Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

• Account data: email, phone number, business name, country, and authentication identifiers.
• Vendor profile: business description, logo, location, category, listings, gallery images, and reels you upload. Vendor profile fields you publish are visible to the public.
• Verification data: identity and business documents you submit for verification, retained securely and used only for verification and dispute review.
• Usage data: page views, search queries, vendor pings (WhatsApp click-throughs), reel views, and aggregated device/browser metadata.
• Payment metadata: subscription status and references issued by our payment processor. Card details are handled by the processor and never stored by PingMart.
• Support and dispute communications: the content of emails you send to our support, verification, or disputes addresses.

2. How we use information

• To operate discovery, search, reels, and the WhatsApp messaging hand-off.
• To verify vendors and display trust signals (badges, response indicators, ratings).
• To process subscriptions, prevent fraud, and enforce these terms.
• To send transactional emails (verification status, billing, security). Vendors can opt out of non-essential verification updates from their dashboard.
• To moderate content, investigate reports, and protect users from abuse.
• To improve platform performance, measure aggregate usage, and develop new features.

3. Vendor profile visibility

Vendor profiles, listings, gallery images, reels, business name, business description, category, location, and response/rating indicators are intentionally public, that is the core function of a discovery platform. WhatsApp numbers are surfaced through click-to-chat hand-off; PingMart does not display the raw number on the public profile when avoidable.

Email addresses, payment metadata, verification documents, and admin notes are never public.

4. WhatsApp hand-off

Tapping a "Chat on WhatsApp" link opens a conversation in WhatsApp with the vendor's number pre-filled. Once you leave PingMart for WhatsApp, your conversation, contact information shared, and any transaction are governed by WhatsApp's own terms and privacy policy and the vendor's practices, not PingMart's. We log only that the click-through occurred (for analytics and abuse prevention), not the content of any conversation.

5. Cookies and session handling

We use a small number of essential cookies and similar storage to keep you signed in, remember preferences, and secure your session. We use privacy-respecting analytics to understand aggregate usage. You can clear or block cookies via your browser settings; doing so may sign you out and disable some features.

6. Third-party processors

We share data only with the following categories of providers, strictly to operate the platform:

• Hosting and database: our managed cloud infrastructure provider.
• Authentication: our authentication provider for sign-in, OTP, and session management.
• Payments: Paystack for processing subscription payments.
• Email delivery: our transactional email provider for verification, billing, and security messages.
• Storage: object storage for images, reels, and verification documents.

We do not sell personal data. We share data with authorities only when required by law and with appropriate legal basis.

7. Moderation and security review

Listings, reels, gallery images, and reports may be reviewed by PingMart staff for trust, safety, and policy compliance. Verification documents are reviewed solely to confirm vendor identity and business ownership and are accessed only by authorised reviewers under audited access controls.

8. Data retention

We retain account data for as long as your account is active. Verification documents are retained only as long as needed for verification and for a reasonable audit period thereafter. You can request deletion of your account and associated personal data by emailing support@pingmart.co. Some records may be retained where required by law (for example, payment records for tax compliance).

9. Security

We use industry-standard encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, audited infrastructure, and secure handling of webhook callbacks. No system is perfectly secure, so we encourage strong, unique passwords and prompt reporting of any suspicious activity.

10. Your rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, export, restrict processing of, or delete your personal data, and to object to certain uses. Contact support@pingmart.co to exercise these rights. We may verify your identity before acting on a request.

11. Children

PingMart is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us data, please contact us.

12. Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date and, where appropriate, communicated by email.

13. Contact

Privacy questions? Email support@pingmart.co.