buyOrsell.ae Privacy Policy

Souq Labs Technologies LLC SPC ("buyOrsell", "we", "us", "our") operates the online classifieds platform at www.buyorsell.ae, registered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We are the data controller for personal data processed through the Platform.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, retain, and protect your personal data when you access or use the Platform, and describes your rights under the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 on Personal Data Protection ("PDPL") and other applicable privacy laws.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us: contact@buyorsell.ae.

This Policy applies to:

• All users of the Platform, including visitors, registered account holders, buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, employers, job seekers, and business users.
• Personal data collected through the website at www.buyorsell.ae, our mobile applications, and any related services.
• Data collected via communications with us (email, phone, in-app messaging, support tickets).

This Policy does not apply to third-party websites, applications, or services linked from the Platform. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party services you use.

We collect personal data in three main ways: data you provide to us directly, data collected automatically, and data received from third parties.

3.1 Data You Provide Directly

3.2 Data Collected Automatically

When you use the Platform, we automatically collect technical and usage data, including:

• Device data: IP address, device type, operating system, browser type and version, screen resolution.
• Usage data: Pages visited, listings viewed, search queries, filters applied, time spent on pages, click patterns, and referral URLs.
• Location data: General location inferred from IP address (emirate level). We do not collect precise GPS location unless you explicitly grant permission for location-based features.
• Cookie and tracking data: Session identifiers, analytics identifiers, advertising identifiers. See Section 10 (Cookie Policy) for full details.
• Transaction logs: Subscription purchases, renewal dates, payment status, and refund requests.

3.3 Data Received from Third Parties

• Social login providers: If you register or log in using Google or Apple, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from those services.
• Payment processors: Stripe may share transaction confirmation, fraud risk scores, and card verification status.
• Advertising partners: Google Ads and Meta may share audience segment data for ad targeting and measurement.
• Verification services: Where we use third-party identity or licence verification services, we receive confirmation results.

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so under the PDPL and applicable UAE law. The table below sets out our processing activities and the lawful basis for each.

Marketing opt-out: You may unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any marketing email, or by updating your notification preferences in Account Settings → Notifications.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We share data only as described below.

5.1 Visible to Other Users

Certain data is inherently visible to other Platform users as part of the classifieds service:

• Your display name, profile photo (if set), general location (emirate), and listing content.
• Your review submissions (attributed to your display name).
• Business users: Business name, logo, website, and verified status badge.

5.2 Service Providers

We share data with trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf, under strict data processing agreements:

5.3 Legal Disclosures

We may disclose your personal data to government authorities, regulators, or courts where required by UAE law, including:

• To comply with a legal obligation, court order, or regulatory requirement.
• To protect the rights, property, or safety of buyOrsell, our users, or the public.
• To investigate or prevent fraud, illegal activity, or violations of our Terms.

5.4 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal data may be transferred. We will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

The Platform is operated from the UAE, and your data is primarily stored on UAE-based servers.

Some of our service providers may process your data in centres located outside the UAE, including the EU and USA.

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
• Adequacy decisions
• Binding corporate rules where applicable

You may request information about the safeguards we use for international transfers by contacting us.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy:

After the applicable retention period, we will securely delete or anonymise your personal data.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data. Our measures include:

• Encryption in transit: All data is protected using TLS 1.2+ (HTTPS).
• Encryption at rest: Sensitive data is encrypted using AES-256.
• Password security: Passwords are hashed using bcrypt.
• Access controls: Restricted to authorised personnel only.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Strongly recommended.
• Regular security testing: Vulnerability assessments and audits.
• Incident response: Data breach response plans in place.

Under UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45/2021 (PDPL) and applicable law, you have the following rights:

Submit a request by emailing contact@buyorsell.ae with the subject line 'Data Subject Request'. We will respond within 7-15 business days.:

Many rights can be exercised directly within the Platform via Account Settings → Privacy.:

We use cookies to operate and improve the Platform. On your first visit, a consent banner allows you to manage granular preferences.

You may update your cookie preferences at any time via Account Settings → Privacy → Cookie Preferences.

The Platform is intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 18 without appropriate consent, we will delete that data.

If you believe your child has provided personal data to us, please contact us at support@buyorsell.ae.

We comply with the UAE Child Digital Safety Law and do not serve behavioural advertising to users under 18.

The Platform may contain links to third-party services not operated by us.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to those services. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Where you use social login (Google/Apple), the relevant platform's policy also applies.

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 with a revised 'Last Updated' date.
• Sending an email notification for significant changes affecting your rights.

Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us: