36th IAOM MEA Conference & Expo 2026
Last updated: 6 October 2026
This policy explains what the IAOM MEA app collects, why, who can see it, and how to delete it. The app is run by the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Middle East & Africa Region (“IAOM MEA”, “we”) for the IAOM MEA Conference & Expo, and is available for Android and iOS.
What we collect
- Your account: your first and last name, email address, company name and job title, and your password, which is stored only as a one-way hash, never in readable form. You can also add a profile photo.
- Your attendee badge: a QR code made for your account. It contains a link that includes your email address.
- Chat: the messages, photos, videos, voice notes and files you send to other attendees, who you chat with and when, whether a message has been read, and whether you are online or typing.
- Reminders and reviews: the sessions, speakers and workshops you set reminders for, and the ratings and comments you post about sessions and workshops.
- Notifications: a push-notification token for your phone, so the app can alert you to new chat messages, and the list of notifications sent to you in the app.
- Sign-in and security records: the IP address and type of phone (Android or iOS) used each time you sign in, and when verification or password-reset codes were requested.
- Crash reports: if the app crashes, a report with technical details such as the phone model and the operating-system and app versions, used only to find and fix the problem.
The app does not use your phone’s location, does not read your contacts, does not take payments, shows no advertising and does not use an advertising ID.
Phone permissions
- Camera: only to scan attendee badges (QR codes). The picture is processed on your phone; the app does not store or upload it.
- Photos and files: only when you choose a profile photo, or a photo, video or file to send in chat.
- Microphone: only while you record a voice note in chat.
- Notifications: to show you chat alerts.
How we use your information
Only to run the app and the conference: to create your account and sign you in, email you verification and password-reset codes, show the attendee list, scan badges, deliver chat and its notifications, keep your reminders and reviews, keep accounts secure, and fix crashes. We do not sell your information or use it for advertising.
Who can see your information
- Other signed-in attendees can see your name, photo, company and job title in the attendee list and when they scan your badge. The app does not show them your email address.
- Your badge’s QR code contains a link with your email address, so anyone who scans it with an ordinary QR-code reader can read that address.
- Chat messages and files are delivered to the people you send them to. If they are not in the chat at that moment, they receive a notification showing your name and your message.
- People you chat with can see whether you are online, and when you are typing a message to them.
- Ratings and comments you post about a session or workshop can be read by other signed-in attendees.
- IAOM MEA staff can see account details in our administration system, to run the conference and to help you.
Service providers
These providers process information for us, only to run the app:
- Google Firebase: Cloud Firestore and Cloud Storage (chat messages and files), Cloud Messaging (push notifications) and Crashlytics (crash reports).
- Google ML Kit: reads badge QR codes on Android phones, on the phone itself. It may send Google technical statistics about the scanner and the phone.
- Our web hosting provider: runs the app’s server and database, and sends account emails (verification and password-reset codes) from noreply@iaom-mea.com.
Some screens show pages of our website, iaom-mea.com. Links to other websites, such as hotel booking or event registration pages, open those sites, and their own privacy policies apply.
How long we keep it
We keep your account and its information until you delete your account. Chat stays in Google Firebase after that until we delete all chat data there, by 31 May 2027 at the latest; see “Deleting your account” below.
Deleting your account
- In the app: Profile → Remove account → Yes. Your account is deleted straight away.
- By email: write to info@iaom-mea.com from the email address registered on your account. We reply to that address to confirm the request, then delete the account within 30 days of your email.
When your account is deleted we erase your name, email address, company, job title, photo, QR badge, password and codes, your sign-in and device records, and your reminders, reviews and notifications, including the chat notifications other attendees received from you. An account number with no personal details remains. Copies in our server backups are removed as the hosting provider’s backups expire.
Chat is stored in Google Firebase, not on our server, and is not deleted with your account. These stay there until we delete all chat data from Firebase, by 31 May 2027 at the latest:
- the messages, photos, videos, voice notes and files you sent, in the conversations of the people you sent them to, with the name you used at the time;
- the messages other people sent you, which also carry your name and a link to your profile photo (the photo itself is deleted);
- your name, photo link and the last message of your conversation in the contact list of each person you chatted with, and your own contact list with the last message of each conversation;
- your online-status record (online or offline, and when you last opened or left a conversation);
- photos, videos, voice notes and files you deleted from a conversation: they no longer show there, but the files stay stored.
App version 2.0.0 has a Remove account button that only signs you out; it does not delete your account. Update the app and remove your account again, or email us.
More details: iaom-mea.com/Cape-Town-2026/delete-account
Your choices
- Change your name, company, job title and photo at any time in your Profile. To change the email address on your account, contact us.
- Delete a message, photo, video, voice note or file you sent in chat by pressing and holding it. It is removed from the conversation for both of you, but a notification the other person already received may still show your message, and the file of a deleted photo, video, voice note or file stays stored in Google Firebase.
- Turn off notifications at any time in your phone’s settings.
Security
Everything the app sends and receives travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS). Passwords are stored only as one-way hashes. Chat is not end-to-end encrypted, so please do not use it for confidential information.
Children
The app is intended for conference professionals and is not directed at children under 16.
Changes and contact
We may update this policy; the date at the top shows the latest version. This policy is also published at iaom-mea.com/Cape-Town-2026/app-privacy-policy. Questions or requests about your information: info@iaom-mea.com.