WESTAFRIC - Privacy Statement
We care about your privacy and we promise to protect your personal data. This privacy statement will inform you about how we use your personal data, your privacy rights, and how the law protects you. Please read this privacy statement carefully before using our Services.
 
In this privacy statement:
Services refers to any products, services, content, features, technologies or functions and all websites, applications and related services offered to you by us.
Platform refers to websites, mobile applications, mobile websites or any other online properties through which we offer you our Services.
1. Who are we?
West-a-fric offers classified classifieds for jobs, for sale, real estate, services, cars, events and miscellaneous - Post your classified ad.
The site where you buy and sell fast in ECOWAS countries.
2.1.1 Data provided by direct interaction
Registration and other account information
When you register on our Platform, you will be asked to provide only your email address.
If you decide to hire our Services, you will be asked to provide your postal code and the parish where the vehicle or piece that are mandatory elements of the advertisement is located. Without this information, we will not be able to provide the Services.
Depending on the choices you make at login to our Services or during the process of using our Services, you may choose to provide in addition the following personal information:
• your name;
• address;
• Tax Identification Number; and
• mobile number.

Communication through the chat functionality in our Platform
When you use our chat feature to communicate with other users, we collect information that you choose to provide to other users through this feature.
2.1.2 Data we collect automatically when you use our Services
When you interact with our Platform or use our Services, we automatically collect the following information about you:
Device Information
• We collect specific information about the device, such as the operating system version or unique identifiers. For example, the name of the mobile network you are using. We've attached this device to the device identifiers of your WESTAFRIC account.
Location Information
• Depending on the permissions on your device, if you publish an article on our Platform, we will automatically collect and process information about your current location. We use various technologies to determine the location, including IP address, GPS, Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile data towers. Your location data allows you to view user articles near you and help you post articles in the area you are in.
Customer and Registration Data
• Technical details, including your device's Internet Protocol (IP), time zone, and operating system. We will also store your login information (date of registration, date of last password change, date of last successful login), the type and version of your browser.
Clickstream data
• We collect information about your activity on our Platform, including the websites you used to access our Platform, record the date and time of each visit, searches performed, listings or advertising banners that you have accessed, your interaction with those ads advertising or listings, the duration of your visit and the order in which you accessed the content on our Platform.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
• We use cookies to manage our users' sessions, to store their language preferences, and to provide you with relevant ads. "Cookies" are small text files transferred by a web server to your device's hard disk. Cookies can be used to collect the date and time of your visit, your browsing history, your preferences, and your username. You can set your browser to refuse some or all cookies, or to alert you whenever a website installs or accesses cookies. If you disable or decline cookies, please note that some parts of our Services / Platform may be inaccessible or may not work properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please consult our Cookies Policy and Similar Technologies.

2.1.3 Third party data or publicly available sources.
We have received personal information about you from various third parties [and publicly available sources] as described below:
• Certain technical and usage information from analytics data providers, such as Google.
• Contact details related to business operations from advertising networks, such as data providers related to operations and service partners (Example: Business activity information).
• Data of use of the services in the platform related to the services or transactions. (Example: data directly related to the ads published on the platform in order to prevent fraud and report such cases to the respective entities)
 
3. Do we collect data from minors?
Our Services are not intended for persons under the age of 16 and do not knowingly collect data from anyone under the age of 16. If we realize that a child under the age of 16 has given us his or her data, we will delete that data immediately.
 
4. Why do we process your personal information?
We only use your personal data when this is permitted by law. Most of the time, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
• When we need to fulfill the contract we are about to enter into or entered into with you.
• Whenever it is necessary for our legitimate interests to improve our Services and provide you with a Safe Platform.
• Whenever we have to comply with legal or regulatory obligations.
In certain circumstances we may also process your personal data based on your consent. If we do, we will inform you of the reason and category of personal data to be processed at the time we ask for your consent.
We set out below a description of how we use your personal data [and on what legal basis we rely on it to do so. We also identify our legitimate interests where necessary].
4.1 In order to provide access and provide the Services through our Platform
• If you log in to the Platform using your Email ID, we will use your email address to identify you as a user and allow you to access our Platform.
• If you sign in through your Facebook or Google Plus account, we will use your first and last name on your Facebook or Google Plus profile and the Facebook or Google Plus email address to identify you as a user on our Platform and allow access our Platform.
• the above mentioned login information is also used by us to provide you with our Services in accordance with our Terms of Use.
• We use your email address and mobile phone number (via SMS) to make suggestions and recommendations about our Services that may be of interest to you.
We process the above information for the proper performance of the agreement entered into with you and on the basis of our legitimate interest in performing marketing activities to provide you with Services that may be of interest to you.
4.2 To improve your experience on the Platform
i. We used clickstream data to
• provide targeted content, for example, by providing you with more relevant search results every time you use our Services.
• to determine how much time you spend on our Platform and how you navigate through our Platform so that we can understand your interests and improve our Services based on this data. For example, we can give you suggestions about content that you can visit based on the content you have accessed.
• to monitor and communicate the effectiveness of targeted advertising campaigns for our business partners and for internal business reviews.
 ii. We use your location data for the following purposes:
• To compile anonymous and aggregated information about the characteristics and behaviors of WESTAFRIC users, including for the purposes of business analysis, segmentation and development of anonymous profiles.
• To improve the performance of our Services and customize the content that we direct to you. For example - with the help of location data, we display lists of ads that are close to you to improve your shopping experience.
• To measure and monitor your interaction with third-party advertising banners that we place on our Platform.
iii. With the help of your login information, which includes your email address, we map the different devices (such as computers, mobile phones, tablets) used by you to access our Platform. This allows us to associate your activity in our Platform in a transversal way through devices and helps us to give you a perfectly integrated experience regardless of the device you are using.

We process the above information for proper compliance with our contract with you, to improve our services and to build our legitimate fraud prevention interests.
 
5. How will we tell you about changes to our privacy statement?
We may change this privacy statement from time to time. We will post the changes on this page and we will give you notice of such changes by email or through our Platform. If you do not agree to these changes, you can close your account by accessing the account settings and accessing the delete account option.
 
6. Your rights
In certain circumstances, and under the terms of data protection laws, you have rights regarding your personal data.
If you wish to use any of the rights described below, please access our account / privacy settings or contact us through our Contact Form:
Right to request access to your personal data (known as the "data subject access request"). This allows you to receive a copy of the personal data that we have about you and to verify if we are processing them according to the law.
Right to request corrections to any data we have about you. This allows you to correct any incomplete or incorrect data we have about you, although we are required to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
Right to request limitation of processing of your personal data. This allows you to request the suspension of the processing of your personal data in the following circumstances: (a) if you want us to determine the accuracy of the data; (b) whenever our use of the data does not comply with the law; (c) whenever you need us to keep your data, even if you do not need it, in case you need to establish, exercise or defend yourself from lawsuits; or (d) if you have disagreed with our use of your personal data, although we are required to verify that there are superior legitimate interests in order to continue to use them.
Right to request the deletion of your personal data. This allows you to request that we delete or remove your personal data whenever there is no good reason for us to continue processing them. You also have the right to request us to delete or remove your personal data whenever you have successfully exercised your right to refuse the processing (see below), whenever we have processed your information unlawfully or whenever we are required to delete personal data for the purposes of compliance with local law. Please bear in mind that for certain purposes we may be legally obliged to withhold your data. Please refer to section 10.
Right to object to the processing of your personal data whenever we have a legitimate interest (or the legitimate interest of a third party) and whenever there is something related to your personal situation that causes you to contest its processing in these terms, considering that it can have a fundamental impact on their fundamental rights and guarantees. You also have the right to object whenever we process your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have legitimate and compelling reasons that override your rights and warranties to process your information.
Right to request portability of your personal data for yourself or for a third party. We will provide you, or provide a third party of your choice, with your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and electronically readable format. It should be noted that this right only applies to the automated information in respect of which you initially gave us your consent to use or in situations where we have used the information for the purposes of the performance of the contract that we entered into with you.
Right to withdraw consent, at any time, for the processing of your personal data. This does not affect the legality of any processing that we have already carried out based on the consent previously given.

No fees: You will not have to pay any fees to access your personal data (or exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is manifestly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. On the other hand, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
Deadline for response: We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally, it may take more than a month if your request is particularly complex or if you have made multiple requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you informed.
In addition, you have the right to make a complaint at any time to the responsible data protection authority under section 13.
However, before submitting a complaint to the data protection authority, we would like the opportunity to address your concerns in the first instance, so please use our Contact Form.
 
7. Communication and Marketing
We will communicate with you by email, SMS or notification through the application associated with our Services / Platform to confirm your registration, inform you in case your listing of ads has started / expired and for other transactional messages related to our Services . Since such transactional messages are binding on us, you can not refuse them.
You can however ask us at any time to stop sending you marketing communications by simply accessing the opt-out link in the email or SMS message you have sent or changing your communication settings in your account. If you have problems changing your settings, please contact us using our Contact Form.
You may receive marketing communications from us if:
• you have requested such information;
• use our Platform or Services;
• you have given us your details when you enter a contest; or
• if you have registered for a promotion.
 
8. With whom do we share your data?
We may have to share your personal data with the parties listed below, for the purposes of Section 4 above.
Affiliated companies: We may share data with other WESTAFRIC companies located within or outside the EEA and to assist us in providing business operations services such as product enhancement, customer support and fraud detection mechanisms. Any sharing of personal data within the WESTAFRIC group of companies outside the European Economic Area ("EEA") will always be subject to safeguards, as described in Section 9, or to a data transfer agreement which clearly defines the obligations of the Parties and to ensure appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect their data.
Third Party Service Providers: We use third party service providers to assist us with some aspects of our Services, such as cloud storage services such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Service providers can be located within or outside the EEA.
We carry out checks on third-party service providers and require them to respect the security of your personal data and to treat them in accordance with the law. We do not allow you to use your personal data for your own benefit and we only allow you to process your personal data for the purposes specified and in accordance with our instructions.

Advertising and analysis and data providers: In order to improve our Services, we will sometimes have to share your anonymous information with analytics data providers that will help us analyze how people use our Platform / Service. We share your information with these data providers in an unidentifiable way to monitor and report on the effectiveness of the campaigns we carry out for our business partners and for internal business reviews. For more details about our advertisers and analytics data providers, please refer to our Cookies Policy and Similar Technologies.
Law Enforcement, Regulatory, and Other Authorities: We may disclose your personal information to law enforcement, regulators, government or public entities and other third parties that require us to comply with any legal or regulatory requirements.
We may choose to sell, transfer or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. In the event of any change to our business, new owners may use your personal information as described in this privacy statement.
Publicly available information: Whenever you publish an article for sale using our Services, you may choose to make your personal information visible to other WESTAFRIC users.

9. International transfers
Whenever we transfer your personal data outside the EEA, we guarantee a similar degree of protection, ensuring that at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:
• We will only transfer your personal data to countries that the European Commission considers to provide an adequate level of data protection. For more information, see European Commission: Adequacy of protection of personal data in countries outside the European Union (EU)
• Whenever we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved by the European Commission that give personal data the same protection as they do in Europe. For more information, see European Commission: Contract models for the transfer of personal data to third countries
• Whenever we turn to service providers in the United States of America, we may transfer data to you if they are part of the Privacy Shield, which requires them to provide similar protection of the personal data shared between Europe and the USA. For more information, see European Commission: EU-US Privacy Protection Shield.
You may receive a copy of the implemented and relevant safeguards by contacting us through our Contact Form.
 
10. Where do we store your data and for how long?
The data we collect about you will be stored and processed both inside and outside the EEA on secure servers in order to provide the best possible user experience. For example: for quick links to the website or mobile application.
We will only retain your personal information for as long as it is necessary to serve the purposes for which we collect it, including for the purpose of complying with any legal, accounting or communication requirements.
In determining the appropriate retention period for personal data, we take into account the amount, nature and sensitivity of personal data, the potential risk of damage by unauthorized disclosure or use of your personal data, the reasons why we process your data and if we are able to meet those grounds by other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
If you have any questions regarding the retention period of your personal data, please contact us using our Contact Form.
 
11. Technical and organizational measures and security processing
All information we receive about you is stored on secure servers, and we have implemented technical and organizational measures that are appropriate and necessary to protect your personal data. WESTAFRIC continuously assesses the safety of your network and the adequacy of your internal security information program that is designed to (a) help protect your data against accidental or unlawful loss, access or disclosure, (b) identify reasonable foreseeable risks for the safety of the WESTAFRIC network, and (c) to minimize safety hazards, including through risk assessments and regular testing. In addition, we ensure that all payment data is encrypted using SSL technology.
Please note that despite the measures we have taken to protect your data, data transfer over the Internet or other open networks is never completely secure and there is a risk that your personal data will be accessed by unauthorized third parties.
 
12. Links to Third Party Websites
Our Platform may contain links to third party websites or applications. If you access one of these links, please take into account that each one will have its own privacy policy. We do not control these websites and we are not responsible for these policies. When leaving our Platform, we recommend that you read the privacy statement of all the websites you visit.
 
13. Contacts
For any additional information, or to exercise your rights, please check our account / privacy settings or contact our Privacy Office using our Contact Form or through the help section of our Platform. Alternatively, we can also contact the data controller for your local services.