This policy explains what information iCarValue collects when you use the platform, why we collect it, and the choices you have. It describes the platform as it currently works. This document is provided for information and should be reviewed by a qualified Ghanaian legal or privacy professional before final launch.
1. Information You Provide
We only collect information that you enter into the platform or that is needed to operate the features you use.
Account information
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your location or city
- Your account type (buyer, seller, or dealer)
- A password, which is handled by our authentication provider and is not stored by iCarValue in readable form
Contact information
- Your phone number, if you choose to add or verify one
- Messages you send through the contact form, including the name, email address, subject, and message you enter
Vehicle listing information
If you create a listing, we store the details you submit, which may include the title, make and model, year, price, location, fuel type, transmission, mileage, condition, category, and description of the vehicle.
Photos uploaded by users
Photographs you attach to a listing are uploaded to our file storage service and shown publicly on the listing. Do not upload images containing documents or personal details you do not want to be public.
Authentication information
We record whether your email address has been verified and whether your phone number has been verified, along with the verified number itself. Email verification links and phone one-time codes are sent and checked by our authentication provider.
Activity within the platform
- Messages you exchange with other users through the in-app messaging feature
- Listings you save to your favourites
- Reports you submit about a listing or user
- Dealer verification requests, including the business name, phone number, and location you supply
- Records of subscription or listing-boost payments, such as the plan, amount, and payment reference
2. How Information Is Used
- To create and maintain your account and keep you signed in
- To publish the listings you choose to publish and display them to other users
- To let buyers and sellers contact each other
- To verify email addresses and phone numbers and to reduce fraudulent or abusive accounts
- To review reports, moderate listings, and apply account restrictions where our rules are broken
- To process subscription and listing-boost payments
- To respond to messages you send us through the contact form
- To operate, support, and improve the platform
We do not sell your personal information.
3. Information That Is Public
Anything you publish in a listing is visible to anyone who uses the platform, including the vehicle details, photographs, location, and the seller contact details you choose to show. Please think carefully about what you include.
4. How Information Is Stored
Account details, listings, messages, favourites, reports, verification requests, and payment records are stored in Google Firebase services (Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Firebase Storage). These services store data on Google's infrastructure, which may be located outside Ghana. Access to stored data is governed by security rules that limit what each account can read and write.
5. How Information May Be Shared
- With other users: your listing details and the information you send in messages are shared with the users you interact with.
- With service providers: the third-party services listed below process information on our behalf so the platform can function.
- For safety and legal reasons: we may share information where it is reasonably necessary to investigate suspected fraud or abuse, to enforce our terms, or to comply with a legal obligation or lawful request.
6. Cookies and Local Storage
iCarValue does not use advertising or tracking cookies. The platform does store a small amount of information in your browser's local and session storage so that it works correctly:
- Your light or dark theme preference
- A saved city used to show nearby listings
- Records of recent sign-in and sign-up attempts on your device, used to slow down repeated failed attempts
- Short-lived notices and timers related to email and phone verification
Our authentication provider also stores a sign-in session in your browser so you stay logged in. Clearing your browser storage will sign you out and reset these preferences.
7. Third-Party Services
- Google Firebase — authentication, database, and file storage.
- Google reCAPTCHA — used during phone verification to check that a request comes from a real person. Google may collect device and usage information as part of this check.
- Paystack — used to process subscription and listing-boost payments. Payments are completed on Paystack's own checkout, and your card details are entered there rather than on iCarValue. We receive and store a record of the transaction, not your full card details.
- WhatsApp — if you choose to contact a seller through the WhatsApp button, you leave iCarValue and your conversation is governed by WhatsApp's own terms and privacy policy.
These providers handle information under their own privacy policies.
8. Security Practices
Passwords are handled by Firebase Authentication and are not stored by iCarValue in readable form. Data is transmitted over encrypted connections, database and file access is restricted by security rules, email and phone verification are available to help confirm account ownership, and repeated failed sign-in attempts are slowed down. No online service can be completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password and keep your verification codes private.
9. Your Choices and Rights
- You can view and update your name, location, and phone number from your account page.
- You can reset your password from your account page or the login page.
- You can edit or delete your listings, and remove listings from your favourites, at any time.
- You can choose not to provide a phone number, though some features rely on phone verification.
- You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your account information by contacting us using the details below.
10. Data Retention
We keep your account information for as long as your account remains open. Listings, messages, reports, verification requests, and payment records are kept while they are needed to operate the marketplace, resolve disputes, prevent fraud, and meet legal or accounting obligations. When you ask us to delete your account, we remove or anonymise information that we are not required to keep.
11. Children
iCarValue is intended for adults who can enter into a binding contract. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as the platform changes. When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continuing to use iCarValue after an update means you accept the revised policy.
13. Contact Information
If you have questions about this policy or about your information, you can reach us at:
- Email: support@icarpriz.com
- Phone: +233 (0) 300 123456
- Address: Accra, Ghana
You can also use the contact form.