Privacy policy

Who this covers

Obiaton operates the marketplace and decides how information is used for platform accounts, checkout, messaging, promotion and analytics. A vendor also receives information needed to fulfil its own orders and is responsible for how it uses that information outside Obiaton. Delivery people or companies appointed by vendors may receive the details needed to deliver an order.

Information we collect

• Accounts: name, email, password credentials or Google sign-in information, verification and login records, role, and account status.
• Customer activity: favourites, cart contents, delivery address, country, city, phone, orders, payment references, discounts, delivery confirmations, reviews and support requests.
• Vendor activity: store name and description, country, city, town and location, profile and product images, listings, fulfilment and delivery contacts, promotion purchases, sales and disbursement records.
• Communications: customer-vendor chat messages and images, email preferences, newsletter subscription details and messages sent to support.
• Technical information: device and browser information, IP address and usage events needed for security, operations and site-visit analytics.

Payment is handled by Paystack. We receive transaction references, amounts and status needed to manage orders and receipts; we do not intentionally store full payment-card numbers in Obiaton's application.

How we use information

We use information to create and protect accounts; verify email and logins; show products and stores; process vendor-specific orders and payments; coordinate delivery; provide invoices, receipts and disbursement reports; operate chat, reviews and notifications; administer promotions; respond to support requests; detect fraud and misuse; understand marketplace performance; and meet legal, tax and record-keeping duties.

We send essential service messages such as verification codes, order updates, receipts and relevant chat alerts. We send newsletters or other optional marketing where you have subscribed or where otherwise permitted. You can unsubscribe using the link in a marketing email. Unsubscribing does not stop necessary account or order messages.

Who receives information

We share only what is reasonably needed for the relevant service. The vendor on your order receives fulfilment and contact details. Customers can see a vendor's public store profile, listings, reviews and delivery contact details supplied for their order. Paystack processes payment information; email providers deliver our messages; Cloudflare R2 stores uploaded product, vendor and chat images; Google may provide sign-in; and hosting or technical providers support the service. Providers handle data under their own applicable terms and privacy notices.

We may disclose information to authorities or advisers when required or permitted by law, or to protect users and the platform. Some providers may process information outside Ghana. Where a cross-border transfer requires safeguards under applicable law, we will use appropriate measures.

Cookies and site analytics

We use browser storage and cookies for functions such as keeping a guest cart, maintaining a signed-in session, and limiting repeat site-visit counts. Our visit counter treats the same browser or device as one visit per UTC day using a cookie and a keyed daily value derived from IP address and browser information. The analytics table does not retain raw IP addresses or browser strings for that counter. The temporary deduplication values are removed after 45 days. Ordinary server and security logs may separately contain technical information for operational reasons.

You can manage cookies through your browser. Disabling essential browser storage may affect sign-in, the guest cart and other features.

Retention and security

We keep information for as long as needed to operate your account and orders, resolve disputes, maintain financial records, comply with law and protect the service. Different records may have different retention periods. Newsletter details are kept until you unsubscribe or we no longer need them. We delete or de-identify information when it is no longer needed, subject to legal and technical requirements, including backups.

We use account verification, role-based access, access restrictions and other reasonable technical and organisational safeguards. No online service can guarantee absolute security. Please use a strong password and tell us promptly if you suspect account misuse.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us to access or correct personal information, raise a concern about its use, or request that we stop using or delete information where the law allows. You may withdraw consent for optional marketing at any time. Some information must be retained to complete orders, resolve disputes or meet legal duties. We may verify your identity before acting on a request.

Email hello@obiaton.com with your request. If you are unhappy with our response, you may contact Ghana's Data Protection Commission. If your request concerns information held independently by a vendor, you may contact that vendor directly and copy us if you need help.

Updates and contact

We may update this policy when our practices or legal requirements change. The current version and effective date will appear on this page, and we will provide appropriate notice of material changes. For questions, concerns or requests, write to hello@obiaton.com.