Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Seed is operated by [Bia'net Tech Ltd. — full registered legal name and address] ("we", "us"). For any privacy question or to exercise the rights described below, contact [privacy contact email].

2. What we collect

• Account information — name, business name, email, phone number, password (stored as a one-way hash, never in readable form), country and state, account type.
• Profile content — profile photo, business description, product categories you select.
• Marketplace & Bartar content — listings, buy requests, and photos you upload, along with the prices, quantities, and locations you enter.
• Messages — the content of conversations you have with other users through Seed.
• Community content — posts, comments, and likes you post.
• Verification documents — if you apply for Verified or Premium Verified status.
• Photos submitted for AI Plant Diagnosis — sent to our AI provider for analysis (see Section 4); we do not otherwise store or reuse these photos.
• Usage information — standard server logs (e.g. IP address, timestamps) generated automatically when you use the app, kept for security and troubleshooting.

3. Why we collect it

We process this data to:

• Create and secure your account, and verify who you are (OTP codes to your email/phone).
• Operate the marketplace and Bartar exchange — showing your listings to buyers, matching buy requests, and converting prices to a viewer's local currency for display.
• Let you message other users and participate in Community.
• Provide the AI Plant Diagnosis and local weather/market-price features.
• Keep the platform safe — reviewing reports, moderating listings, suspending accounts that break the rules.
• Meet legal obligations we're subject to.

Our legal basis is generally that this processing is necessary to provide the service you signed up for (contract), our legitimate interest in running and securing the platform, or your consent where we ask for it separately.

4. Who we share it with

We share limited data with the following categories of service providers, only as needed to run the app:

• Cloud hosting & file storage — [hosting/storage provider, e.g. AWS] stores uploaded photos and application data.
• AI provider — photos submitted to AI Plant Diagnosis are sent to [AI provider, e.g. OpenAI] for analysis.
• Email & SMS delivery — [email provider] and [SMS provider] deliver verification codes and notifications on our behalf.
• Market data — commodity price and weather widgets pull public data from third-party APIs; no personal data is sent to them.

We don't sell your personal data. Other Seed users only see the profile and listing information you choose to make public (e.g. your business name, listings, and messages you send them).

5. How long we keep it

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal data and content are permanently removed (see Section 7), except where we're required to retain something for a legal or regulatory reason.

6. Security

Passwords are hashed (never stored in plain text), verification codes and session tokens are hashed before being stored, and access to your account requires a signed session token. We rate-limit sensitive actions to reduce automated abuse. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable technical measures to protect your data.

7. Your rights

Under GDPR and Nigeria's Data Protection Act (NDPA), you have the right to access, correct, delete, and export your data, and to object to certain processing. In practice:

• Access & correction — view and edit most of your profile directly from your Profile page.
• Portability — download a copy of your data at any time from Profile → Privacy & Data.
• Erasure — permanently delete your account and associated data from Profile → Privacy & Data.
• Other requests (objection, restriction, complaints) — contact us at [privacy contact email].

Nigerian users may also lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC); EU/UK users may contact their local data protection authority.

8. Children

Seed is intended for business use by adults and is not directed at children under 18.

9. Changes to this policy

We'll update this page if how we handle data changes, and update the date at the top.