Privacy policy
Last updated: February 2025
Table of Contents
Summary
At Bwatoo, protecting your personal data is a priority. We only collect information necessary for the operation of our services, we never sell your data to third parties, and you maintain full control over your personal information. This privacy policy transparently explains how we collect, use and protect your data, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable laws in Gabon.
1. Data Controller
The controller of your personal data is:
2. Data Collected
As part of our services, we collect different categories of personal data:
Identification Data
- - First and last name
- - Email address
- - Phone number
- - Profile picture (optional)
Connection Data
- - IP address
- - Device type
- - Browser used
- - Operating system
Transaction Data
- - Purchase/sale history
- - Transaction amounts
- - Payment methods used
Complete banking data is not stored on our servers.
Geolocation Data
- - Delivery address
- - City and region
- - GPS coordinates (for delivery)
Precise geolocation is only used with your consent.
3. Processing Purposes
Your data is collected and processed for the following purposes:
- 1Creation and management of your user account
- 2Provision of our classifieds services and connecting users
- 3Execution of transactions between buyers and sellers
- 4Organization and tracking of deliveries
- 5Communications relating to your account and our services
- 6Platform security and fraud prevention
- 7Continuous improvement of our services and personalization of experience
- 8Compliance with our legal and regulatory obligations
4. Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal data on the following legal bases:
Your Consent
For sending marketing communications, using non-essential cookies and precise geolocation.
Contract Performance
For providing our services, managing your account, processing transactions and organizing deliveries.
Legitimate Interest
For platform security, fraud prevention, improving our services and anonymized usage statistics.
Legal Obligation
For retaining transaction data for accounting and tax purposes, and responding to authority requests.
5. Data Recipients
We never sell your personal data to third parties.
Your data may be transmitted to the following categories of recipients:
- -Other Users: Public information from your profile and ads visible to other platform users.
- -Payment Partners: Payment service providers (Mobile Money, bank cards) for secure transaction processing.
- -Delivery Partners: Partner delivery drivers for executing deliveries (name, address, phone).
- -Technical Providers: Hosts, cloud services and analytics tools for the technical operation of the platform.
- -Competent Authorities: In case of judicial or administrative request, in accordance with applicable law.
6. International Transfers
Your data may be transferred to countries outside Gabon, particularly to the European Union for hosting our servers. These transfers are governed by:
- -Adequacy decisions by the European Commission
- -Standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission
- -Your explicit consent when required
7. Retention Period
We retain your data for the following periods:
| Data Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Account data | Duration of registration + 3 years after deletion |
| Ads and content | Publication duration + 1 year |
| Transaction data | 10 years (accounting obligations) |
| Connection logs | 1 year |
| Cookies | 13 months maximum |
8. Your Rights
In accordance with GDPR and applicable legislation, you have the following rights over your personal data:
Right of Access
Obtain a copy of your personal data
Right to Rectification
Correct your inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to Erasure
Request deletion of your data
Right to Portability
Receive your data in a structured format
Right to Restriction
Restrict the processing of your data
Right to Object
Object to the processing of your data
To exercise these rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at privacy@bwatoo.com. We will respond to your request within a maximum of 30 days.
9. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data:
HTTPS/TLS Encryption
All data in transit is encrypted
Hashed Passwords
Secure storage with bcrypt
Restricted Access
Only authorized employees access data
24/7 Monitoring
Active intrusion detection systems
10. Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience on our platform. To learn more about the cookies we use and manage your preferences, see our cookie policy.
View our cookie policy11. Policy Changes
We may modify this privacy policy at any time. In case of substantial changes, we will inform you by email or via a notification on the platform. The last update date is indicated at the top of this document. We encourage you to regularly check this page to stay informed about our data protection practices.
12. Contact - Data Protection Officer
For any questions regarding this privacy policy or to exercise your rights, you can contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO):
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority if you believe that the processing of your data constitutes a violation of applicable regulations.