Privacy Policy
Last updated: 15 Jul 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Barter ("we", "our", "us") collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects data when you use our platform and related services.
1. Data We Collect
- Account data: name, username, email, phone/WhatsApp, password hash, profile photo, verification status.
- Listing and content data: titles, descriptions, categories, media uploads, pricing, location, and listing edits.
- Communication data: support messages, report submissions, chat-related metadata, moderation notes.
- Transaction/feature data: promotion orders, payment references, package usage, and operational logs.
- Identity verification data: CNIC front/back images, live selfie checks, OCR results, verification status, and review notes when you submit identity verification.
- Technical/security data: IP address, device/browser signals, session logs, timestamps, and abuse-detection signals.
- Cookies/local storage: for login state, preferences, security, and performance.
2. How We Use Data
- create and manage accounts, listings, and user support;
- enable platform features and communications between users;
- verify accounts, confirm identity, and improve trust/safety signals;
- detect, prevent, investigate, and enforce against spam, fraud, fake listings, and policy abuse;
- maintain security, service reliability, diagnostics, and product improvements;
- comply with legal obligations and lawful requests.
3. Identity Verification and Anti-Fraud Use
We use identity verification to reduce scam activity, fake accounts, and abusive listings. Verification helps us confirm that users are real people and supports platform safety, moderation, and account trust.
The verification process may include scanning CNIC details, checking a live selfie, and reviewing related metadata or status signals. We use this information only for verification, safety, fraud prevention, and related support actions.
4. Legal Bases and Legitimate Purposes
Depending on jurisdiction, we process data to perform our service contract with you, pursue legitimate interests such as safety and abuse prevention, comply with legal obligations, and where required, on the basis of consent.
4.1 Prohibited Content and Conduct
Strictly Prohibited Content and Conduct
The following is prohibited, including attempts, facilitation, or disguised versions:
- Illegal goods/services, controlled drugs/narcotics, prescription misuse, or regulated items without lawful authorization.
- Weapons, explosives, ammunition, weapon parts, instructions for harm, and violent-threat content.
- Terrorism, extremist material, recruitment, glorification of violence, or any support for prohibited organizations.
- Pornography, sexual exploitation, nudity intended for sexual purposes, obscene material, or sexually explicit services.
- Hate speech, slurs, abusive/bad language targeted at protected groups, harassment, intimidation, blackmail, or threats.
- Fraud, scams, impersonation, phishing, fake payment proofs, fake reviews, forged documents, or stolen goods.
- Counterfeit products, intellectual-property infringement, or unauthorized branded replicas.
- Misleading listings, false pricing, bait-and-switch, wrong location/category, or manipulated media.
- Collection or sale of personal data, doxxing, stalking, or any privacy-invasive activity.
- Malware, scraping, bots, reverse engineering, security probing, or attempts to disrupt Platform operations.
5. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell personal data as a business model, and we do not share personal data with third parties for advertising or commercial resale. We may share data in limited situations only when necessary:
- Service providers: hosting, delivery, analytics, security, messaging, and payment partners under confidentiality controls and only for platform operations.
- Platform safety: to investigate abuse, policy breaches, fake/spam behavior, account misuse, and identity fraud.
- Legal and authority requests: where required or permitted by law, court order, subpoena, or lawful investigation.
- Business protection: to enforce Terms, defend legal claims, or prevent harm to users and the public.
6. Reporting Abuse and Legal Cooperation
If users post prohibited content or engage in fraud, scams, impersonation, or other crimes, we may retain relevant records and provide them to competent legal authorities when required by law or lawful request. We may also preserve information needed to investigate and prevent further harm.
7. Retention
We retain data for as long as necessary for service operation, account management, fraud prevention, policy enforcement, dispute handling, and legal compliance. Retention periods vary by data type and legal risk.
8. Security
We apply reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect data. However, no online system is guaranteed 100% secure, and users should also protect credentials and avoid sharing OTPs or passwords.
9. Your Rights and Choices
- access or update profile/contact details;
- request correction of inaccurate data;
- request deletion, subject to legal and safety retention needs;
- object to certain processing where applicable law provides such right.
You can manage your account from Settings .
10. Children
The platform is not intended for users who are under the minimum legal age to enter contracts in their jurisdiction. If we identify unauthorized underage use, we may remove accounts and related data subject to legal obligations.
11. International Processing
Service providers or infrastructure may process data in different regions. Where applicable, we use contractual or organizational safeguards appropriate for lawful cross-border transfers.
12. Policy Updates
We may update this Privacy Policy due to legal, technical, or product changes. Continued use of the Platform after updates means you accept the revised policy.
13. Contact
For privacy requests or concerns, contact support@barter.pk or use the Help page.
