🔒 Privacy Policy

1 Introduction

At Buuk24 ("we," "us," "our"), your privacy is taken seriously. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit our website, interact with our advert landing pages, subscribe to our newsletter, or register as a Vendor — and exactly how we use, protect, and share it.

This policy applies to the entire Platform, including the marketplace, advert pages, vendor storefronts, news articles, and the community Connect Hub. By using the Platform, you consent to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please discontinue use.

2 Information We Collect

a) Lead Data

When you fill out a form on an advert page, we collect the details you provide: your name, phone number, and optionally your email and address. This data is stored in our secure database and transmitted to the respective Vendor to facilitate your inquiry.

b) Analytics & Security Data

We automatically collect technical information such as your IP address, the pages you visit, timestamps, and basic device/browser information. This is strictly used for traffic statistics (such as advert view counts), security monitoring, bot prevention, and improving platform performance.

c) Review Data

If you choose to rate a Vendor, the first name you provide, your star rating, and your review text will be publicly displayed on the advert page.

d) Vendor & KYC Data

Vendors who register consent to providing business details and identity documents for verification. This KYC data is kept secure and used strictly to verify Vendor identity and protect our users.

e) Newsletter Data

If you subscribe to Deal Alerts, we store your email address solely to send you our newsletter. You can unsubscribe anytime.

3 How We Use Your Information

• Connecting you with Vendors: delivering your lead details via WhatsApp or Telegram so the Vendor can respond to your inquiry.
• Keeping the Platform safe: preventing spam, bots, and abuse through honeypot traps, duplicate detection, and IP monitoring.
• Measuring performance: counting advert views and leads so Vendors and customers can see genuine activity levels.
• Improving the Platform: understanding aggregate usage patterns to prioritize features and fixes.
• Communication: sending deal-alert emails (only if subscribed) and responding to support requests.
• Legal compliance: meeting obligations or investigating fraud, where required.

4 Cookies & Local Storage

We use a minimal set of browser cookies and local storage entries — all of which exist to power smart features and protect the platform, never to track you across other websites:

• Theme preference — remembers your dark/light mode choice.
• Cookie consent status — remembers that you accepted this banner.
• Like history — remembers which news posts you've liked (one like per post).
• Review & lead tokens — prevents duplicate reviews and spam from the same device.
• Banner dismissal — remembers which promotional popups you've already seen.
• Reported-ad status — prevents duplicate abuse reports for the same advert.

You can clear cookies and local storage anytime through your browser settings — note that some preferences (like your theme) may then reset.

5 How We Share Information

• With the Vendor you contacted: your lead details are shared with that specific Vendor only — never with all Vendors.
• Email notifications: Vendors may receive an email notification containing your lead details when you submit their form.
• Service providers: trusted hosting and email delivery partners who help us operate, under confidentiality obligations.
• Legal & safety: we may disclose information to authorities when required by law, or to investigate fraud, scams, or threats to our users.

6 Third-Party Services

Lead delivery and communication happen through WhatsApp (operated by Meta Platforms) and Telegram. Once your details are transmitted, the conversation takes place on those services, governed by their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review their policies. We are not responsible for how third parties handle data within their own services.

7 Data Security

We implement layered, industry-standard security measures, including:

• Bcrypt password hashing for all account passwords.
• Honeypot spam traps hidden in every form to catch bots.
• Cookie and IP-based anti-abuse detection to prevent duplicate reviews and fraudulent leads.
• Access controls limiting data exposure to what each function requires.

While we work hard to protect your data, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8 Data Retention

• Lead data is retained while the related advert is active, plus a further period for analytics and dispute-resolution purposes.
• Analytics data is kept in aggregate form and may be anonymized over time.
• Review data is retained while the review remains visible and relevant.
• Vendor KYC data is retained as long as legally required and for the duration of the business relationship.
• To request early deletion of your data, contact us using the details below.

9 Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion — request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention obligations.
• Objection & withdrawal — object to certain processing or withdraw consent (for example, unsubscribing from the newsletter anytime).
• Portability — request your data in a portable format where applicable.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@buuk24.com. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe. If you are in the EU/EEA or another jurisdiction with a data protection authority, you may also lodge a complaint with your local authority.

10 Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed at children under 13 (or under 18 where required by local law), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, please contact us immediately and we will delete it. Vendors must be adults of legal age.

11 International Users

If you access the Platform from outside the country where our servers are located, your data may be transferred to and processed in that country. By using the Platform, you consent to such transfers where applicable.

12 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, features, or legal requirements. Updates will be reflected by the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13 Contact Us