Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 16, 2026
Welcome to SwapChoice (the "Platform") ("we", "us", "our"). The Platform is a peer-to-peer barter and exchange service that allows users to list items or services for swap, propose trades, communicate, negotiate, and complete exchanges with other users.
We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our Platform, register an account, use social login, list items, propose swaps, message other users, or otherwise interact with our services.
By using the Platform, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.
1. Information We Collect
We collect several types of information:
a. Information you provide directly
- Account data: name, email address, password (hashed via secure algorithms), profile photo/avatar, biography, location settings (city/country or approximate area if explicitly enabled).
- Listing data: photos, descriptions, categories, item condition, what you are seeking in exchange.
- Swap proposals & communications: direct messages, trade offers, counter-offers, and item attachments sent via our internal system.
- Social login data: When you sign in with Google, we receive your Google ID, name, verified email address, and profile picture URL (as permitted by your Google profile settings).
b. Automatically collected information
- Device & usage data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, pages visited, time/date of access, referral sources.
- Cookies: We exclusively use first-party, essential session cookies. These are strictly technical cookies necessary to keep you logged in, protect forms against Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks, and remember your interface language selection. We do not drop tracking or marketing cookies.
- Location data: approximate location derived from your IP address or explicitly provided by you for nearby swap matching (processed only with your explicit consent).
c. Information from third parties
- Google (via OAuth): basic profile information used strictly to verify identity and authenticate your account layout under Google Secure Login.
- Other users: safety reports, ratings, and reviews submitted after a completed swap.
We do not collect or store financial information (credit cards, bank details) since SwapChoice is a pure barter platform.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use collected information solely to:
- Create, authenticate, and manage your user account.
- Enable item listing, browsing, swap proposals, negotiations, and completed barters.
- Facilitate secure, direct communication between trading users.
- Personalize your interface experience (e.g., language selection or local item listings).
- Send operational service emails (account verification, active swap updates, password resets).
- Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, spam, abuse, or safety violations.
- Maintain framework security, patch runtime application bugs, and handle optimization metrics.
- Comply with regulatory obligations and enforce our legal Terms of Service.
3. Legal Basis for Processing
(Relevant if you are in the EU/EEA/UK under GDPR regulations)
- Contract performance: : account creation, system maintenance, and trade facilitation paths necessary to deliver our service layout.
- Legitimate interests: : fraud prevention, platform security hardening, and framework performance optimization.
- Consent: : optional profile bios and custom nearby location mapping configurations.
- Legal obligation: : compliance with mandatory law enforcement requests or statutory requirements.
4. Sharing Your Information
We do not sell, lease, or rent your personal data to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.
We share information only under the following strict conditions:
- Other users: information required to negotiate swaps (such as your username, active listings, and internal chats) is visible to potential trading partners.
- Service providers: technical infrastructure partners (such as cloud hosting engines and transactional email dispatch servers) operating under strict data processing contracts. This includes Cloudflare, Inc., which processes technical network traffic data to protect our platform against automated bot attacks.
- Legal authorities: if required by a valid legal subpoena, warrant, or court order.
- Business transfers: in the event of a merger or acquisition, with notice provided to users.
Google Login Data: SwapChoice use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
5. Data Retention
We keep your data only as long as necessary to support your active account structures:
- Active accounts: retained indefinitely until you choose to request account deletion.
- Inactive accounts: accounts showing no login signatures for a continuous period of 24–36 months are systematically purged.
- Technical Server Logs: web server diagnostic logs are automatically overwritten or deleted within 30 days.
- Statutory requirements may occasionally dictate longer legal preservation windows.
You can request deletion of your account at any time via your user dashboard profile setup.
6. Your Rights
Depending on your geographic location, you possess the following rights regarding your personal data:
- The right to access and copy your personal data records.
- The right to rectify incorrect, outdated, or incomplete data fields.
- The right to request permanent data deletion ("Right to be Forgotten").
- The right to restrict or object to specific processing operations.
- The right to data portability or to file a complaint with your local Data Protection Authority.
To exercise your rights, contact our data coordinator at [email protected]. We respond to valid data management requests within one calendar month.
7. Security
We implement industry-standard technical measures including HTTPS encryption in transit, secure password hashing, and restricted database entry points. However, no digital preservation method is 100% secure.
8. Childrens Privacy
Our Platform is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we discover an account belongs to a child under 18, it is deleted instantly.
9. International Transfers
If data is processed outside your home economic region, we ensure standard legal frameworks (such as EU Standard Contractual Clauses) are explicitly maintained to secure the data transfer.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy periodically. Changes will be posted here with an updated "Last updated" timestamp. Major layout updates will be flagged with explicit in-app banner warnings.