Privacy Policy

1 Information We Collect

We only collect what we need to run a safe campus marketplace:

• Account information — your name, university email and password (always stored hashed, never in plain text).
• Profile details — optional information you add, such as a profile photo, phone number, short bio and preferred meeting location.
• Listing content — titles, descriptions, prices, condition, categories and the 1–7 images you upload for each item.
• Marketplace activity — chat messages, offers and counter-offers, saved items and listings you view.
• Technical data — basic device and browser information plus sign-in timestamps, used to keep your account secure.

2 How We Use Information

• Operate the marketplace — publish your listings, power search and connect buyers with sellers.
• Enable communication and price negotiation through built-in chat and offers.
• Keep accounts secure and detect misuse or prohibited activity.
• Send you service notifications about messages, offers and listing status.
• Understand how the platform is used so we can improve it.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

3 Student Marketplace Usage

CampusCart is built for verified students to buy and sell within their campus community. A single account can both buy and sell.

• Listings and the profile details you choose to publish are visible to other students.
• To protect your privacy, personal contact information should not be shared until an offer is accepted — all communication happens through built-in chat.
• Offer and negotiation history is retained for transparency between both parties and is never deleted.

4 Cookies

We use a small number of essential cookies to keep the platform working:

• Sign-in session cookies that keep you logged in.
• Security cookies, including CSRF protection for forms.
• Preference cookies, such as remembering you between visits.

These are required for core functionality. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

5 Account Security

• Passwords are protected with industry-standard hashing and are never stored or shown in plain text.
• We use secure sessions and CSRF protection across the platform.
• You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. You can update it anytime from your Security page.
• If you notice suspicious activity on your account, contact us right away.

6 Data Retention

• Account and profile data is retained while your account is active.
• Listings use soft deletion and may be retained for record-keeping; negotiation and offer history is preserved and never deleted.
• You may request account deletion by contacting us. Some records may be retained where necessary for safety, dispute resolution or legal reasons.

7 Third-Party Services

• CampusCart does not process payments. Any payment is arranged directly between students, off-platform.
• We rely on standard infrastructure providers (such as hosting and email delivery) to operate the service.
• We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of external websites you may reach through links.

8 Contact Information