Privacy Notice

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you give us

We collect information you provide directly when you:

• Create or update an account: name, email address, phone number, password, and delivery address(es).
• List a book for sale (sellers): book title, description, condition, price, weight, photographs, and pickup address.
• Place an order (buyers): shipping address, order details, and any notes to the seller or courier.
• Make a payment: payment method details, which are collected and processed by our payment gateway partner — Bookaao does not store full card or UPI credentials on its own servers.
• Contact customer support, leave a review, or otherwise communicate with us: the content of that communication and your contact details.

1.2 Information collected automatically

• Device and usage information: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages viewed, and referring URLs.
• Approximate location, where you enable location features or based on IP address, to estimate delivery zones and freight charges.
• Log and diagnostic data used to keep the Services running securely, including for fraud and abuse prevention.

1.3 Information from other sources

• Delivery status and proof-of-delivery or proof-of-return information from our courier and logistics partners (including India Post and other shipping companies).
• Confirmation of successful payment or refund from our payment gateway partner.
• Publicly available information you choose to share with us, such as when you use a social login option, if offered.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

• Create and maintain your account, and authenticate you when you sign in.
• Process orders, calculate delivery charges through our freight calculator, arrange pickup and delivery, and process payments and seller payouts.
• Communicate with you about orders, listings, returns, and account activity, including order confirmations, shipping updates, and RTO (return-to-origin) notifications.
• Verify addresses and screen orders to reduce fraud, failed deliveries, and returns.
• Provide customer support and respond to your requests.
• Send service announcements, policy updates, and, where you have consented, promotional offers. You can opt out of promotional messages at any time.
• Maintain the security, integrity, and performance of the Services, and detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or violations of our terms.
• Comply with applicable legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.
• Analyze aggregated, de-identified usage trends to improve the Services.

3. Cookies & Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep you signed in and remember your preferences.
• Understand how the Services are used, so we can fix issues and improve performance.
• Measure the effectiveness of pages and features (we do not use cookies to build advertising profiles of you across other companies' websites).

You can control cookies through your browser settings, including blocking or deleting them. Blocking some cookies may affect the functionality of the Services, such as staying signed in or completing checkout.

4. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in the following circumstances:

• With sellers and buyers, to fulfil an order — for example, a buyer's shipping address and order details are shared with the seller and courier partner solely to complete delivery.
• With service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, courier and logistics partners (including India Post and other delivery companies), address verification providers, SMS/email delivery, and cloud hosting. These providers are permitted to use your information only to provide services to Bookaao and are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• For legal reasons — where required to comply with a law, regulation, legal process, or valid governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Bookaao, our users, or the public.
• In a business transfer — if Bookaao is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to the commitments in this notice.
• With your consent — in any other case, only after you have given us permission to share your information.

5. Information About Sellers

When you list a book as a seller, certain information is necessarily visible to Bookaao and to the buyer or courier in order to complete a sale:

If an order is returned, Bookaao shares the courier's proof of return and related documentation with the seller for that specific shipment, as described in our seller terms.

6. Data Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect your information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit using SSL/TLS.
• Secure, PCI-compliant payment processing through our payment gateway partner — Bookaao does not store full payment card numbers.
• Access controls that limit employee access to personal information to those who need it to do their job.
• Ongoing monitoring for unauthorized access or unusual account activity.

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If we become aware of a security incident affecting your personal information, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by applicable law.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Services, and afterward for as long as necessary to:

• Comply with tax, accounting, and other legal or regulatory record-keeping obligations.
• Resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and maintain records of returns and payouts.
• Prevent fraud and abuse.

When information is no longer needed for these purposes, we delete it or anonymize it so it can no longer be linked to you.

8. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 12. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe and may need to verify your identity before actioning a request.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

10. International Users

Bookaao operates in India, and information we collect is generally stored and processed in India. If you access the Services from outside India, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in India, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

11. Changes to This Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or for legal, operational, or regulatory reasons. We will post the updated notice on this page with a revised "Last updated" date, and where changes are significant, we will provide additional notice (such as an email or an in-app notification).

12. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Notice or your personal information, contact us at:

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