Privacy, clearly explained.

1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to GWMART, a digital marketplace operated by Global Web Market ("GWMART", "Global Web Market", "we", "us", or "our").

GWMART is a technology platform that connects customers with trusted local artisans, professionals, businesses and service providers. Through our mobile application and website, users can discover businesses, request services, book appointments, communicate with service providers, make payments and manage service transactions.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information when you access or use our mobile application, website and related services.

By accessing or using GWMART, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Our privacy practices are guided by applicable data protection laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA), and other applicable privacy regulations.

2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect information necessary to operate the marketplace, provide our services, improve user experience and maintain platform security.

2.1 Personal Information

When you create an account or use GWMART, we may collect:

• Full name.
• Email address.
• Phone number.
• Profile photograph.
• Username and account credentials.
• Residential or business address.
• State, city and location information.
• Account type (Client or Service Provider).
• Other information voluntarily submitted through your account.

2.2 Client Information

When using GWMART as a client, we may collect:

• Service requests and booking details.
• Preferred service dates and appointment times.
• Service addresses and delivery or visitation locations.
• Messages exchanged with artisans.
• Payment and transaction records.
• Ratings, reviews and feedback.
• Booking history and service preferences.

2.3 Artisan and Service Provider Information

When registering as an artisan or service provider, we may collect:

• Business or trading name.
• Business description and category.
• Business address and operating locations.
• Contact information.
• Business photographs, logos and portfolio images.
• Services offered and pricing information.
• Business registration details, where applicable.
• Identification and verification documents, where required.
• Bank or settlement information, where applicable.
• Subscription and payment records.
• Customer ratings, reviews and booking history.

We may use submitted information to verify business identities, improve marketplace trust and prevent fraudulent activities.

2.4 Location Information

GWMART uses location-based technology to help clients discover service providers nearby and facilitate service appointments.

With your permission, we may collect:

• GPS coordinates.
• Approximate or precise device location.
• Business location.
• Distance between clients and service providers.
• Location information associated with bookings.
• Real-time location information during an active service or tracking session, where enabled.

Location information may be used to:

• Display nearby artisans and service providers.
• Calculate distances.
• Provide location-based recommendations.
• Assist clients with navigation.
• Enable real-time tracking of service providers travelling to a client's location.
• Improve service coordination.

You can manage location permissions through your device settings. However, disabling location access may limit certain GWMART features.

Real-time tracking, where available, is intended for relevant service interactions and should not be interpreted as continuous background surveillance.

2.5 Communications and Messaging

GWMART allows clients and service providers to communicate directly through in-app messaging.

We may collect and process:

• Messages and conversations.
• Images and files shared through chat.
• Booking-related communications.
• Customer enquiries.
• Support requests.
• Reports of inappropriate behaviour or fraudulent activity.

We process this information to facilitate communication, resolve disputes, maintain platform safety and provide customer support.

Users should avoid sharing sensitive personal information through chat unless necessary for the requested service.

2.6 Payment Information

GWMART uses Paystack to facilitate secure payments and financial transactions.

When you make payments through the platform, we may collect or receive:

• Transaction references.
• Payment amounts.
• Transaction dates and times.
• Payment status.
• Subscription information.
• Refund and transaction history.
• Relevant payment confirmation details.

Payments are processed through Paystack and its supported financial partners.

Your complete card details and other sensitive payment credentials are handled by the payment processor in accordance with its security and privacy practices. We do not intend to store full card numbers or card security codes on GWMART servers.

For more information, please review Paystack's Privacy Policy: https://paystack.com/terms

2.7 Device and Technical Information

When you access GWMART, certain information may be collected automatically, including:

• Device type and model.
• Operating system and version.
• Application version.
• IP address.
• Browser information.
• Device identifiers.
• Network information.
• Login dates and times.
• App usage and interaction data.
• Crash reports and diagnostic information.

This information helps us maintain platform performance, troubleshoot technical problems, detect suspicious activities and improve our services.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use personal information for legitimate business and operational purposes, including:

1. Creating and managing user accounts.
2. Connecting clients with relevant artisans and service providers.
3. Displaying business profiles and service listings.
4. Processing service bookings and appointments.
5. Facilitating communication between clients and service providers.
6. Enabling location-based discovery and navigation.
7. Supporting real-time service tracking where available.
8. Processing payments and subscriptions.
9. Verifying artisan and business profiles.
10. Managing customer ratings and reviews.
11. Sending booking confirmations and service notifications.
12. Providing customer support.
13. Detecting fraud, suspicious activity and platform abuse.
14. Resolving complaints and transaction disputes.
15. Improving application functionality and user experience.
16. Meeting legal, regulatory and compliance obligations.
17. Sending promotional information where permitted by law and subject to your preferences.

We will not use your personal information for purposes incompatible with those explained in this Privacy Policy without an appropriate lawful basis or consent where required.

4. HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

However, certain information may be shared where necessary to provide GWMART services.

4.1 Between Clients and Service Providers

To facilitate service requests and bookings:

• Clients may see publicly available artisan business profiles, service descriptions, business ratings and contact information.
• Service providers may receive relevant client information required to fulfil a booking.
• Booking addresses and contact details may be shared with the assigned service provider where necessary to provide the requested service.
• Relevant chat messages and booking information may be accessible to the parties involved in the transaction.

4.2 Payment Service Providers

We share relevant transaction information with Paystack to facilitate payments, subscriptions, refunds and payment verification.

Paystack processes payment information under its own applicable privacy and security obligations.

4.3 Technology and Infrastructure Providers

We may engage third-party providers for:

• Cloud hosting and data storage.
• Application infrastructure.
• Push notifications.
• Mapping and location services.
• Analytics and application monitoring.
• Identity and business verification.
• Customer support.
• Security and fraud prevention.

These providers may process information on our behalf where necessary to provide their services.

4.4 Legal and Regulatory Authorities

We may disclose information where required by applicable law, court orders, regulatory requests or lawful investigations.

We may also disclose relevant information to protect the rights, safety and security of GWMART, its users and the public.

4.5 Business Transfers

If Global Web Market undergoes a merger, acquisition, restructuring or transfer of business assets, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable privacy laws.

5. PUBLIC BUSINESS PROFILES AND USER-GENERATED CONTENT

GWMART allows artisans and service providers to create business profiles that can be discovered by other users.

Information displayed publicly may include:

• Business name.
• Business logo and photographs.
• Business description.
• Services offered.
• Business location or service area.
• Business contact information.
• Ratings and customer reviews.
• Other information voluntarily published by the service provider.

Clients should understand that reviews and ratings submitted through the platform may be visible to other users.

Users are responsible for ensuring that information they publish does not unlawfully disclose another person's personal information.

We encourage users not to publish private residential addresses, identification documents or sensitive personal information in publicly accessible profile sections.

6. LOCATION TRACKING AND PERMISSIONS

Location services are an important feature of GWMART.

The application may request access to your device's location to support nearby service discovery, navigation and real-time tracking.

Where real-time tracking is enabled, your location may be shared with the relevant client during an active service journey or booking, depending on the feature being used.

We do not intend to track your location continuously when you are not using relevant location-based features.

You may withdraw location permissions through your device settings. Some location-dependent services may no longer function properly if permission is withdrawn.

We encourage users to enable location access only when necessary.

7. COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

Our website and related services may use cookies, analytics tools and similar technologies to:

• Maintain website functionality.
• Remember user preferences.
• Improve navigation and performance.
• Understand website traffic.
• Identify technical errors.
• Improve user experience.

You may manage cookies through your browser settings.

Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of some website features.

8. DATA SECURITY

We take reasonable technical, administrative and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• Unauthorised access.
• Accidental disclosure.
• Loss or destruction.
• Alteration or misuse.
• Unlawful processing.
• Fraudulent activities.

Our security measures may include access controls, secure authentication, encryption where appropriate, system monitoring, security updates and restricted access to personal information.

However, no electronic transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Users are responsible for protecting their account passwords and login credentials. We recommend using strong passwords and notifying us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

9. DATA RETENTION

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including providing our services, maintaining transaction records, resolving disputes and meeting legal obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and applicable legal requirements.

For example:

• Account information may be retained while your account remains active.
• Booking records may be retained for operational and dispute-resolution purposes.
• Payment and transaction records may be retained to meet financial and legal obligations.
• Chat records may be retained for customer support, safety and dispute-resolution purposes.
• Technical logs may be retained for security and system maintenance.

When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to delete, anonymise or securely dispose of it, subject to applicable legal retention requirements.

10. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

Subject to applicable law, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, you may have the following rights:

10.1 Right to Access

You may request confirmation of whether we process your personal information and request access to the information we hold about you.

10.2 Right to Rectification

You may request corrections to inaccurate, incomplete or outdated personal information.

10.3 Right to Erasure

You may request the deletion of your personal information where applicable legal conditions are satisfied.

10.4 Right to Restrict Processing

You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal information in circumstances permitted by law.

10.5 Right to Object

You may object to certain forms of processing, including direct marketing and processing based on legitimate interests where applicable.

10.6 Right to Data Portability

Where applicable, you may request a copy of your personal information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

10.7 Right to Withdraw Consent

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

10.8 Right to Lodge a Complaint

You may lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission or another competent data protection authority where you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

To exercise your rights, contact us using the details provided in Section 18.

We may request reasonable information to verify your identity before processing a privacy request.

11. ACCOUNT DELETION

Users may request the deletion of their GWMART accounts.

Upon receiving a valid deletion request, we will take reasonable steps to delete or anonymise personal information associated with the account, subject to applicable legal, financial, security and dispute-resolution requirements.

Certain records may be retained where necessary to:

• Comply with legal obligations.
• Maintain transaction and payment records.
• Prevent fraud.
• Resolve outstanding disputes.
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Account deletion may result in the loss of access to bookings, messages, business profiles and other account-related information.

Deleting your GWMART account does not automatically delete transaction records independently held by Paystack, banks or other third-party service providers.

12. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES AND LINKS

GWMART may integrate with or provide access to third-party services, including payment processors, mapping services, analytics providers and external websites.

These third parties may have their own privacy policies and data protection practices.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites or services.

We encourage users to review the relevant privacy policies before using third-party services.

13. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

GWMART may use technology infrastructure, cloud hosting providers and other service providers located outside Nigeria.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws and that appropriate safeguards are implemented.

These safeguards may include contractual protections and other legally recognised transfer mechanisms.

14. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

GWMART is designed primarily for adults seeking professional services or offering artisan and business services.

Our platform is not intentionally designed to collect personal information from children under the age of 18 without appropriate authorisation where required by law.

We do not knowingly permit children to create independent service provider accounts or enter into service transactions through the platform.

If we become aware that personal information has been collected from a child in circumstances that violate applicable laws, we will take appropriate steps to address the issue.

Parents or guardians who believe that a child has submitted personal information to GWMART may contact us.

15. MARKETING AND NOTIFICATIONS

We may send users service-related notifications, including:

• Booking confirmations.
• Appointment reminders.
• Payment confirmations.
• Subscription notifications.
• Chat notifications.
• Account security alerts.
• Important platform announcements.

Where permitted by law, we may also send promotional messages about GWMART services, new features, special offers and business opportunities.

You may opt out of promotional communications through available account settings or by following the unsubscribe instructions provided.

You may still receive essential service and security notifications where necessary.

16. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, business operations or applicable legal requirements.

When significant changes are made, we may notify users through the application, website, email or other appropriate communication channels.

The updated version will be published on our website with a revised Last Updated date.

Your continued use of GWMART after an updated policy becomes effective will be subject to the revised policy, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

17. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING

Depending on the nature of the information and the service being provided, we process personal information on one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Consent: Where you voluntarily authorise us to process information for a specified purpose.
• Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to create accounts, facilitate bookings, process transactions or provide requested services.
• Legal obligation: Where processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
• Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for legitimate business purposes, provided those interests do not override your fundamental privacy rights.
• Vital interests and other lawful grounds: Where recognised and permitted by applicable data protection legislation.

Where consent is required, we will seek it in an appropriate manner.

18. CONTACT US

If you have questions, concerns, complaints or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact Global Web Market.

Company/Platform: Global Web Market (GWMART)

Website: https://globalwebmarket.com/

Email: globalwebmarkett@gmail.com

Telephone: +234 814 627 9519

Office Locations:

• Benin City, Edo State.
• Lagos State.
• Asaba, Delta State.
• Abuja, FCT.
• Enugu State.
• Ibadan, Oyo State.
• Calabar, Cross River State.

We will review privacy-related requests and respond in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

19. ACCEPTANCE OF THIS POLICY

By registering for, accessing or using GWMART, you acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to read this Privacy Policy and understand how your personal information may be collected, used, stored and shared as described herein.

Where consent is required by applicable law, we will obtain it separately and appropriately.

GWMART – Global Web Market

Connecting People & Services.

Your trusted marketplace for local artisans, professionals and service providers.