Privacy Policy

Shopi Limited ("Shopi", "we", "us") operates Shopi, Kenya's social discovery classifieds marketplace. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have.

Shopi is a platform that helps buyers and sellers find each other. We do not process payments, hold money, arrange delivery, or take a commission on any sale. This affects the kind of information we collect — for example, we never ask for your card details or M-Pesa PIN.

By using Shopi, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

Account information

When you register, we collect your email address and a password (if you sign up with email), or basic profile details shared by Google, Apple, or Facebook when you sign up using one of those services.

Profile information

You can add a username, first name, last name, avatar, bio, and website link. Some of this is visible to other users on your public profile.

Listings you create

When you post a listing, we collect the title, caption, hashtags, price and currency, whether the price is negotiable, any custom specifications you add, and the location you choose (county, sub-county, ward, and place details). You choose what location detail to share on each listing.

Media you upload

Photos and videos you upload to create listings, including videos imported from TikTok if you use that feature.

Messages

When you message another user, we store the content of that conversation so both people can see their message history. If you choose to share your location in a message, we store the coordinates and label you provided.

Reports and blocks

If you report a conversation or block another user, we store the reason and any details you provide so we can review the report.

Device and usage information

We automatically receive some technical information when you use Shopi, such as your browser type, general usage patterns within the app, and information needed to keep your session secure.

Location information

If you allow it, we use your browser's location permission to show you listings near you and to help you set an accurate location when creating a listing. You can decline this permission — location-based features simply won't work as well.

Push notification data

If you enable push notifications, we store the technical subscription details needed to deliver them (such as the notification endpoint and encryption keys), along with your locale and browser/device type.

Local and session storage

We use your browser's local storage to keep you signed in and to remember your theme preference (light/dark mode). We use session storage for things like restoring your scroll position when you navigate back to a feed, and to remember short-lived states such as where to send you after signing in.

We do not use tracking or analytics cookies. As of this policy's last update, Shopi does not run any third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking scripts. See our Cookie Policy for full detail.

• Create and manage your account
• Show your listings to other users and let them find you through search and nearby browsing
• Enable direct messaging between buyers and sellers
• Auto-suggest a category for your listing using automated classification, so it's easier to find
• Send you push notifications you've opted into (like new messages)
• Investigate reports of abuse, harassment, or fraud, and enforce our Community Guidelines
• Keep the platform secure and prevent misuse

Shopi uses an automated system to suggest a category for listings based on the content you provide (title, photos, description). This helps buyers find your listing more easily. This classification is generated automatically and may occasionally be inaccurate — it does not affect your ownership of the listing content and you can always edit your listing details.

Other users:Your public profile, listings, and any messages you send are visible to the people you're interacting with. Think of Shopi as a public marketplace — don't include sensitive personal information in a public listing that you don't want strangers to see.

Service providers: We work with infrastructure providers that help us run Shopi, including cloud storage providers for hosting your photos, a video hosting and streaming provider for your videos, and mapping and location providers to resolve addresses and coordinates. These providers only process data on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.

Legal reasons: We may disclose information if required by Kenyan law, to respond to a valid legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Shopi, our users, or the public.

We do not sell your personal information.

We keep your account and listing information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will remove or anonymise your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we're required to keep certain records for legal or fraud-prevention purposes.

Messages are retained as part of your conversation history until you or the other participant deletes the conversation, or your account is deleted.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including secure transmission of data and access controls on our systems. No online service is 100% secure, so we encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to be cautious about the information you share with other users.

Under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019, you have the right to:

• Know what personal data we hold about you
• Access your personal data
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to certain processing
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (such as location access or push notifications) — you can do this at any time through your device or browser settings, or by contacting us

You can update most of your profile information directly in the app. To exercise other rights, contact us using the details below.

Shopi is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has created an account or provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.

Some of our service providers (such as cloud storage and video hosting) may process data outside Kenya. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure your information continues to receive an appropriate level of protection, consistent with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, 2019.

We may update this policy from time to time as Shopi evolves. If we make material changes, we'll notify you through the app or by other reasonable means. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows when the policy last changed.

If you have questions about this policy or want to exercise your data protection rights, contact us: