Privacy Policy

1. Personal data we collect

We collect only the data we need to run the platform:

• Account details: your full name, email address, phone number, country and city, the account type you choose (customer or book seller) and your password. Passwords are stored only as a secure one-way hash, so we can never see them. Every account is given a User ID number, and we record the date the account was created.
• Signing in with Google or Facebook: if you choose to, we receive only your name and email address from Google or Facebook, and a code that links your account to theirs. We never see or store your Google or Facebook password.
• Referral details: the User ID of the sales agent who referred you, if any, and any delegation you give them to manage parts of your account.
• Sales agent details: for sales agents, their commission rate and the commission earned on the subscriptions of book sellers they referred.
• Delivery address: address lines, city, province, postal code and country, which you can save to your account or enter at checkout.
• Orders: the books you buy or sell, quantities, prices, delivery notes, payment method, order status and any cancellation reasons.
• Listings and promotions: the books you list for sale (including cover images you upload), your stock, and the sales and bundles you run.
• Subscriptions: the packages you buy, free trials and extensions, amounts, dates and payment results.
• Ratings and reviews: the star ratings and review text you post.
• Help & Support: the requests you open and the messages you and our team exchange about them.
• Technical data: what your browser sends when you use the site, such as your IP address and browser type. We use it for security and to keep the site working.

We do not collect your CNIC or other sensitive personal data (such as health, religious or biometric data), and we ask you not to put it in reviews, notes, support requests or listings.

2. How we use your data

• To create and manage your account, identify it by its User ID, and let you sign in securely.
• To process orders: we pass your order and delivery details to the seller, track progress, collect cash or online payments, and handle cancellations.
• To run seller subscriptions, including free trials, package purchases and extensions, and to decide who can list books.
• To record which sales agent referred a book seller, and to calculate and report that agent's commission.
• To review listings before they go live, publish them, and show your ratings and reviews to other users.
• To answer your Help & Support requests and send you notifications about your orders, sales and requests.
• To prevent fraud, abuse and cybercrime, and to keep the platform secure.
• To meet our legal, accounting and tax obligations in Pakistan, including record keeping required by the Federal Board of Revenue and the provincial revenue authorities.

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

3. Why we are allowed to use it

We use your personal data only where we have a proper reason to:

• To provide our service to you — running your account, completing the orders you place or receive, and your subscription.
• With your consent — for example when you save a delivery address, enter a sales agent's User ID or post a review. You can withdraw consent at any time; this does not affect anything we did before.
• To meet legal obligations — where the law of Pakistan requires us to keep or disclose information.
• To protect users and the platform — to detect and prevent fraud, abuse and security incidents.

4. Who we share data with

• Buyers and sellers, to complete an order. When you place an order, the seller of those books (BooksShore, a book seller or a customer) sees your name, phone number, email, delivery address and delivery notes so they can deliver and collect payment. As a buyer, you can see the seller's name, email and phone number on your order.
• The public. Your name is shown next to your listings, your ratings and your reviews.
• Your sales agent, if you are a book seller they referred. See Sales agents and referrals.
• BooksShore staff. Authorised administrators and staff can access account, order, subscription, referral and support data to run and support the platform. Each staff role sees only what it needs.
• Service providers. Our payment provider processes card payments, and our hosting provider stores the website and database for us. Both are required to protect the data.
• Authorities. We share data where the law of Pakistan requires it, such as a court order or a lawful request from the Federal Investigation Agency, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority or a tax authority.

Sellers may use a buyer's details only to fulfil that order. Sales agents may use a book seller's details only for their work with BooksShore. Neither may use them for anything else.

5. Sales agents and referrals

BooksShore appoints sales agents to bring customers, bookshops and other book businesses onto the platform. You can name the agent who referred you by entering the agent's User ID when registering, or our staff can record it. The agent then earns a commission on your subscription purchases.

If you were referred by an agent, that agent can see on their My Referrals page:

• your name, email address, User ID and the date you joined;
• whether your subscription is active and when it ends;
• the subscription packages you bought, what you paid and the commission they earned.

Agents cannot see your password, delivery address, phone number, orders, listings or payment card details, unless you delegate to them. If you ask (on My Sales Agent) and BooksShore approves, your agent can manage the parts of your account you choose: your listings, the orders for your books (including the buyers' delivery details on those orders), your promotions, and your subscription and premium. They never see your password, your own purchases or your delivery address, and you can end the delegation at any time. If you think the wrong agent is recorded for you, contact Help & Support and our staff will correct it.

6. Payments and subscriptions

You can pay for orders in cash (on delivery or at self pickup) or online by card, and buy subscription packages by card. Card details are entered on our payment provider's page. BooksShore never sees or stores your card number or payment account details. We keep only the amount, the result, the provider's transaction reference and, for subscriptions, the order number (for example SUB-000123).

7. Cookies

We use only cookies that the site needs to work. These are a sign-in cookie that keeps you logged in, a security cookie that protects forms against forgery, and a short-lived cookie that carries messages between pages (such as "Added to your cart"). We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. You can block cookies in your browser settings, but then you won't be able to sign in or place orders.

8. How long we keep data

• Account data is kept while your account is open.
• Order, subscription and commission records are kept as long as they are needed for accounting, tax, dispute and legal purposes, including after an account is closed. For this reason, accounts that have placed or received orders, and sales agents who have earned commission, are disabled rather than deleted.
• Listings you delete and ratings you remove are deleted from our database.
• When data is no longer needed, we delete it or make it anonymous.

9. How we protect data

We protect personal data with technical and organisational measures, including:

• passwords stored only as a hash;
• temporary lockout after repeated failed sign-in attempts;
• a verification image on registration to stop automated sign-ups;
• protection against forged form submissions;
• staff access limited by role.

No system is completely secure. If a security incident puts your data at risk, we will tell you and take the steps the law requires. Unauthorised access to our systems or data is an offence under PECA.

10. Where your data is stored

Our website and database may be hosted on servers outside Pakistan. When data is stored or processed outside Pakistan, we use providers that protect it to at least the standard in this policy, and we comply with any rules on data transfers that apply in Pakistan.

11. Your choices and rights

You can ask us to:

• Access — tell you what personal data we hold about you and how we use it.
• Correct — fix inaccurate or incomplete data. You can update your delivery address and password yourself from My Account.
• Delete — erase your personal data, except what we must keep (such as order and tax records required by law). Deleting your data explains how.
• Stop or limit — stop or limit certain uses of your data.
• Withdraw consent — at any time, for anything we do on the basis of your consent.

To make a request, contact us using the details below and quote your User ID. We may need to confirm your identity first. We will reply within 30 days, or sooner if the law requires.

12. Children

BooksShore is not meant to be used by children under 18 without a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has given us personal data without that involvement, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add features or when Pakistan's data protection law changes. We will post the new version on this page and change the "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be highlighted on the site.

14. Contact and complaints

For privacy questions or requests, email privacy@booksshore.com, or open a request in Help & Support. Please include your User ID.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the consumer protection authority or consumer court in your province. For cybercrime, you can contact the Federal Investigation Agency.

See also About BooksShore.