Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

ShopKatalog (“we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our marketplace platform.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: Name, email address, password, phone number, and profile information
• Shop Information: Business name, description, logo, location, business type, and contact details
• Product Listings: Product names, descriptions, images, prices, categories, and inventory information
• Transaction Information: Order details, payment information (processed by third-party payment processors), shipping addresses
• Communications: Messages sent through our platform, customer support inquiries, reviews, and ratings

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Usage Data: Pages viewed, time spent on pages, click patterns, search queries, and navigation paths
• Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and screen resolution
• Cookies and Tracking: We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance user experience and analyze platform usage
• Location Data: Approximate location based on IP address

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Payment processors (transaction data)
• Social media platforms (if you connect your accounts)
• Analytics providers
• Fraud prevention services

3. How We Use Your Information

3.1 To Provide and Improve Services

• Create and manage your account
• Process transactions and orders
• Display your shop and product listings
• Facilitate communication between buyers and sellers
• Provide customer support
• Improve platform functionality and user experience

3.2 For Safety and Security

• Detect and prevent fraud, spam, and abuse
• Enforce our Terms of Service and policies
• Monitor for prohibited items and activities
• Verify compliance with legal requirements
• Protect users and platform integrity

3.3 For Communication

• Send transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping updates)
• Send account notifications and updates
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests
• Send marketing communications (with your consent)

3.4 For Analytics and Research

• Analyze platform usage and trends
• Conduct research and development
• Generate aggregated, anonymized statistics

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 With Other Users

Your public profile, shop information, and product listings are visible to all platform users. Order information is shared between buyers and sellers to facilitate transactions.

4.2 With Service Providers

We share information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf:

• Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)
• Cloud hosting providers (AWS, Vercel, etc.)
• Email service providers
• Analytics providers
• Customer support tools

4.3 For Legal Reasons

We may disclose your information if required by law or if we believe it is necessary to:

• Comply with legal obligations, court orders, or government requests
• Enforce our Terms of Service and policies
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of ShopKatalog, our users, or others
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues

4.4 Business Transfers

If ShopKatalog is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

4.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

5. Content Moderation and AI Systems

To ensure platform safety and compliance with our policies, we use automated systems including artificial intelligence to:

• Scan product listings for prohibited items (including pharmaceuticals and drugs)
• Detect inappropriate content, spam, and fraud
• Monitor chat messages for policy violations
• Analyze patterns of suspicious activity

Your product listings, descriptions, and communications may be processed by these automated systems. We log security events for audit and compliance purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. Specific retention periods include:

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period after deletion for legal and business purposes
• Transaction Records: Retained for accounting, tax, and legal compliance purposes (typically 7+ years)
• Security Logs: Retained for 30 days by default for audit and security purposes
• Communications: Retained as needed to provide services and resolve disputes

7. Your Rights and Choices

7.1 Access and Portability

You can access your account information at any time through your account settings. You may request a copy of your data in a portable format.

7.2 Correction and Update

You can update your account information, shop details, and product listings at any time through the platform.

7.3 Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your account and personal information ("right to be forgotten"). You can delete your data through multiple methods:

• Account Settings: Delete your account directly from Settings
• Facebook Users: If you signed up using Facebook, you can remove ShopKatalog from your Facebook Apps and Websites settings, which will automatically trigger data deletion
• Email Request: Contact us at privacy@shopkatalog.com

When you delete your account, we permanently remove all your personal information including: account details, shops, products, orders, reviews, chat sessions, uploaded images, and OAuth connections. For detailed instructions, visit our Data Deletion Instructions page.

Deletion Timeline: Your account becomes inaccessible immediately. Data is removed from active databases within 24 hours and completely purged from backups within 30 days. Note that some information may be retained where required for legal compliance (e.g., transaction records for tax purposes).

7.4 Marketing Communications

You can opt out of marketing emails by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by updating your notification preferences in your account settings.

7.5 Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect platform functionality.

8. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Secure authentication systems
• Regular security audits and testing
• Access controls and employee training
• Monitoring and logging of system access

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children's Privacy

ShopKatalog is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age of consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. These countries may have different data protection laws. We take appropriate measures to ensure your information receives adequate protection wherever it is processed.

11. Third-Party Links

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any information.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on the Platform and updating the “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the Platform after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, or if you wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us through the contact information provided on the Platform.