ARBEC Privacy Policy

Effective date: 5 October 2026

This policy covers the ARBEC mobile apps for iOS and Android (package com.conferencing.arbec) and the conference platform they connect to. It describes what ARBEC actually does with your information, so you can rely on it when deciding what to share.

Who is responsible for your information

ARBEC — the Aquatic Resources and Blue Economy Conference — is convened and operated by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), P.O. Box 81651-80100, Mombasa, Kenya. KMFRI is the data controller for the information described here.

The ARBEC mobile app and conference platform are developed and operated for KMFRI by Saharasoft Solutions Limited, Nairobi, Kenya, as technical partner and data processor.

Information ARBEC handles

Account and profile. Your name, email address, telephone number, organisation, job title, and the professional details you choose to add, together with your password credential. Your profile photograph and any other image you upload.

Conference participation. The conferences you register for, your ticket selection, registration and payment status, the sessions you save, your attendance, and your notification preferences.

Content you provide. Messages, questions to speakers, session feedback and ratings, abstracts and paper submissions, uploaded documents, and any other material you submit through the app.

Technical and security information. Device and push-notification tokens, session information, application logs, and the security and audit events created as you use the service.

Payment references. Where a registration involves payment, ARBEC records the transaction reference and status returned by the payment provider so the payment can be identified and reconciled. Payment card and mobile-money credentials are submitted directly to the payment provider and are not stored by ARBEC.

ARBEC does not collect your location, your contacts, or your advertising identifier, and does not track your activity in other apps. The app contains no advertising, analytics, crash-reporting, or attribution software.

Device permissions and why they are requested

Each permission is requested only when you start the function that needs it. You can refuse any of them and keep using the rest of the app.

Permission	What it is for	When it is requested
Camera	Scanning conference QR codes for check-in and badge verification	When you open the scanner
Photo library and file access	Choosing a profile photograph, attaching a file to a registration form, or submitting a paper	When you pick a file or image
Notifications	Schedule changes, session reminders, and organiser announcements, delivered through Firebase Cloud Messaging	When you enable notifications; revocable in your device settings

The app plays live and recorded conference video. Playback uses your device's audio and video output. ARBEC does not access your microphone: nothing you say is captured or transmitted, and the camera is used only for the scanner described above, never in the background.

Bookmarked sessions can be exported as a calendar feed (.ics) that you import into your own calendar app. ARBEC does not read or write your device calendar.

Reading library, downloads, speech and sharing

Your paper reading-list bookmarks are stored on your device, separately from the session bookmarks used for your itinerary. They are not a cloud-synced reading list and may remain on a shared device when you change accounts.

If you download an available scientific abstract, ARBEC stores its text, public author details and download time in the app's local storage, scoped to the signed-in account and conference edition. The app prevents access to that account's downloaded text after sign-out. Signing out does not erase those stored files; clearing the app's data removes its local reading list and downloads. Downloaded papers are not stored in the encrypted credential store.

When you use audio reading, ARBEC passes the selected scientific text to your device or browser's speech engine. This does not record your voice. Depending on the selected voice, operating system and speech provider, the engine may process text using network services under that provider's privacy terms. Audio reading is therefore not guaranteed to work offline. ARBEC does not send abstracts to a separate ARBEC AI or audio-generation service.

If you export a paper PDF or share a paper link, you choose the destination through your device's sharing tools. The exported file contains conference information, public author details and the available scientific text. The destination app or recipient handles the copy under its own privacy practices.

How information is used

ARBEC uses this information to:

• create your account and keep it secure, including verifying your email address;
• register you for a conference, issue your ticket, and manage your participation;
• build and show your personal programme, including the sessions you save;
• process and reconcile registration payments;
• deliver the messages and notifications you have asked for;
• store and deliver the files you upload, including abstracts and submissions;
• support you when you ask for help, diagnose faults, prevent abuse, and maintain audit records; and
• meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations and resolve disputes.

ARBEC relies on the performance of its agreement with you for registration and participation, your consent for notifications, marketing, and optional profile visibility, and legal obligation for financial and audit records.

Who can see your profile and content

You control who can find you in the attendee directory. The available settings are hidden, public, conference attendees only, and conference organizers only. That setting governs your directory presence; it does not remove you from the organiser records needed to run the conference.

Messages, questions, submissions, and uploaded materials may be visible to their recipients, to conference organizers, to reviewers, and to other participants selected by the feature you are using. Conference organizers configure access to their conference and its content.

In Privacy & visibility in the app you can manage your directory visibility, your marketing consent, and your notification preferences.

Service providers

ARBEC shares information only with the providers needed to run the platform, and only as much as each function requires. These include cloud infrastructure (database, API services, and document storage), Google Firebase for push notification delivery, the live-video service used for keynote and hybrid sessions, payment providers that process registration payments, and transactional email delivery. Each provider processes information under its own terms and privacy commitments.

ARBEC does not sell your personal information and does not share it for advertising.

International transfers

Some providers used to operate the platform process information outside Kenya. Where that happens, ARBEC relies on appropriate safeguards under the Data Protection Act, 2019.

How long information is kept

ARBEC keeps personal information only as long as it is needed for the purposes above.

• Account, profile, and participation records — while your account is open, and for as long afterwards as is needed to run the conference and meet legal obligations.
• Financial, billing, and audit records — retained as required by Kenyan tax, financial, and audit law, independently of account closure.
• Uploaded content — stored for submission and conference workflows. Account closure does not automatically erase these files; contact us to request a review of personal information in retained content.

Deleting your account

You can have your account and personal information deleted.

In the app: sign in, open Profile, select Privacy & visibility, and choose Delete account. You will be asked to confirm.

By email: if you cannot sign in, email nelson@saharasoftsolutions.com from your registered address with the subject ARBEC Account Deletion Request.

What is removed or anonymised: your account profile and credentials, your biographical details and the profile's link to your photograph, your device push-notification tokens, your saved sessions, and your directory entry. Signing in again with the deleted credential is no longer possible, and any session you had open is revoked.

What may remain: historical tax, billing, accounting, audit and conference participation records, including invoice and settlement references. Questions, messages, submissions and published conference materials are not automatically erased by account deletion. Your account profile is anonymised and its access is revoked. Contact us if your request also concerns personal information in conference content or uploaded materials, so that it can be reviewed separately.

Local reading-list bookmarks and downloaded papers may also remain in device storage; the deleted account cannot sign in to access its cached text. Clear the app's data to remove local copies.

How long it takes: deletion requests are completed within 30 days.

You can also ask to correct your information, in the app or by email, at any time.

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act, 2019 (Kenya) you have the right to be informed, to access your personal information, to correct inaccurate information, to have information deleted, to object to processing, to data portability, and not to be subject to decisions made solely by automated means.

To exercise any of these rights, email nelson@saharasoftsolutions.com. ARBEC will respond within the period the Act allows and may ask you to verify your identity first.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you may complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, Kenya — https://www.odpc.go.ke.

Security

ARBEC protects information with administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards: authentication tokens are held in encrypted platform storage (iOS Keychain and Android Keystore), traffic between the app and ARBEC services is encrypted in transit, tenant isolation is enforced at the database layer with role-based access control for administrative functions, and privileged actions such as registration changes and payment reconciliation are recorded in an append-only audit trail. No online service can guarantee absolute security.

Children's privacy

ARBEC is a professional conference service and is not directed to children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through ARBEC, contact us so the matter can be reviewed.

Changes to this policy

The current version and its effective date are published on this page. If a change materially affects how your information is handled, ARBEC will give notice in the app or by email before it takes effect.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, email nelson@saharasoftsolutions.com. For product help, see ARBEC Support.