🔒 Privacy Policy

BidEthiopia ("we", "us", or "our") operates the online auction platform at charetazone.com. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our services.

1. Data We Collect

2. How We Use Your Data

• Account Management: To authenticate you and manage your account
• Auction Operations: To process bids, notify you of auction results, and coordinate transactions
• Payments: To process wallet top-ups and withdrawals via Chapa/Telebirr
• SMS Notifications: To send you OTPs, bid alerts, and important updates
• Security: To detect fraud and prevent unauthorized access
• Legal Compliance: To comply with Ethiopian financial and consumer protection laws

3. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

• Chapa Payment Gateway: For processing payments (they have their own privacy policy)
• SMSEthiopia: For sending SMS notifications (phone number only)
• Legal Authorities: When required by Ethiopian law or court order
• Sellers: Limited contact information shared when you win an auction (name and phone)

4. SMS Communications

By registering, you consent to receive transactional SMS messages from BidEthiopia, including:

• Account verification OTPs
• Password recovery codes
• Outbid alerts and auction results
• Payment confirmations

These messages are critical to platform functionality. You may contact us to opt out of non-essential marketing messages, but transactional messages cannot be disabled while your account is active.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

• All passwords are hashed using bcrypt (never stored in plain text)
• All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Database access is restricted to authorized personnel only
• CSRF protection on all form submissions
• Session security with HTTP-only, secure cookies

Despite our best efforts, no system is 100% secure. In the event of a data breach, we will notify affected users within 72 hours.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Update inaccurate or incomplete data via your profile settings
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email below.

7. Cookies

We use strictly necessary session cookies to maintain your login state. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Your session cookie expires when you close your browser or log out.

8. Contact Us

For any privacy concerns or data requests, contact:

BidEthiopia Data Protection
Email: info@bidethiopia.com