Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service User Agreement

Please read the Privacy Statement and General Terms and Conditions governing the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service. By using this messaging service, you confirm that you understand and agree to these terms and conditions. Specifically, upon your first interaction with the Service you will be asked to accept this User Agreement and related terms and conditions.  By confirming your acceptance, when prompted by WhatsApp, you will enter into a legally-binding agreement with UNHCR.

Privacy Statement and Consent to Processing of Personal Data

1. Personal Data

When you interact with the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service, you accept to provide to UNHCR some personal information needed for the application to work and be able to reply to your messages and questions. All aspects of the service delivery are undertaken in line with UNHCR’s Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern to UNHCR (UNHCR Data Protection Policy) and General Policy on Personal Data Protection and Privacy. You can withdraw your consent for UNHCR to use your data at any time. You can stop using the service, and also request the deletion of all your data.

Your data will be processed by UNHCR and the companies Foundever, Twilio and Ciptex, which support the management of this service. The messages will be stored securely with UNHCR and may be viewable by Foundever, the company managing the agents attending to your conversations, and Ciptex, the company which provides IT technical support and maintenance for the Service. As the channel of WhatsApp is used for the Service, WhatsApp will also capture certain data, though not specific to this Service, as per its General terms and conditions. The data gathered, stored, and shared is as follows:

The data is captured automatically by the different components of the Service and you do not need to do anything else to share it. Other data may be transmitted to WhatsApp depending on your specific account and device settings for the WhatsApp application. However, this shared data is not in any way linked to the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service. Please see section 7 below for information for further details on how your data is stored.

2. Why UNHCR is Collecting and Processing Your Data

With your consent, UNHCR as the data controller will use your personal data only for the purposes noted in the table below and only as is necessary for the provision of the service.

UNHCR’s technology partner Twilio, who is the data processor, will process the same data in order to support UNHCR to effectively deliver the Service through their platform, routing messages to and from users to UNHCR, and facilitating the automation of message delivery based on the content of messages received.

In addition, UNHCR and Twilio will collect anonymized data (i.e. data processed in a manner that does not identify you) about your usage of the Service, to allow us to review and improve performance of the application.

Your information will not be sold or used by UNHCR or its technology partners for reason not noted above, nor shared with any other third parties without your prior consent.

3. Security of Your Data

UNHCR and its technology partners Twilio and Ciptex will keep your personal information safe and confidential, including through WhatsApp’s encryption and secure storage in UNHCR private cloud hosting. As an international organization, UNHCR enjoys privileges and immunities that help protect your data from being accessed by governments and other unauthorized third parties.

4. Confidentiality of Your Data

UNHCR data privacy policies strictly regulate the processing of personal data, including the collection, use, access, storage, retention, and transfer of your personal data. Personal data collected from you is always kept confidential and secure, and permission to access your data is controlled as detailed in UNHCR Data Protection Policy. Your data can only be viewed by authorized UNHCR and Foundever staff specifically working on the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service to respond to your enquiries and/or the automatic replies are working proper, as well as to specifically authorized staff members of UNHCR’s support and maintenance provider, Ciptex. All authorized staff members must comply with all rules governing the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information.

5. Sharing Your Data

UNHCR will not share your personal information to any external parties(other than Foundever, WhatsApp, Twilio and Ciptex as mentioned in section 1 above) without your consent. For the service to function properly, your personal data will be sent to WhatsApp and processed through Twilio every time you interact with the Service, but they will not have access to the message content. The content will only be seen by the specifically authorized UNHCR and Foundever staff operating the Service. UNHCR’s support and maintenance provider, Ciptex, may also have access to your content in order to provide and maintain the WhatsApp Service. If it is necessary to share your data with partners of UNHCR to follow up on your enquiry and/or case, we will first obtain your consent.

6. Sharing Data to Prevent Harm, Report on Missing Persons, or Comply with International Law

UNHCR may preserve your information and share it with third parties if the organization has a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to prevent death or imminent bodily harm to you and others, help locate refugees or other forcibly displaced who have been reported missing, or to prevent violations of international law.

7. Opting Out of the Service and Deleting Your Data

You can choose to stop using the service at any time and ask for your data to be deleted from UNHCR’s system. To stop using the service simply message the phrase “UNSUBSCRIBE” to the service to no longer receive messages. To request deletion of your data and interactions, simply message the word “DELETE” to the service and you will be prompted to confirm you no longer wish to use the service and delete your data from the platform, including all messages exchanged with UNHCR. It may take us up to 10 days to process this request and delete your data, but we will try to do this as soon as possible.

Your data will be stored for a maximum period of 365 days since last engagement with the service, after which it will be deleted; except for the anonymized data used by UNHCR and Twilio for assessment of the service. Should you wish to use the service again after having opted out and requested deletion of your data, you can contact the service again and provide renewed consent as per the first time of use.

8. Requesting Access to Your Data

Should you wish to know what personal data about you UNHCR has collected as part of this service, you can ask UNHCR to share it with you at any time through the WhatsApp Service by sending an email to [email protected].

9. Raising Concerns

UNHCR is committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution of concerns arising from the use of the Service including concerns about privacy. If you believe that we have not been able to assist with your concern through the communication channel set out in section 8 above, or if you have any other complaint, comment, or concern, you have the right to make a complaint under our internal complaint mechanism, by calling the Safe Mobility contact center via the toll-free number specific for your country or file a complaint directly with Inspector General’s Office.

10. Notification of Changes

UNHCR reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Whenever changes are made, you will be notified and will need to agree to the updated terms to continue using the Service.

General Terms and Conditions

1. Use of Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service 

When using the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service you agree to the respect the following terms, supplementary to WhatsApp’s existing Terms of Service. Specifically, you shall:

• NOT misrepresent your relationship to another user.
• NOT share any personal data about yourself or others unless specifically requested.
• ALWAYS ensure that all information you voluntarily provide is as accurate as possible when it is requested by Service operators to you with appropriate services are available.
• NOT use any obscene, discriminatory, and or abusive language with the Service operators.
• NOT sell any of the information you obtain from the Service to others or charge anyone a fee for using the Service with your mobile phone.
• NOT use the application to violate the intellectual property rights of other persons or entities (i.e. the rights affording protection to creative and intellectual effort which include copyright, designs, patents, trademarks, layouts, and/or confidential information which may be part of your content).

You also agree to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy of Twilio. When using the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service, which is powered by the Twilio Flex platform, you will be considered an end user of Twilio. This means that you agree to the following:

• NOT use the Service to transmit or store any content that is illegal, harmful, unwanted, inappropriate, or objectionable.
• NOT share content that is false and/or inaccurate; is hateful or encourages hatred or violence against individuals or groups; or could endanger public safety.
• NOT use the Service to engage in or encourage any activity that is illegal, deceptive, harmful, a violation of others’ rights, or harmful to Twilio’s business operations or reputation.

2. Denial of Access

UNHCR may decide, at its sole discretion, (a) not to respond to users of the Service if the use is abusive and/or does not respect all the terms noted above, and/or (b) not to permit access to the Service for users if doing so may put an individual at risk of harm.

3. Disclaimer

UNHCR aims to ensure that the content provided via the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service is as accurate as possible however information is regularly updated and as such there may be a slight delay in the new information being available within the service. Moreover, only information relevant to specific countries participating in the Safe Mobility programme is available. While UNHCR cannot guarantee total accuracy of the information provided, it does endeavour to correct errors that are drawn to its attention as soon as possible. The content in the application is provided on an “as is” basis, without warranty of any kind, explicit or implied. Moreover, UNHCR does not make any warranties as to the appropriateness, quality, timeliness, accuracy or completeness of the information and service offered through the application.

In providing this service, UNHCR does not endorse WhatsApp or any other messaging applications from other providers. Use of the service does not mean that the user is guaranteed access to any specific information or services.

The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgment by UNHCR as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries.

4. Information outside of UNHCR

The service may point you in the direction of information from service providers or actors outside UNHCR, including any content providers, third parties providing information in the application, any user of the application or any other person or entity. Moreover, other actors may provide information about UNHCR. UNHCR does not control information given by outside actors. This means UNHCR cannot say if such outside information is accurate and the organisation cannot be held responsible for the information or any results, including loss or damage, flowing from it. UNHCR does not provide any warranties, explicit or implied, and specifically disclaims any liability of any nature for any loss or damage caused in connection with the use of any such services.

5. Security Measures

UNHCR will take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure your data is kept safe and cannot be sent to or used by unauthorised parties, but it cannot guarantee complete security given the inherent security risk present with application of digital tools.

Using WhatsApp also means that certain data and usage is captured by Meta, which owns WhatsApp regardless of the use of this service. UNHCR is not responsible for any problems or other use of your data by others, or other risks arising from using third-party mobile applications.

6. Changes to the WhatsApp Service

UNHCR will regularly review how the service is working and make changes to improve it, if possible. By using the service, you give UNHCR permission to review conversations and engagement with individuals anonymously to see what changes or improvements are needed. If any changes are made that will impact you, your personal data or anything within this Agreement, UNHCR will inform you about these changes. UNHCR may have to change the service based on the resources it has or changes to the situation without having to give you notice first but will notify of changes afterwards.

7. Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about this User Agreement, please email [email protected].

For further contact information and channels for providing feedback or comments on the service, visit movilidadsegura.org.  

8. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights relating to UNHCR-owned materials provided through the application shall remain vested in UNHCR, unless otherwise stated. Extracts of the materials and other information provided in the application may be viewed, downloaded, and printed for personal, non-commercial use only, without any right to sell, resell, or create derivative works therefrom.

Any use other than for personal purposes, including reproduction or translation of substantial portions of UNHCR-owned materials requires the express prior written permission of UNHCR.

In addition, UNHCR reserves the right to seek all remedies available by law for any violation of these terms and conditions, including any violation of UNHCR’s rights in UNHCR name and emblem and its rights in connection with the information, artwork, text, video, audio, or pictures made available through the application.

9. UNHCR Name and Emblem

UNHCR name and emblem are the exclusive property of UNHCR. They are protected under international law. Unauthorized use is prohibited. They may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of UNHCR.

10. Notification of Changes

The Content of the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service is selected on the basis of UNHCR’s own criteria and in its own sole discretion at any time and may change without notice. UNHCR reserves the right at any time to change or discontinue any aspect or feature of the Safe Mobility WhatsApp information service, including but not limited to these terms and conditions and availability.

11. Special status of UNHCR and how to raise concerns

UNHCR holds a special status as a UN (United Nations) organisation and as such receives some additional safeguards relating to the independence and neutrality of its activities, including the Safe Mobility WhatsApp information service. As such, nothing in or relating to this notice or the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service shall be deemed a waiver of any of the privileges and immunities of UNHCR as an integral part of the United Nations in conformity with the applicable national and international legal instruments.

12. Dispute Settlement

All disputes arising under this Agreement that cannot be settled amicably shall be resolved in accordance with the following procedure:

• Pursuant to a notice of conciliation communicated by reasonable means by one Party to the other Party, the dispute shall be submitted to non-binding conciliation conducted in accordance with the Conciliation Rules then obtaining of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”), or according to such other procedure as may be agreed between the Parties in writing. The language used in the conciliation proceedings shall be English unless otherwise agreed.
• If any such dispute has not been settled within 60 days following the date on which the notice of conciliation is provided by a Party to the other Party, the dispute shall be referred by either Party to arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules then in force. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of a sole arbitrator and the language of the proceedings shall be English unless otherwise agreed. The place of arbitration shall be Geneva where UNHCR has its headquarters. The arbitral proceedings shall be conducted remotely (e.g., via telephone conference or written submissions) whenever practicable.

13. Stopping the Service

UNHCR may change or cease the Safe Mobility WhatsApp Service at any time without prior notice. UNHCR shall not be responsible for any negative impacts or other results for the cessation of, or any changes to the Service.