EquipLink Heavy Equipment Marketplace

EquipLink ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your data when you use our platform, which connects heavy equipment owners, mechanics, suppliers, and rental providers across Ethiopia.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you register, we collect your full name, email address, phone number, location (region/city), and role type (owner, mechanic, supplier, or rental provider).

Profile Information

Mechanics may provide specializations, years of experience, service area, hourly rates, and supported equipment brands. Owners may list their machines, including make, model, year, and condition.

Transaction Data

We collect records of wallet top-ups, credit purchases, subscription payments, commission fees, and service request interactions.

Usage Data

We automatically collect information such as device type, browser, IP address, pages visited, search queries, and session duration to improve our service.

Communications

Messages sent between users on the platform, forum posts, breakdown requests, and reviews are stored to provide the service and ensure safety.

2. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account and profile
To connect equipment owners with mechanics, suppliers, and rental providers
To process wallet transactions, subscriptions, and commission fees
To send notifications about job requests, messages, and platform updates
To display your profile and listings to relevant users
To power the AI Diagnose feature using your machine and symptom data
To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security threats
To improve our platform through usage analytics
To comply with applicable Ethiopian and international laws

3. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share information in the following circumstances:

With other users: Your public profile, ratings, and service listings are visible to other platform users as necessary for the service to function.
Service providers: We use trusted third-party vendors (e.g., Supabase for data storage, payment processors) who are bound by confidentiality agreements.
Legal requirements: We may disclose data when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of EquipLink and its users.
Business transfer: In the event of a merger or acquisition, your data may be transferred to the new entity under the same privacy protections.

4. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), Row Level Security (RLS) on all database tables, session management controls, and active session monitoring. You can view and revoke active sessions from your account security settings. While we strive to protect your data, no system is 100% secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Transaction records are kept for a minimum of 7 years for financial compliance. You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us, subject to any legal retention requirements.

6. Your Rights

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Correction: Update inaccurate or incomplete information through your profile settings.
Deletion: Request deletion of your account and data, subject to legal obligations.
Portability: Request an export of your data in a machine-readable format.
Objection: Object to processing of your data for certain purposes such as marketing.

7. Cookies and Tracking

We use session cookies essential for authentication and platform functionality. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Analytics may use anonymized identifiers to understand platform usage. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.

8. Children's Privacy

EquipLink is not intended for users under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us immediately.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of significant changes via email or an in-app notification. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

For any privacy-related questions, data requests, or concerns, please contact us at:

EquipLink Privacy Team

Email: privacy@equiplink.org

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia