Privacy Policy

Ocean Calling Retreats, operated by Rocío Ruiz Last updated: 22 September 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Ocean Calling Retreats collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you interact with us through bookings, consultations, itineraries, retreats, or communications. Please read it to understand how your data is handled. It does not replace, and should be read alongside, our Terms & Conditions and Cancellation Policy.

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal information is:

Ocean Calling Retreats
Operated by Rocío Ruiz
Switzerland
Contact: hello@oceancallingretreats.com

All privacy-related requests and questions should be sent to this address.

2. Personal Data Collected

Ocean Calling Retreats collects personal data necessary to provide services and ensure a safe and smooth experience.

This may include:

• full name
• email address
• phone number
• passport details (if required for travel coordination)
• emergency contact information
• travel preferences and itinerary details
• health information voluntarily provided for safety purposes (see Section 8)
• payment-related information, processed by our payment provider Stripe (see Section 5)

Only information relevant to the service is collected.

3. Purpose of Data Collection

Personal data is collected and used to:

• organise and manage bookings, itineraries, and retreats
• communicate with participants before, during, and after services
• coordinate with trusted third-party providers
• ensure participant safety and appropriate planning
• provide personalised travel recommendations
• comply with legal and administrative obligations

Data is never collected for purposes unrelated to the services provided.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Personal data is processed based on:

• the performance of a contract (services booked)
• your consent (when voluntarily providing information, including health information and photo/video use)
• legal obligations under Swiss law
• legitimate interest in delivering and improving services

Health information specifically is only processed with your explicit consent, as described in Section 8.

5. Sharing of Data

Personal data may be shared only when necessary and strictly within the scope of service delivery. This may include:

• dive centres and freediving schools (for your booking and logistics; health forms and medical questionnaires are completed directly with the dive centre, see Section 8)
• accommodation providers
• transport operators
• retreat partners and local collaborators
• our payment provider, Stripe, to process payments
• Meta, via WhatsApp Business, when you choose to communicate with us over WhatsApp
• Google, via Google Analytics 4, for website analytics (see Section 10)

All third-party providers operate under their own privacy policies and are responsible for their own data handling. Ocean Calling Retreats does not sell, rent, or trade personal data.

6. International Data Transfers

As services involve international travel, personal data may be transferred outside Switzerland. Depending on which retreat you book, this can include the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, French Polynesia, Egypt, and other current or future retreat destinations, so that local partners there can prepare your trip.

These transfers are made on the basis that they are necessary to perform the contract for the trip you booked — that is, to deliver the retreat, activities, and services you requested. Where a transfer is not strictly necessary for that purpose, we will ask for your consent first.

Communicating with us via WhatsApp Business also means your message data is processed by Meta, which may transfer data internationally under its own terms.

7. Data Storage & Security

Personal data is stored securely using appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access, loss or misuse, and alteration or disclosure.

Data is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected or to comply with legal requirements.

8. Health & Sensitive Information

Health information is sensitive personal data under Swiss law and is only collected and processed with your explicit consent.

Dive and freediving schools ask you to fill in a health form and a medical questionnaire, usually the day before your first dive, and you can complete them in person at the dive centre. As explained in our Terms & Conditions, Ocean Calling Retreats does not itself collect, see, or store these documents. It is completed directly with, and held by, your local dive or freediving partner for the retreat, solely to assess your fitness to take part safely. Ocean Calling Retreats does not verify medical information and does not provide medical advice.

Your local dive or freediving partner keeps and deletes this information under its own policies and local law.

Participants remain responsible for the accuracy of the health information they provide, and may withdraw consent to share it at any time before it is submitted to the local partner, by contacting hello@oceancallingretreats.com.

9. Your Rights

Under applicable Swiss data protection law, you have the right to:

• request access to your personal data
• request correction of inaccurate data
• request deletion of your data
• withdraw consent at any time
• request restriction of processing

Requests can be made at any time by contacting hello@oceancallingretreats.com and will be handled within 30 days, free of charge.

If you believe your data has not been handled correctly, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC).

10. Cookies & Online Data

Our website uses Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site, so we can improve it. This may include website usage data, device information, and general location data.

No intrusive tracking or profiling is conducted, and this data is not combined with your booking or health information.

Carbon badge. The footer shows a Website Carbon badge. To display it, your browser loads a small script from unpkg, a public code delivery network, and the script asks the Website Carbon service for the carbon estimate of this website. As with any website request, those services can see your IP address and browser details. We send them no booking, health or contact information.

Amazon storefront and affiliate links. Some pages link to our Amazon storefront and product lists. When you click, you leave our website, and Amazon’s own privacy and cookie policies apply. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon reports purchases made through our links to us, but we do not share your personal data with Amazon and we do not receive your personal data from it.

11. Communications

By providing your contact details, you agree to receive communications related to your booking, itinerary, or retreat, including via WhatsApp Business where you choose to use it. Ocean Calling Retreats does not send unsolicited marketing communications without your consent.

12. Photos, Videos & Marketing Use

As described in our Terms & Conditions, retreats include photography and filming, and by participating you consent to being photographed and filmed during retreat activities.

We only use guest photos and videos in our marketing — including our website, social media, and promotional materials — on this consent basis. If you do not want to appear in published content, you can tell us in writing before your retreat begins, or withdraw your consent for future use at any time by contacting hello@oceancallingretreats.com. As set out in our Terms & Conditions, we will make reasonable efforts to honour this, though we cannot always guarantee removal from imagery that includes the wider group or that has already been shared.

13. Third-Party Links

Any links to external websites or providers are subject to their own privacy policies. Ocean Calling Retreats is not responsible for how third parties handle personal data.

14. Updates to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in services, legal requirements, or operations. The latest version will always apply.

15. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of Switzerland, including the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP/revFADP), in force since 1 September 2023.

If you are located in the European Union, EU data protection law (GDPR) may also apply to how we handle your data. This is a general note, not a legal assessment of your specific situation — we recommend a short check with a Swiss data protection lawyer if this matters to you. Nothing in this policy is legal advice.

16. Questions

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, contact: hello@oceancallingretreats.com