Privacy Policy — version 1.0

1. What we collect

Account: name, phone number or email, and profile photo, from you directly or from Google/Apple when you sign in that way.

Seller verification: NIDA number, a photo of your national ID, and your business/trading licence — used only by our verification team, never shown publicly.

Location: your device's approximate or precise location, if you grant permission, used to show nearby sellers and products. You can decline and pick a region/district manually instead.

Usage: products you view or favourite, orders you place, messages you send, and reviews you leave.

Device: a push-notification token, so we can notify you about orders and messages.

2. How we use it

To operate the marketplace — showing you relevant products/sellers, processing orders, enabling chat, and verifying sellers. To keep the platform safe — investigating reports, enforcing our Terms, and preventing fraud. To communicate with you — order updates, account notices, and (if you opt in) product updates.

3. Who we share it with

Other users see what you'd expect from a marketplace: your name and photo on your reviews and messages, your shop details if you're a seller. We do not sell your personal data. We share data with service providers who help us operate Sokoni (e.g. hosting, push notifications), under confidentiality obligations, and with authorities when legally required.

4. Your identity documents

NIDA numbers and ID photos are collected solely to verify that a seller is a real, identifiable person or business, as a defence against fraudulent shops. This data is visible only to our verification team and is never exposed through the app's public API or shown to other users.

5. Your choices

You can decline location access at any time — Sokoni falls back to manual area selection. You can request a copy of your data or ask us to delete your account by contacting support@sokoni.co.tz. Deleting your account removes your personal data, though some records (like completed orders) may be retained where required by law.

6. Data retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active, plus a reasonable period afterward for legal, accounting, and fraud-prevention purposes.

7. Children

Sokoni is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will require you to accept the new version before continuing to use Sokoni.

9. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy, or requests regarding your data, can be sent to support@sokoni.co.tz.