Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Hatgebk LLC ("Hatgebk," "we," "us," or "our") operates a vehicle marketplace platform that connects car buyers and sellers in Egypt. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our website at hatgebk.com, our iOS and Android mobile applications, and related services (collectively, the "Services").

By using our Services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our Services.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Phone number (required for verification)
• First and last name (for individual accounts)
• Business name, description, and license details (for showroom accounts)
• Email address (optional)

Listing Information

When you create a car listing, we collect:

• Vehicle details (make, model, year, mileage, condition, transmission, fuel type, body type, engine capacity, color, features, VIN)
• Listing title and description
• Price and payment method preferences
• Photos of the vehicle
• Location (governorate and city)

Contact Information

You may add contact methods to your profile, including:

• Additional phone numbers
• WhatsApp availability
• Available hours for contact

Communications

When you use our inquiry system, we store:

• Messages sent between buyers and sellers
• Inquiry metadata (timestamps, listing reference)

Reports

When you report a listing, we collect:

• The reason for your report
• Any additional details you provide

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

Device and Usage Information

When you use our Services, we automatically collect:

• Device type, operating system, and version
• App version
• IP address
• Browser type and user agent (web)
• Pages and listings viewed
• Search queries and filter preferences
• Session duration and interaction patterns

Analytics Data

We track certain events to improve our Services:

• Listing views (including view duration)
• Search activity
• Feature usage (saving listings, contacting sellers)

Our mobile apps use session-based identifiers for analytics and do not use IDFA or other advertising tracking identifiers. On the website, marketing cookies may use advertising identifiers where you allow them or where they are on by default outside the regions listed in section 6.2.

Location Information

With your permission, we may collect your approximate location to show nearby car listings. You can disable location access at any time in your device settings. Our Services remain fully functional without location access.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

Social Login

If you choose to sign in with Google, Apple, or Facebook, we receive:

• Your name and email address (as permitted by the provider)
• A unique identifier from the provider

We do not access your social media contacts, posts, or friend lists. You can disconnect your social account at any time.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate the marketplace: Create and manage your account, display your listings, connect buyers with sellers, process inquiries
• Verify your identity: Send OTP codes via SMS or WhatsApp to verify your phone number
• Improve our Services: Analyze usage patterns, fix bugs, develop new features
• Provide seller analytics: Show sellers how their listings perform (views, inquiries, favorites)
• Prevent fraud and abuse: Detect and prevent scams, fake listings, and policy violations
• Communicate with you: Send transactional notifications (inquiry received, listing status updates)
• Comply with legal obligations: Respond to legal requests and enforce our terms
• Improve recommendations and search: Use anonymized and aggregated usage patterns (such as search activity, listing views, and interaction data) to train machine learning models that improve search results, listing recommendations, fraud detection, and overall platform quality. These models are trained on de-identified data and do not use your name, phone number, or other directly identifying information.

We do not use your information for:

• Selling to third-party advertisers
• Targeted advertising based on your browsing behavior
• Building profiles for data brokers

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 With Other Users

When you create a listing, the following information becomes publicly visible to all users:

• Vehicle details, photos, price, and description
• Your display name and account type (individual or showroom)
• Your selected contact information (phone numbers you choose to display)
• Your general location (governorate and city)

When a buyer sends you an inquiry, the buyer's name and contact information are shared with you as the seller, and vice versa.

4.2 With Service Providers

We share information with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our Services. These include providers of:

• Cloud hosting and storage - for server infrastructure, databases, and storing listing photos
• Messaging and verification - for delivering OTP codes via SMS or WhatsApp
• Analytics - for understanding how our Services are used and improving performance (using anonymized data)
• Content delivery and security - for fast, secure delivery of content and protection against attacks
• Authentication - for processing social sign-in (Google, Apple, Facebook) when you choose to use it

We carefully select our service providers and require them to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify. We do not share more data than necessary for each provider to perform their function.

4.3 For Legal Reasons

We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Hatgebk, our users, or the public.

4.4 Business Transfers

If Hatgebk is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any change in ownership or use of your personal information.

4.5 We Do Not Sell Your Data

Hatgebk does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.

5. Your Listing Data and Photos

5.1 Public Visibility

Car listings, including photos, vehicle details, and price, are publicly visible on our platform and may be indexed by search engines (such as Google). This is necessary for the marketplace to function - buyers need to find and view listings.

5.2 Photo Responsibility

You are responsible for the content of photos you upload. Please ensure your photos do not unintentionally reveal:

• License plate numbers you wish to keep private
• Personal documents visible in the vehicle
• Other people's faces without their consent

We apply a watermark to uploaded photos to prevent unauthorized reuse.

5.3 After Deletion

When you delete a listing, we remove it from our platform promptly. However:

• Search engine caches may retain copies temporarily until they refresh
• Anonymized analytics data (view counts, not personal data) may be retained for reporting

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

6.1 What We Use

Essential Cookies

These cookies are always on. They support sessions, security (CSRF protection), language and theme preferences, and remembering your cookie choice.

Performance Cookies

These cookies support analytics and help us measure how the site is used.

Our mobile apps use an analytics service to understand how the apps are used.

Marketing Cookies

These cookies help us show relevant ads and measure their performance.

Data from optional cookies may be shared with analytics and advertising partners.

6.2 Your Choices

For visitors from the EU, the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), the UK, Switzerland and the US, performance and marketing cookies are optional and stay off until you choose to allow them. The cookie banner shown in those regions offers three equal choices: "Accept all", "Reject all" and "Choose". We keep your choice for 12 months.

Visitors elsewhere are not shown the banner, and performance and marketing cookies are on by default.

You can change your choice at any time using the "Cookie settings" button in the footer, which appears for visitors in those regions. You can also block cookies through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may affect site features such as language preferences and sign-in.

7. Data Retention

• Account data: Until you delete your account
• Car listings: Until you remove them, or until account deletion
• Listing photos: Until the listing is removed
• Inquiry messages: Until account deletion
• Analytics (raw events): 90 days
• Analytics (aggregated): Indefinite (anonymized, no PII)
• OTP verification codes: 5 minutes (auto-expire)
• Authentication tokens: Session lifetime
• Server logs: 30 days

8. Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time from Profile > Delete Account in our mobile apps. When you delete your account:

• Your profile information is anonymized (name cleared, phone number masked)
• Your listings are deactivated and hidden from public view
• Your contact information is permanently deleted
• Your saved searches and favorites are deleted
• Your social login connections are removed
• Your uploaded photos (profile images, showroom logos) are permanently deleted from our storage
• All active sessions are revoked

Anonymized analytics data (such as listing view counts) may be retained for aggregate reporting but cannot be linked back to you.

This process is irreversible. Once your account is deleted, your data cannot be recovered.

9. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers uses HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Secure token storage: Authentication tokens are stored in your device's secure enclave (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore)
• Access controls: Backend access is restricted to authorized personnel
• Database security: Production databases require SSL connections
• Password hashing: We use industry-standard hashing for sensitive credentials
• Rate limiting: API endpoints are rate-limited to prevent abuse
• HSTS: HTTP Strict Transport Security is enforced on all connections

While we take reasonable measures to protect your data, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: View your personal data through your profile settings
• Correction: Update your name, contact information, and listing details at any time
• Deletion: Delete your account and associated data (see Section 8)
• Withdraw consent: Revoke location access, disconnect social logins, or opt out of optional features
• Data portability: Request a copy of your data by contacting us
• Restrict processing: Contact us to restrict certain processing activities

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address provided in Section 14.

11. Children's Privacy

Our Services are intended for users who are at least 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will promptly delete that information.

12. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed on servers located outside your country of residence. By using our Services, you consent to this transfer. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
• Notify you through the app or via email (if you have provided one)

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our Services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us:

Hatgebk LLC

Email: hello@hatgebk.com

For privacy-specific inquiries, please include "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We will respond within 30 days.