Liability
Mekato does not act as a supplier as contemplated in the Consumer Protection Act, or otherwise, and is not the party marketing the goods/services. Mekato only provides the platform.
As explained above, Mekato does not actively monitor data or content. Mekato is not involved in the actual transactions between users. Mekato does not operate as a payment intermediary, payment processor, payment facilitator, money transmitter, money services business, or any type of business akin thereto for the purposes of, or in connection with, any transaction on the site. Mekato also does not fulfill any of the functions (whether as a whole or in part) of a payment intermediary, payment processor, payment facilitator, money transmitter, money services business, or any type of business akin thereto, whether in a direct or indirect manner.
As most of the content on Mekato comes from other users, we do not guarantee or give any warranty or make any representation as to the accuracy and content of postings or user communications or the quality, safety, or legality of what's offered, or with regard to the legal capacity of the users that may conduct or complete any transaction. You agree not to hold us responsible for things other users post or do.
In no event do we accept liability of any description for the posting of any unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, or indecent information, or material of any kind which violates or infringes upon the rights of any other person, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable law.
Mekato may promote, endorse, and/or contain links to third-party sites and/or services and/or goods. These sites, services, and/or goods are beyond the control of Mekato. Mekato is not involved in transactions between users and the operators of such third-party sites. Mekato does not accept responsibility for their content, services, and/or products.
We cannot guarantee continuous, error-free, or secure access to our services or that defects in the service will be corrected.
While we will use reasonable efforts to maintain an uninterrupted service, we cannot guarantee this, and we do not give any promises or warranties (whether express or implied) about the availability of our services.
Accordingly, to the extent legally permitted, we expressly disclaim all warranties, representations, and conditions, express or implied, including those of quality, merchantability, merchantable quality, durability, fitness for a particular purpose, and those arising by statute. We are not liable for any loss, whether of money (including profit), goodwill, or reputation, or any special, indirect, or consequential damages arising out of your use of Mekato, even if you advise us or we could reasonably foresee the possibility of any such damage occurring. Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of warranties or exclusion of damages, so such disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you.
Despite the previous paragraph, if we are found to be liable, our liability to you or any third party (whether in contract, delict, negligence, strict liability in delict, by statute, or otherwise) is limited to the greater of (a) the total fees you pay to us in the 12 months prior to the action giving rise to liability, and (b) x Namibian Dollar.
Nothing in these terms shall limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation, for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or the negligence of our agents or employees.
General
Mekato prioritizes the privacy and safety of your data. This Privacy Policy governs data processing by Mekato, informing you about how we collect, use, and protect your personal information.
For any questions or comments regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at etc@trycid.com.
Information Collection
Our privacy policy covers our online platforms (Website and App) collectively referred to as the "Platform" and associated services offered by Mekato in Namibia. The data controller for your personal information is Mekato, located in Windhoek, Namibia.
We collect, store, and use your personal data in accordance with the fundamental human right under Article 13 of the Namibian Constitution. Personal data includes information about an identified or identifiable natural person, such as your name, date of birth, address, or email address.
Data Processing
This Privacy Policy outlines the specific data we collect and the purposes for which we use it to provide you with our services on the Platform. Certain services may be offered by third-party suppliers, and their data protection regulations will apply alongside this statement.
Mekato processes data necessary for contract performance or at your request before entering into a contract. References to the General Terms and Conditions (GTC) should be understood as information on data processing and not as contractual clauses.
Categories of Information
To provide our services, we process various categories of personal information, including but not limited to identifiers, personal information, commercial information, photos and videos, inferences, and other voluntarily provided data. We do not sell your personal information.
Recipients of Information
We may share your personal information with:
- Companies assisting in service provision.
- Advertisers, marketing vendors, and merchants.
- Partners offering services to merchants.
- Law enforcement or third parties for legal compliance or to prevent harm.
Amendments and Rights
You have the right to amend your account settings and communication preferences. We may update this Privacy Policy, and significant changes will be communicated.
Contact Us
For any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at etc@trycid.com.
By using the Platform, you agree to the terms outlined in this Privacy Policy.
2. Why and How We Collect and Use Your Personal Data
2.1. To Enable You to Use the Platform and Perform Our GTC
We collect and use your personal data to facilitate your use of our Platform, provide services, and fulfill our contractual obligations. This includes engaging in commercial transactions, utilizing electronic payment systems, leaving reviews, and communicating with other members. Registration as a Mekato member is necessary to access these services.
Most personal data is essential to fulfill contractual obligations, and failure to provide this information may prevent the conclusion and execution of a contract. Some data is required to meet legal obligations for Platform membership.
This data is also utilized to enhance the Platform's user experience (see 2.2.12). We collect and use your personal data for these purposes until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity.
2.1.1. To Enable Registration on the Platform
When registering, you must provide:
- User name
- Email address
- Confirmation of age over 18
- Password (if not using a third-party account)
This data is collected for the performance of a contract (GTC) or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract. We also determine your location based on your IP address at registration.
2.1.2. To Authenticate You via Google, Facebook, or Apple ID
If registering using Google, Facebook, or Apple ID, we collect data such as profile photo, full name, account ID, and email address. This data is obtained to set up your Mekato account and is used based on your consent.
2.1.3. To Enable You to Set Up Your Profile Information
If you add profile details, we collect data such as full name, gender, date of birth, profile photo, region, location, metadata of uploaded photos, favorite items, and "About You" information. This data is collected based on your consent.
2.1.4. To Show Other Members Relevant Information Regarding Your Activity
Information such as last login date, verification status, followers, members followed, and likes is collected, used, and made public for the purpose of providing relevant information to other members. This is done based on our legitimate interest to ensure members have access to important information about each other.
2.1.5. To Enable You to List Your Items
When listing items, we collect and use data such as item details, description, photos, price, discount, shipping options, and reasons for deleting the item. This data is collected based on your consent.
Personal data collected for item listings are retained for 18 months and 7 days of inactivity, while deleted items and their photos are stored for 6 months. Photo metadata containing personal data is deleted immediately.
2.1.6. To Enable Notifications on the Platform for You
As a registered member on the Platform, we provide notifications regarding new followers, favorited items, forum activity, and other important messages. The legal basis for collecting and using data for inbox notifications within the Platform is the performance of a contract (GTC) to which you are a party, and for sending push notifications, it is our legitimate interest to facilitate sales on the Platform.
We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.1.7. To Enable You to Communicate with Other Members
When you communicate with other members on the Platform, we collect and use data such as the name of the member, messages, date and time of messages, shared photos, your device, and information about message views. The legal basis for this collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (GTC) to which you are a party.
We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account. If you remove a message from a conversation, it will be instantly hidden and permanently deleted after 3 months from removal.
2.1.8. To Enable You to Leave Reviews for Other Members
When you leave reviews for other members, we collect and use data such as the review, star rating, member name, date and time of the review, and your reply to the review. The legal basis for this collection and use of data is your consent.
You can edit or delete your reviews at any time. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account. The reviews are anonymized afterwards.
2.1.9. To Receive Reviews from Other Members
When you receive reviews from other members, we collect and use data such as the review, star rating, member name, date and time of the review, and your reply to the review. The legal basis for this collection and use of data is the legitimate interest of our members and Mekato to build trust among Mekato members.
We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.1.10. To Enable You to Post in the Forum and Discuss with Our Community
In the Mekato forum, you can create topics or post comments. We collect and use data such as your members name, picture, created forum topics, forum posts, photos shared in your post, date and time of your post, total number of your posts, your device, likes under your post, comments and your likes under other members' posts. The legal basis for this collection and use of data is your consent.
You can delete or edit your forum topics and posts at any time. Unless deleted earlier, we collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.1.11. To Address Your Public Feedback About Us
If you leave public feedback about the Platform, we collect and use data such as full name, country, language, feedback, date and time of feedback, link to feedback, and technical data related to browser, device type, and operating system. The legal basis for this collection and use of data is our legitimate interest to manage Mekato’s reputation.
We collect and use your personal data for this purpose for up to 5 years.
2.1.12. To Send You Important Communication Regarding the Platform
If you register on the Platform, we will send you emails and messages for important notifications, such as GTC and Privacy Policy changes. The legal basis for this collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (GTC) and compliance with legal obligations.
We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.1.13. To Send You Offers Via the Platform’s Messaging System
If you register on the Platform, we will send you offers related to Mekato services via the Platform’s messaging system.
2.1.14. To Provide You With Customer Support Service
If you send us a query, request, or complaint, we will collect and use the following data for providing customer support services on the Platform:
- Your profile information
- Platform usage information
- Transaction and pay-out information
- Shipment information
- Communications
- Age
- Gender
- IP address
- Session information
- Item listings, photos, and videos
- Inquiries
- Other information submitted by you
The legal basis for collecting and using this data is the performance of a contract (GTC) to which you are a party.
2.1.15. To Resolve Purchase-Related Disputes Between Members
If you purchase and/or sell items on the platform and are involved in a dispute with another member, we will collect and use any of your personal data held by Mekato necessary to resolve the dispute, to the best of our abilities if that is not possible we mediation and arbitration or other resolution methods may be used..
2.1.16. To Retain Temporarily Your Deactivated Account
If you deactivate your account, we will make efforts to ensure it is no longer viewable on the Platform. For up to 3 months, it is possible to restore your account. The legal basis for storing your data is the legitimate interest of Mekato and our members to restore your account when necessary. Personal data is kept for this purpose for 3 months from the date of deactivation, after which your account is permanently deleted.
2.2. To Improve Your Experience When Using the Platform
We collect and use your personal data to enhance your experience on the Platform, enabling personalization of your feed and search results, providing relevant suggestions, and retaining your previous searches.
2.2.1. To Enable Your Preferences Regarding Your Feed and Search Results
If you choose to personalize the items presented to you, we collect and use data such as your interest in items for women, men, or children, preferred sizes, and preferred brands. The legal basis for this is your consent.
2.2.2. To Personalize Your Feed and Search Results
We personalize the item feed by evaluating preferences based on gender, age, region, language, browsing activity, purchasing history, and user preferences. The legal basis for this is the legitimate interest of Mekato and its members.
2.2.3. To Prioritize Good Value Items by Reputable Sellers
For sellers, we collect data such as the number of positive reviews and whether items are priced competitively. This data is used to prioritize good value items by reputable sellers. The legal basis is our legitimate interest.
2.2.4. To Suggest You Relevant Items
If you create item listings, we collect and analyze data to offer relevant suggestions to other members. The legal basis is our legitimate interest.
2.2.5. To Suggest Relevant Item Descriptions
When you create item listings, we analyze the data to suggest appropriate descriptions. The legal basis is our legitimate interest.
We collect and use your personal data for these purposes until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.6. Improving Search Results on the Platform
We collect and use data provided in the listings (see 2.1.5 above) about items with no information related to sellers to enhance search results. This involves evaluating the relevance of certain items to specific search keywords and automatically suggesting relevant categories for new listings. The legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in improving the Platform and ensuring that our members receive relevant suggestions and search results.
Mekato uses service providers who provide data analysis services. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.7. Saving Your Recent Searches
To help you find previously searched items on the Platform, we save your search keywords. We collect and use the following data for the purpose of providing information about newly listed items on the Platform based on the keyword you were looking for previously:
- Your search history (last searched keywords)
- Date and time of your search
- Number of newly listed items
The legal basis for such collection and use is the legitimate interest of our members and Mekato to improve search results on the Platform. You can delete your search history at any time. Unless you delete your search history earlier, we collect and use your personal data for this purpose for up to 6 months.
2.2.8. Helping You Get More Attention to Your Listings
In case you decide to make orders for extra services, i.e., bumps and “boosting” to get more visibility for your items on the Platform, we collect and use the following data:
- Your profile information
- Extra services you bought
- Items you selected for extra services
- Duration of extra services
- Date and time of extra services you bought
- Price of extra services
- Payments information
- Invoices
- Statistics of your items during extra services usage
The legal basis for the collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (your order for extra features under GTC) to which you are a party. Personal data is required to perform a contract (GTC) with you. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.9. Suggesting a Price When an Item Listing is Created
If you choose to create an item listing on the Platform, our algorithms will analyze its price in addition to item category, item brand, and item condition. We will then use that information to show you pictures and prices of similar items sold in the last three months to help you determine the selling price for your item. If your chosen selling price is bigger than the price range of similar items sold on the Platform in the last three months, Mekato will also give you a tip regarding the recommended price range.
The legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to help our members choose the right price for their items. To achieve the aforementioned functionality, we collect and use pictures and prices of items sold in the last 3 months. When you are listing your items, we collect and use the information used to analyze your items for the duration of the item listing process. When you sell items, we collect and use the data mentioned above for 3 months after the item has been sold.
2.2.10. Enabling Notifications About Your Favorite Items
If you favorite an item listed by another member on the Platform, Mekato will inform you when your favorite item price is reduced or when the item is sold. For this reason, we will collect and use the following data:
- Title of the favorite item
- Photo of the favorite item
- Seller of the favorite item
- Price of the favorite item
- Information whether a favorite item is sold
- Information about reduced price
The legal basis for such collection and use is the legitimate interest of our members and Mekato to facilitate sales on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.11. Notifying Sellers When You Favorite Their Items
If you favorite an item on the Platform, Mekato will inform the seller that you have favorited their item. The legal basis for such collection and use is the legitimate interest of our members and Mekato to facilitate sales on the Platform. You can disable the aforementioned notifications by logging in on the Platform, visiting Privacy Settings, and changing relevant settings. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.12. Allowing You to Follow Other Members
If your followed member listed a new item on the Platform, we will notify you about it. The legal basis for such collection and use is your consent. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.13. Improving Our Platform
Mekato is committed to the best performance of the Platform. When the Platform is being used, Mekato gathers information about actions performed on the Platform (button clicks, visiting time, notifications read, other information depending on a particular business case) and other data described under 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, and 4 of this Privacy Policy to help us make decisions on how to improve the Platform and make it a better experience for our members. The legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to maintain performance and improve the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.2.14. Conducting Surveys
We always look for ways to improve your experience when using Mekato. That is why we might invite you to participate in a survey and
2.2.17. Enabling Automatic Content Translation
To make the content available in any language preferred by our members, we have integrated an automatic translation solution into the Platform. We collect and use the following data if you or another member wishes to have it translated:
- Information provided in the “About You” field.
- Item descriptions.
- Reviews.
- Messages.
For automatic translation, Mekato uses service provider Google LLC (USA), established outside the Namibian Area. In this case, personal data is protected by the service provider entering into the Namibian standard contractual clauses for the transfer of data as approved by the Namibian Authority. The legal basis for such collection and use of personal data is the legitimate interest of Mekato and its members to make the Platform more convenient and easier to understand. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose for 2 weeks after the translation has been completed.
2.3. Ensuring the Security of Your Account and the Platform
Mekato strives to ensure that the accounts of our members and the Platform itself would be secure and protected from cyber-attacks, unauthorized access, and other related risks.
2.3.1. Tracking Visits to the Platform for Security Purposes
When you connect to the Website or App, we collect and use the following data (logfiles), even if you are not logged in to the Website as a member:
- User ID.
- IP address of your device.
- Browser used by your device.
- Content and URLs you connect to.
- Date and time of your connections.
In the event of access via mobile devices, the following log files are also captured as part of your use of the Mekato App:
- Model and manufacturer of your mobile device.
- Operating system used by your mobile device (iOS, Android, etc.).
This data is used for security purposes, especially the prevention of cyberattacks such as data scraps and denial of service attacks and for preventing impermissible multiple applications. The legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure the safety of their accounts on the Platform. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept for 3 months.
2.3.2. Helping You Avoid Using a Compromised Password
If you decide to register using a password or later on decide to change your password, we will check it against a database of passwords compromised in previous data breaches that happened on other platforms and services. To enable this functionality, we take the password, hash it and then use the first 5 characters of the hash to Have I Been Pwned (https://haveibeenpwned.com/) to search in the compromised password database. By performing this check, we can protect your account by confirming if you are using a password that is not known to be compromised. The legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure the safety of their accounts on the Platform. We collect and use personal data for this purpose only for the duration necessary to perform the password check.
2.3.3. Letting You Reset Your Password
In case you forgot your password or decide to change it for other reasons and do not have access to your email, we may ask you to answer a few security questions to verify your identity. For this purpose, we will collect and use the following data:
- Email address.
- Date of birth.
- Registration date.
- Last transaction information.
Legal basis for such collection and use of your personal data is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure the safety of their accounts on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.3.4. Verifying Your Account in Case of Suspicious Actions Related to Your Account
If we detect actions on your account that Mekato considers suspicious, we will request you to perform a basic verification – confirm your email, Facebook, or Google accounts. For the purpose of performing basic verification, we will collect and use the following data:
- Email address; or
- Information received during Facebook or Google authentication (as described 2.1.2 above).
Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure the safety of their accounts on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.3.5. Carrying Out Phone Number Verification and 2-Step Verification
When you decide to apply an additional layer of protection to your account and activate phone verification, we will use your phone number to enable this functionality. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to offer our users additional measures to protect their account. You may also be requested to verify your phone in case of suspicious activities regarding your account. In that case, verification is mandatory, and personal data collection and use are based on the performance of a contract (GTC) to which you are a party
2.3.10. Carrying Out Account Ownership Check
As part of the security process, we may request our members to verify the ownership of their Mekato account. To confirm your identity, we will need one of the following proofs:
- A photo/screenshot.
Legal basis for such collection and use of your personal data is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure the safety of their accounts on the Platform. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept for 3 days from the receipt of the proof.
2.3.11. Enabling You to Report Inappropriate Behaviour or Content
If you choose to report inappropriate message, forum activity, member, item, spam or spoof mail, we will collect and use the following data for the purpose of ensuring the security of the Platform and its members:
- Reported content.
- Reporting reason.
- Information provided in the report.
- Date and time of your report.
Legal basis for such collection and use of your personal data is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure the safety of their accounts on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.3.12. Reporting Suicidal Posts
In exceptional cases, where we notice suicidal posts on our platform, we may report them to the police. In such cases, we will collect and use and disclose the following data for the purpose of reporting suicidal posts:
- Username.
- E-mail address.
- Full name.
- IP addresses and last logins.
- Telephone number (if verified).
- Print screen/link of forum post or thread where the declaration of suicide appears.
Legal basis for such collection and use is the protection of your vital interests. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.4. Supervising Compliance with and Enforcing GTC
Mekato actively supervises compliance with and enforces GTC for the purpose of ensuring the security of your account and the Platform.
2.4.1. Calculating Trust Score
In order to ensure the security of the Platform and its members, Mekato gives each member a "trust score" calculated using an algorithm, and maintains a database of unlawful activities typically performed by bad actors. The "trust score" indicates the likelihood of misuse of the Platform. Our algorithm takes into account members’ comments on a forum, messages to other members, items listed on the platform, transactions, reports on the member by other members, the member's profile and contact information, the member's violations of our GTC, IP addresses, and browser fingerprints, other content the member provides us with. When the evaluation of the member reaches certain thresholds, Mekato can trigger a verification procedure (the member is asked to verify his/her telephone number, email, Facebook or Google accounts) or restrict the usage of the Platform. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.4.2. Identifying and Preventing Malicious Accounts and Activities
In order to ensure the security of the Platform and its members, Mekato collects and maintains a database of keywords indicating malicious accounts and activities. This database may contain emails, certain words or phrases found in messages, and other relevant data. By matching members’ activity against the keywords in the database, we can identify and prevent bad actors more effectively. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. The database entries containing personal data are retained for 13 months.
2.4.3. Enforcing Spam Filtering
In order to protect our members and the Platform, we use spam filtering tools. These tools have a list of keywords that are commonly associated with spam. If your messages include aforementioned keywords, they are stopped by the aforementioned tools and reviewed manually before being sent to other members. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.4.4. Moderating Your Activity on the Platform
In order to ensure the security of the Platform and its members, we regularly moderate your activity on the Platform. We may check we may check your listings, comments, messages when we receive other members’ or third party’s reports. If you communicate with another Mekato member via private messages and either you or another member sends us a report or escalates a transaction, we collect and use information contained in your communication to check for a potential violation of our GTC. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.4.5. Issuing and Enforcing Warnings
If you as a member violate our GTC or take other actions that result in a warning being issued to you, we collect and use the following data to issue and enforce the warning:
- Username.
- Kind of warning received by member.
- Date of warning received by member.
Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.4.6. Deleting or Hiding Items that Violate Mekato GTC
If you list items that violate our GTC, we will remove or hide them. However, we will retain deleted listings as proof of the violation. For this purpose, Mekato uses personal data included in the listing as specified under 2.1.5. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security and the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. Deleted listings are kept for 30 days after their removal.
2.4.7. Detecting and Locking Compromised Accounts
In order to protect our members and the Platform, we regularly check for suspicious activities to detect compromised accounts. In case we determine that your account may be compromised or we receive your request. To safeguard both our members and the platform, we routinely monitor for any suspicious activities to identify compromised accounts. If we ascertain that your account might be compromised or upon receipt of your request, we will take appropriate action.
2.4.8. Suspending Members
Exceeding a specified message limit within a brief timeframe may result in a suspension lasting from 1 to 6 hours. Mekato gathers and utilizes suspension-related data, such as time and duration, based on our legitimate interest in safeguarding the platform and its users, as well as our members' legitimate interest in ensuring their safety. This collection and usage of your personal data persist until the deactivation of your Mekato account or after 5 years of account inactivity.
2.4.9. Blocking Members' Accounts and Enforcing Blocking
Depending on your usage of the Platform, your account may be blocked, either temporarily or permanently. Mekato might use fully automated tools for such blocking when ensuring the integrity of the Platform and the provision of safe services. The data categories used for making the decision include registration data, your activity on the Platform, session information, information provided in the listings, communication data, and your settings and preferences. We establish profiles of harmful users based on criteria identified by Mekato, notably as a result of reporting on harmful users. Legal basis for such collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (GTC) to which you are a party. We collect and use your personal data for making the decision on the blocking of your account until the deletion of your Mekato account. When your account is blocked, we collect and use the following data to enforce blocking: your account data, data related to the blocking of your account (e.g., reason, date, and time of the blocking). Legal basis to enforce blocking is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security, as well as the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. We collect and use your personal data for the duration of blocking, i.e., up to 14 days or 3 months from the moment you have been blocked.
2.4.10. Enforcing IP Blocks
If there are signs of cyber-attacks or other risks to the Platform’s security coming from your IP address, we will collect and use your IP address to protect the platform by blocking it. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security, as well as the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept for 5 years.
2.4.11. Restricting Fraudulent Use of Payment Instruments
If there are signs of any fraudulent activity with your payment instrument (e.g. credit/debit card), we will collect and use your payment instrument and transaction data to protect the Platform by restricting the usage of your payment instrument. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to protect the Platform and its users and ensure its security, as well as the legitimate interest of our members to ensure their safety on the Platform. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept for the duration of the restrictions applied.
2.5. Enabling Payments for Items
Payments on the Platform are carried out via payment service providers that provide payment processing and escrow services.
2.5.1. Allowing You to Make a Purchase or Add a Payment Card for Payment Purposes
When you add a payment card or purchase an item or our extra services via the Platform, we collect and use the following data for the purpose of allowing you to make payments:
- Full name.
- First six and last four digits of your payment card number.
- Expiration date.
When you add a payment card or purchase an item or our extra services via the Platform, the relevant payment service provider (please see below) receives the following data:
- Payment card holder’s full name.
- Payment card number.
- Expiration date.
- Security code (CVV/CVC) number.
Legal basis for the collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (compliance with our GTC) to which you are party. Personal data are required to perform a contract (GTC) with you. If you agree, we will store your bank card details for future use. Legal basis for such collection and use is your consent. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.5.2. Allowing You to Add a Bank Account for Withdrawal Purposes
When you add a bank account for withdrawal purposes, we collect and use the following data for the purpose of allowing you to withdraw money:
- Account holder’s full name.
- Account number.
- Address.
Legal basis for the collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (compliance with our GTC) to which you are party. Personal data are required to perform a contract (GTC) with you. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.5.4. Enabling Donations
When you make a donation via our Platform, we collect and use the following data for the purpose of allowing you to make the donation:
- Amount donated.
- Date and time of donation.
- Name of the organization receiving the donation.
Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to bring value to our members by empowering them to support their causes. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.6. Enabling Shipment of Items Purchased on the Platform
Mekato aims to ensure smooth and convenient shipping of items purchased on the Platform by offering various shipping methods.
2.6.1. Enabling You to Ship or Receive Items
If you choose to enter your shipping information or when you buy or sell items, we collect and use the following data that you provide for dispatch and shipping purposes:
- Full name.
- Country.
- City.
- Address.
- Postal code.
- Telephone number.
- E-mail address.
- Signature.
- Address of the drop-off point of the parcel.
- Tracking number of the parcel.
- Confirmation of delivery of the parcel.
- Other shipping information required by a particular shipping service provider.
Legal basis for the collection and use of data is the performance of a contract (GTC) to which you are a party. Personal data are required to perform a contract (GTC) with you. If you buy an item from a Pro User, your personal data for this purpose will be processed jointly between Mekato and the Pro User. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept for 6 months.
2.7. Carrying Out Marketing Activities
Mekato seeks to involve our members in marketing campaigns for their benefit and wishes to present relevant and engaging marketing material.
2.7.1. Sending Marketing Emails
You can register for our newsletter and other marketing emails ("Marketing Emails"). We ask for your permission to use your email address for sending Marketing Emails containing the latest information on our products and services. Legal basis for such collection and use is your consent. Your permission for the sending of Marketing Emails can be given and withdrawn by you at any time. We use service provider Braze, Inc. (USA) for sending Marketing Emails. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.7.2. Personalizing Marketing Messages
Mekato uses data used to register you on the Platform, related to your Mekato account, forum activity, log files, and other means to personalize marketing messages and advertisements presented to you. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to present you with relevant marketing messages. We use external service provider for this purpose. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account.
2.7.3. Contacting You for Publicity and/or Earning Opportunities
If you register on the Platform, we may contact you via the Platform’s messaging system to offer you opportunities to share your content, participate in marketing campaigns, or have your details shared with the press. Legal basis for such collection and use is our legitimate interest to increase publicity and/or provide earning possibilities. If you consent, we may check your profile information to ensure members with a good reputation are offered opportunities. The collection and use of your personal data for this purpose will be based on your consent. Further collection and use of your personal data after consent will be based on your consent or a contract between Mekato and you. Personal data collected and used for this purpose are kept until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity on your account. Messages themselves are deleted after 12 months.
2.7.4. Conducting Advertisement Campaigns Involving You
If you consent to participate in our advertisement campaigns, we will use your telephone number to contact you with a proposal and provide details about the project. If you sign a contract with Mekato related to the advertising campaign, we will collect and use the following data for completing and performing the contract:
- Full name.
- Date of birth.
- Nationality.
- Information about your business certificate or individual business activity.
If you provide your address and room photos, we will use them for filming the advertisement. With your consent, we may use your name, age, city, or story in advertising campaigns. Legal bases for the invitation and participation are our legitimate interest and a contract between Mekato and you. This data may be transferred to advertising partners. Personal data for your participation are required to perform a contract with you. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity.
2.7.5. Posting Your Content on Our Social Media Accounts
If you allow us, we will post your content on our social media accounts for marketing and PR purposes. Legal basis for such collection and use is your consent. You can give and retract consent at any time through Privacy Settings. To post your content, we provide data to social media platform operators:
- LinkedIn Corporation (USA).
- Google LLC (USA).
- Meta Platforms, Inc. (USA).
We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity.
2.7.6. Allowing You to See Personalized Advertisements
With your consent, Mekato allows advertising service partners to collect your IP address and/or mobile device identifier, placing cookies on your devices. Advertisements are personalized based on your interests and activity on the Platform.
2.7.7. Evaluating the Efficiency of Promotional Campaigns
Mekato analyzes marketing activities and Platform usage to evaluate campaign efficiency and understand visitor behavior. Legal basis for this is our legitimate interest. To carry out evaluations, Mekato provides data to external service providers. We collect and use your personal data for this purpose until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity.
2.7.8. Managing Our Social Media Profiles
For managing social media profiles, we collect and use data about you. Legal basis for this is our legitimate interest. Data are provided to social media platform operators:
- LinkedIn Corporation (USA).
- Google LLC (USA).
- Meta Platforms, Inc. (USA).
Personal data collected are kept as long as you are registered on a specific social media network.
2.7.9. Participating in Mekato’s Referrals Program
If you refer friends to Mekato, you can earn shopping vouchers. We collect and use the following data for enabling your participation:
- Member name.
- Referral link.
- Invited member profile data.
- Date and time of the registration of your invited member.
- Number of items uploaded by your invited member.
- Date and time of items uploaded.
- Information on the successful sale of listed items by your invited member.
- Shopping voucher details.
Legal basis for this is the performance of a contract (GTC). Personal data collected are kept until the deactivation of your Mekato account or for 5 years of inactivity.
2.8. For Legal Purposes
2.8.1. Handling Requests Related to Personal Data
If you exercise your statutory rights regarding your data, we collect and use the data in your request for examining and responding to it, as necessary. Mekato provides data to service partners for handling data protection law questions. Legal basis for this is compliance with legal obligations. Personal data collected for this purpose are kept for two years from the day we respond to your request.
2.8.2. Providing Information to Law Enforcement and Other State Institutions
If there are reasonable grounds to suspect your involvement in illegal activities, we collect and use necessary data, including profile data, activity-related data, and security-related data, to notify law enforcement and other state institutions. This is necessary to comply with legal obligations. Personal data are required to fulfill legal obligations, and if not provided, Mekato will be unable to comply. Mekato collects and uses your personal data for this purpose as long as your Mekato account is active or for 3 months from the date of deactivation or for 5 years of inactivity.
2.8.3. Defending Against Chargebacks
For transactions via our payment service providers, we collect and use your personal data to resolve situations involving chargeback procedures. Legal basis for this is a legitimate interest to defend our rights. Personal data collected for this purpose are kept for 13 months from the last transaction.
2.8.4. Defending the Rights and Interests of Mekato
In instances of disputes or the necessity to protect, enforce, or uphold our rights, Mekato gathers and utilizes all your personal data within its possession to address particular situations. This action is grounded in our legitimate interest to safeguard Mekato's rights. The personal data acquired for this purpose is retained for a duration of 5 years after identifying the need to defend rights or, in the event of a dispute, until the conclusive execution of the binding decision.
3. Recipients of Personal Data
Mekato transfers personal data to service providers only as necessary and allowed by applicable laws. Service providers and recipients of data are described under section 2. Additionally, Mekato appoints service providers for technical maintenance, cloud and hosting services, IT security, and other business-related functions. Some service providers are outside of africa and data transfer is protected by other countries standard contractual clauses.
4. Use of Cookies
Mekato uses cookies and similar technologies on the Platform.
5. Right of Amendment
Mekato reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes will be promptly published on the page.
6. Your Statutory Rights Regarding Your Personal Data
6.1. What Rights Do You Have?
Subject to statutory conditions, you have the right:
- To be informed and request access to your data.
- To request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- To demand deletion of your data.
- To restrict processing of your data.
- To data portability.
- To object to data collection and use.
- To withdraw consent at any time.
- To object to automated decision-making.
- Not to receive discriminatory treatment.
6.2. How Will We Verify Your Request?
Requests must provide sufficient information for reasonable verification. Verification may require additional information. Authorized agent requests need written permission and verification. We cannot fulfill requests without proper verification.
7. Our Contact Details
For queries or rights-related concerns, contact us at etc@trycid.com, Mekato, Namibia