe or erase your newsletter data | Only your email on a do-not-email list, plus a record of your consent and its withdrawal |
| Billing and tax records | As long as the law requires |
Data we delete may remain in routine backups for a limited period before it is overwritten.
16. Security and data breaches
We protect personal data with organisational, physical and technical measures appropriate to the risk, including HTTPS everywhere, one-time-code and token-based sign-in, hashed passwords where passwords are used, separate low-privilege database accounts, blocking of public access to configuration and uploads, rate limiting and bot protection, access limited to authorised administrators, and activity logs. No system is perfectly secure. If a personal data breach affects you and meets the legal threshold, we will notify the National Privacy Commission and the affected individuals within 72 hours of knowing about it, as required by NPC Circular 16-03, and tell you what happened and what you can do.
17. Website analytics and similar technologies
We use our own first-party analytics (no advertising networks). It uses a random visitor ID (kept in your browser's local storage, or an anonymous code derived from your visit), and records the pages you view, referrer, approximate location from your IP address, and device/browser type. The newsletter sign-up box remembers on your device that you already signed up. Our newsletters contain a tiny image and links that tell us whether they were opened or clicked (see section 12). You can clear site data or block images in your browser or email app at any time. Embedded YouTube videos use the privacy-enhanced mode; Google may set its own cookies once you press play.
18. Your rights and how to use them
Under the Data Privacy Act you have the right to be informed; to access your data; to correct it; to object to processing, including direct marketing; to withdraw consent; to erase or block data that is unlawfully processed or no longer needed; to data portability; to be indemnified for damage caused by inaccurate or unlawfully obtained data; and to file a complaint with the National Privacy Commission. To use a right, email welcome@manilaopenhouse.com from the address we hold for you (we may ask for proof it is you). We aim to reply within 30 days. Newsletter subscribers can also download or erase their data directly from the "Email preferences" page linked in every email. If a request is refused, we will tell you why.
19. Automated tools and AI
We use automated tools to detect spam, abuse and spoofed verification photos (section 10), and AI tools to help draft some articles and images. We do not make decisions with legal effect on you based solely on automated processing; a person can always review a verification result.
20. Changes
We may update this policy; material changes will be reflected by the "Last updated" date above.
21. Contact and data protection officer
Data protection contact (privacy questions, requests and complaints): welcome@manilaopenhouse.com. You may also contact the National Privacy Commission at privacy.gov.ph.