Privacy Policy

What this covers

This policy applies to everyone who uses VendStand: customers browsing and ordering from a store, vendors running a store, and visitors to the public marketplace. It does not cover what any individual vendor does with your information once an order reaches them directly (a phone call, a WhatsApp message, an in-person handoff) -- that's between you and that vendor.

What we collect

From customers: your name, phone number, and email if you give one, when you place an order or contact a vendor. If you choose delivery, a landmark or address description, and an optional map pin if you drop one -- both are optional, and pickup orders need neither. Your order history and any reviews you leave (only after an order is marked delivered, tied to that specific order).

From vendors: your name, email, and password when you sign up; your store name, description, logo, banner, and product or menu photos; contact details and social links you choose to add; and the business category tags you select.

We don't collect payment card numbers, bank details, or mobile money PINs. VendStand doesn't process payments at all -- see "Payments" below.

How we use it

To operate the order itself: showing your order to the vendor you ordered from, tracking its status, and letting you look it up later.

To send order-related messages: a confirmation to you, a new-order alert to the vendor, by email and, where a phone number is available, SMS. These are transactional -- tied to something you did (placed an order, and a vendor's account existing to receive alerts about it) -- not marketing.

To run the storefronts themselves: a vendor's store name, photos, and product listings are shown publicly at their own store page, because that's the point of a storefront.

To keep the platform functioning honestly: verifying a review is tied to a real delivered order before it's shown, and letting our admin investigate and act on abuse reports or policy violations.

Who it's shared with

The vendor you order from, necessarily -- they need your contact and delivery details to fulfil the order. We don't hide this or make it optional; it's the entire function of placing an order.

Service providers who host or deliver this platform on our behalf, each only for that purpose: Supabase (database, authentication, file storage), Vercel (hosting), Resend (sending confirmation/reset emails), and Arkesel (sending order-alert SMS to vendors). If you drop a map pin, the coordinates are sent to OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service to suggest a landmark description -- only when you actually use the map, and only the coordinates, not your name or order details.

We do not sell personal data, and we don't use any advertising or analytics trackers on this site -- there are none in the codebase to disclose.

Payments

VendStand does not process payments. No payment provider is integrated into the platform, and no card, bank, or mobile money details are ever collected by us. Customers pay vendors directly, however that vendor already accepts payment. Orders here record what was bought and where it's going, nothing more.

Cookies

We use cookies only to keep you signed in (vendor and admin accounts). There are no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

How long we keep it

We keep account and order records for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period after, for legitimate business and record-keeping purposes -- for example, so a vendor can look up an old order, or so a dispute can be investigated. There's currently no automatic deletion schedule. If you want your data removed, see "Your choices" below.

Your choices

Vendors can update most of their own store information at any time from store settings. For anything else -- correcting information, requesting a copy of what we hold, or asking us to delete your account and associated data -- email hello@vendstand.com and we'll act on it directly; there's no self-service deletion flow yet.

Children

VendStand isn't intended for use by children, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

Changes to this policy

If this changes in a way that matters, we'll update the date below and, for material changes, make a reasonable effort to let vendors know.

Questions about this policy? Email hello@vendstand.com.