Privacy Policy
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Thank you for choosing to be a part of our community at SME Marketplace (“Company”, “we” , “us” , “our”). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy or our practices with regards to your personal information, please click here.
It should be dually noted that SME Marketplace is a multivendor online platform where buyers and sellers can connect, and transact. We do not sell products, instead products are sold on our website by third-party sellers. We appreciate that you are trusting us with your personal information and we want you to know that we take your privacy very seriously. In this Privacy Policy , we seek to explain to you in the clearest way possible what information we collect, how we use it and what rights you have in relation to it. We hope you take some time to read through it carefully as it is important. If there are any terms in this privacy policy that you do not agree with, please discontinue use of our Services immediately.
What Information Do We Collect?
In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.
We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you register or express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and services , when you participate in activities on the Site (such as by posting comments or reviews) or otherwise when you contact us. More specifically the information we collect includes but is not limited to:
Creating an account: Information including names, addresses, emails and telephone numbers . We may also collect other information where necessary.
Account verification: We may collect information to help with verifying your account information.
Making a comment: When you leave comments on our site we collect all the information entered as well as you IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. To read the Gravatar service privacy policy click here.
Using our service i.e. for buying or selling : information you provide when you communicate with a seller, or to us, or information you provide as a seller, including payment information, which may include bank details or credit card information if you are transacting with us. We may also collect information if you make a complaint, have a dispute and if we investigate conduct related to use of our services.
By contacting us: This includes information gathered through webforms, emails, or other means of communication between you and us, and where relevant between you and the other party to a transaction.
Providing indirect information: We may collect information from someone authorized by you, such as a third party , or any similar collated information.
Using your account: This can include items you have purchased ( as a buyer) or sold (as a seller), search history, communications, and other information which you may give to us to help with identifying which products you may be interested in.
As a vendor: This may include information about you and the products or services you offer for sale ( including images), transaction history, feedback and reviews.
Browsing our website: We may collect information from your browser, and device, including your IP address, geographical location, search terms, device description, device operating system, browsing times and dates, user ID, location information, page view statistics, website traffic information, referral URL and web log information.
Cookies: We collect information using cookies and similar technologies, relevant to viewed pages, followed links, and other browsing behavior. You can choose to enable or disable cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also allows you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third-party cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device. You can choose to delete cookies on your computer or device at any time, however, you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Site more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, login and personalization settings. It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.
Clicking on embedded content from other websites: Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact way it would if the visitor visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you , use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interactions with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account with that third-party website you and you are logged in on that website.
Other sources: We may get information from sites which are used to verify your identity, publicly available information, information from other users, information related to transactions and delivery of goods and services, credit-related information and demographic information which is lawfully available to us.
General: We collect personal information which is reasonably necessary for the functions or activities of our business. We will only collect information by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way.
Since, all the personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the choices you make in terms of the products you look at or purchase and the features of our Site you choose to use, this information provided by you must be true, complete and accurate and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
Will Your Information Be Shared With Anyone?
In Short: We only share information with your consent to comply with laws , to provide you with services, to protect your rights, or to fulfill business obligations.
We may process or share your data that we hold based on legal basis. More specifically we may need to process your data or share your personal information in the following situations:
Business Transfers – We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of , any merger , sale of company assets, financing or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
Business Partners – We may share your information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services or promotions.
How Long Do We Keep Your Information?
In Short: We keep your information for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy unless otherwise required by law.
We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice , unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law ( such as tax, accounting or legal requirements). If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
When we have no outgoing legitimate business need to process your personal information , we will either delete or anonymize such information, or if it is not possible (for example your personal information has been stored in backup archives) then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible. Please note that all users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time with an exception to their username which cannot be changed.
Do We Collect Information From Minors?
In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.
We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Site you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor’s use of the Site. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected , we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under the age of 18 please contact us by clicking here.
What Are Your Privacy Rights?
In Short: You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.
If you would at any time like to review or change the information in your account or terminate your account you can do so by either going to your account settings to make the necessary changes or by contacting us and making a request to review or terminate your account. In doing so, we will either provide you with your account details so you can make the necessary changes or we will deactivate or delete your account information from our active database. However, we may retain some information in our files to prevent fraud , troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Terms of Use and/or comply with applicable legal requirements.
Opting out of email marketing: You can unsubscribe from our marketing email list at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send or by contacting us using the details provided below. You will then be removed from the marketing email list – however , we may still communicate with you for example to send you service related emails that are necessary for the administration and use of your account , to respond to service requests or for other non-marketing purposes.
Does Our Website Contain Links To Third Party Sites Or Content?
In Short: Yes our website contains links that if selected will lead you to a third-party website and/or content associated with third-party sellers.
The SME Marketplace website contains hyperlinks to other websites owned and operated by third parties as well as advertisements by independent third-party sellers. These third-party sellers and third-party websites may have their own privacy policies and are also likely to use cookies, and we, therefore, urge you to review their privacy policies before doing any transactions with them. They are solely responsible for any personal information you submit when visiting their websites and this is inclusive of the cookies they collect. Kindly note that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of such third party websites and/or sellers and your use of such websites or services is at your own risk.
How Secure Is Your Information With Us?
In Short: We take the security of our users personal information very seriously and as such we have systems in place to ensure that all personal details entered on our site are secure and held in the strictest confidence.
SME Marketplace is committed to protecting and securing your personal information. We employ appropriate technical, administrative and physical procedures to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure, loss, misuse or alteration. We limit access to your personal information to the business need consistent with the reason the information was provided. As such, we keep your personal information only for as long as it is required for business purposes or by the law. Moreover, SME Marketplace protects your personal information by complying with Information Security Standards, Industry Schemes and Statutory obligations. We regularly conduct targeted internal and external audits on our security systems to ensure that they are inline with security best practices. Furthermore, we understand that you may have concerns about the security of the personal information we collect from you online. Accordingly, we have systems in place to ensure our online dealings with you are as secure as your dealings with us in person, or on the telephone. In fact, we employ security programs and services to monitor network traffic in order to identify any and all attempts to breach our system’s security.
What Information Do We Collect When The Site Is Searched?
In Short: We collect the search terms entered when you search for anything on our Site.
Search terms that you enter when using our search engine may be collected, but are not associated with any other information that we collect. We may use these search terms for the purpose of aggregated statistical analyses so we can ascertain what people are looking for on our website, and to in turn improve the services that we provide. We may use external companies to provide us with detailed aggregate statistical analyses of our website traffic. At no point in time will your personal information be made available to these companies, nor will there ever be a merging of the aggregate information with your personal information such as your name, address, email address or any other information you would consider sensitive or that would compromise your privacy.
How Can You Contact Us About Our Privacy Policy?
If you have any questions or comments about the information found within this privacy policy , please contact us by clicking here.
