Article

9 June 2025

Viktoria Camp

Co-Founder, CEO & Chief Product Officer (CPO), Affinect

Offering free guest WiFi is expected, but in the UAE, it's also regulated. This guide breaks down what restaurant owners and marketing managers need to know to stay compliant, avoid fines, and still collect valuable customer data.

The good news? With the right platform, compliance becomes easy—and even profitable.

In this article
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1. Why Compliance Matters for Guest WiFi

2. What UAE Regulations Require

3. The Challenge for Restaurants

4. How Affinect Helps You Stay Compliant—Effortlessly

5. Turn Compliance Into a Competitive Advantage

6. Real-World Example

7. Final Thought

In the UAE, you can’t just plug in a router and call it “free WiFi.”
Restaurants are legally responsible for:

• Securing the network
• Collecting guest consent
• Logging device access
• Storing data safely

Fail to comply, and you risk:

• Penalties from the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA)
• Breaches of consumer privacy laws
• Loss of customer trust

But here’s the upside:
✅ If done right, compliant WiFi can also become your best data source for marketing and loyalty.

Here’s a simplified list of what UAE regulators expect from businesses offering guest WiFi:

✅ User Authentication
You must identify who is connecting. That typically means:

• Mobile number verification
• Social login (Meta, WhatsApp, etc.)
• Custom login form with name/email

✅ Consent Collection
Guests must opt in to:

• Terms of service
• Data collection practices (e.g., for marketing or analysis)

Consent must be documented and accessible.

✅ Session Logging
You need to log:

• Device MAC addresses
• Login timestamps
• Session durations
• IP assignment logs

This is part of your legal obligation under national telecom and security laws.

✅ Secure Data Handling
Collected data must be:

• Stored securely (encrypted, access-controlled)
• Retained for a specific period (usually 1–2 years)
• Accessible if requested by authorities

Most restaurants:

• Don’t have an IT department
• Use third-party WiFi hardware
• Aren’t sure if they’re compliant
• Want to collect data but are afraid of the legal risks

That’s where a purpose-built platform like Affinect steps in.

Affinect is designed with compliance built in from the start:

🧩 Social + Form-Based Login
Let guests log in via:

• WhatsApp
• Meta (Facebook/Instagram)
• Custom forms (collecting name, phone, birthday, etc.)

All methods meet user-authentication requirements.

✅ Consent Checkboxes + Custom Terms
Our captive portal includes mandatory checkboxes for:

• GDPR/TDRA consent
• Marketing opt-in
• You can even upload your own legal terms.

🗂️ Session Tracking + MAC Authentication
Each device is assigned a digital identity:

• MAC address
• Login/logout timestamps
• Return visit tracking

This meets UAE record-keeping obligations.

🔐 Data Security (AWS Cloud)

• All data is encrypted
• Stored on private, secure cloud infrastructure
• Token-based API access means no direct database exposure

Here’s where it gets interesting.

By meeting compliance standards, you also unlock:

• A growing, opted-in customer database
• Rich visit behavior insights (frequency, dayparts, dwell time)
• Automated marketing workflows based on real visits
• Loyalty triggers that don’t require an app or extra staff

So while your competitor worries about “what’s legal,” you’re busy bringing guests back—automatically.

Restaurant Group: Multi-venue chain in Dubai
Challenge: Needed to offer guest WiFi across 7 locations, stay compliant, and grow their CRM
Solution: Deployed Affinect across all venues
Outcome:

• 15,000+ verified logins in 3 months
• 4,000+ guests opted in for email/SMS
• +29% return rate on reactivation offers
• Fully compliant with UAE regulations—no IT team needed

Guest WiFi isn’t just a service—it’s a responsibility.
Done right, it becomes an engine for growth.

Affinect helps you:

• Stay fully compliant
• Collect data you can actually use
• Turn logins into loyalty

👉 Ready to offer guest WiFi that’s secure, compliant, and smart?
Book a free Affinect demo and let our UAE-based support team handle the setup, so you can focus on growing your business.