AutoLink Privacy Policy
Effective version: AutoLink Legal v1.1. This Privacy Policy explains how AutoLink Spare Parts Procurement Hub collects, uses, stores, shares and protects information when buyers, company buyers, suppliers, staff members and admins use the platform.
1. Information AutoLink may collect
- Account and contact information: name, phone number, email address, account type, password or login identifiers, language preference and registration acceptance records.
- Business/profile information: shop/company name, legal name, staff role, supplier category, buyer category, profile photo/logo, verification status, rating, completed order count and account history.
- Location and service-area information: city, sub-city, woreda, area description, pickup/delivery area and distance/radius information used to match requests.
- Vehicle and spare-part information: vehicle/equipment type, make, model, year, engine type, VIN/chassis where provided, part name, part number, quantity, photos, uploaded request documents and request notes.
- Quotation and transaction workflow records: supplier quotes, prices, quantities, total, quote validity, delivery/pickup notes, selected supplier records, closed/completed/failed request status, ratings, reviews and dispute/support messages.
- Technical and security data: device/browser information, session/app state, basic usage logs, error logs, abuse-prevention signals and security events.
2. How AutoLink uses information
- To create accounts, verify profiles, display buyer and supplier dashboards, and keep records of legal consent.
- To allow buyers to post requests and suppliers to submit quotations.
- To show buyer request information to relevant suppliers and to show supplier quote/profile information to the buyer.
- To compare quotes, filter by part, support supplier selection and show transaction follow-up records.
- To detect fake stock, misleading quotes, fraud, abuse, privacy misuse, spam, duplicated accounts and technical errors.
- To provide support, account correction, account/data deletion, dispute handling, safety review and service improvement.
3. Anonymous statistics and service improvement
AutoLink may use aggregated, anonymized or de-identified non-sensitive information for internal statistics, marketplace insights, product planning, pricing/category analysis, supplier coverage analysis, app performance improvement and future service upgrades. This may include counts such as number of requests by category, average quote counts, quote response time, popular spare-part categories, approximate service areas, app usage patterns and closed/open request trends.
AutoLink will not intentionally publish or sell statistics that identify a specific user, phone number, email address, VIN/chassis number, uploaded document, private request note, exact transaction evidence or private support complaint. When data is anonymized or aggregated so that individual users cannot reasonably be identified, AutoLink may retain and use that anonymized information even after an account is deleted.
4. Sharing and visibility inside the marketplace
Buyer request details are shown to suppliers so they can quote. Supplier profile and quotation details are shown to buyers for comparison and selection. Users should not upload unnecessary personal documents, unrelated third-party information or highly sensitive personal data. Users must not copy, sell, publish, harass or misuse another user’s phone number, document, vehicle information, quote or business information.
5. Data safety and security
AutoLink will take reasonable technical and organizational steps to protect user data, including limiting admin access, using secure hosting practices, keeping plugin/software updated where possible and reviewing abuse reports. No online system can guarantee absolute security, and users are responsible for keeping their own phones, passwords, email accounts and staff access secure.
6. Retention, correction and deletion
Users may request correction, deletion or restriction of their account/profile information through AutoLink support. AutoLink may keep certain records where necessary for dispute handling, fraud prevention, security, legal compliance, accounting/tax needs, platform integrity, backup recovery or legitimate business records. When full deletion is not immediately possible, AutoLink may restrict, hide or anonymize records where appropriate.
7. Legal compliance
AutoLink aims to follow applicable Ethiopian data protection, electronic transaction and consumer/marketplace rules. If any part of this policy conflicts with mandatory law, the mandatory law controls. AutoLink may update this policy as the platform grows, and continued use after notice may require renewed acceptance.