Privacy Policy

Palitan ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application.

1. Information We Collect

When you use Palitan, we collect the following information:

• Account Information: Name, email address, password, location (province, city), and contact method preferences
• Profile Data: Profile photo (optional)
• Listings: Item photos, descriptions, categories, and trade preferences you create
• Messages: Conversations and messages you send to other users
• Trade Offers: Offers you send and receive
• Ratings: Reviews and ratings you give and receive
• Favorites: Items you save for later viewing
• Reports: Reports you submit about listings or users
• Usage Data: App usage patterns, interactions, and analytics

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and maintain the Palitan service
• Enable you to create and manage listings
• Facilitate communication between users
• Process trade offers between users
• Display your listings to other users in your area
• Show ratings and reviews
• Send push notifications about messages, trade offers, and listing activity
• Improve and personalize your experience
• Moderate content using AI to ensure community safety
• Generate analytics to improve the app
• Send important service updates and notifications

3. AI and Automated Processing

Palitan uses AI technology in the following ways:

• AI Listing Generation: When you use the "Generate with AI" feature, your photos are sent to Google Gemini to generate suggested titles, descriptions, and categories.
• Content Moderation: All listing images are automatically scanned using AI to detect and block inappropriate content (adult content, violence, hate speech, illegal items).

These AI features help maintain a safe marketplace and improve your experience.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored securely using Firebase services (a Google Cloud Platform service):

• Authentication: Firebase Authentication secures your account
• Database: Cloud Firestore stores your profile, listings, messages, trade offers, and ratings
• Storage: Firebase Storage securely stores your photos

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell or rent your personal information. Your information is shared only as follows:

• Public Information: Your name, location, listings, and ratings are visible to other Palitan users
• Messages: Only visible to conversation participants
• Service Providers: We use the following third-party services:
  • Firebase (Google) - Authentication, database, and file storage
  • Google Gemini - AI-powered listing generation and content moderation
  • Google AdMob - Advertisements and rewarded ads

6. Push Notifications

We send push notifications to keep you informed about:

• New messages from other users
• Trade offers received on your listings
• Updates to trade offer status
• Important announcements

You can enable or disable push notifications in your device settings or within the app.

7. Advertisements

Palitan displays advertisements through Google AdMob:

• AdMob may collect device information for ad personalization
• You can watch rewarded ads to boost your listings or relist expired items
• Ad preferences are managed through your device settings

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access and update your personal information through your profile
• Delete your listings at any time
• Delete your entire account and all associated data
• Control your location and contact preferences
• Manage push notification preferences
• Report inappropriate content or users
• Request a copy of your data

9. Data Retention

We retain your information as follows:

• Active accounts: Data is retained as long as your account is active
• Listings: Automatically expire after 14 days but can be relisted
• Deleted listings: Removed from our systems
• Account deletion: All associated data is permanently deleted
• Ratings: May be retained to maintain marketplace trust

10. Children's Privacy

Palitan is not intended for users under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

11. Location Information

We collect location information (province, city, and optionally coordinates) to:

• Help users find items in their area
• Show nearby listings
• Calculate distances to listings
• Display location-appropriate content

You can update your location preferences at any time in your profile settings.

12. Third-Party Services

Palitan uses the following third-party services:

• Google Firebase: Authentication, database, file storage, and analytics (Firebase Privacy Policy)
• Google Sign-In: Optional authentication method (Google Privacy Policy)
• Google Gemini: AI-powered features (Google Privacy Policy)
• Google AdMob: Advertisements (Google Privacy Policy)

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by updating the "Last Updated" date. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us through the app's support feature.

By using Palitan, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to its terms.