Privacy Policy
Last updated: 10 October 2026
The short version. We collect what we need to run a safe marketplace: your account details, what you list and say on SwapIt, and how you use the app. We use it to show you matches, keep people safe (including with AI checks), take payments and arrange delivery. We never sell your personal data. Other people see your public profile and listings, never your phone number or exact address. You can see, correct or delete your data.
1. Who is responsible for your data
[Company legal name] ([Company registration number]), [Registered address], is the controller of your personal data for SwapIt. We follow the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and, for people in the UK, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Contact our data protection lead at privacy@swapit.co.uk.
2. What we collect
You give us
- Account: name, username, email, phone number, the area you are in, that you are 18 or over, and your profile photo. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email from them.
- Verification: if you choose to verify, a selfie, which is checked to confirm a real person is present.
- What you list and have: listings and Trade items, with photos, videos, descriptions, condition, specs, prices and what you would swap for; wishes and alerts.
- What you say: messages, comments, questions, reviews and reports.
- Deals: offers, swaps, purchases, delivery and meeting details, and pickup and delivery addresses.
- Money: payout details such as your bank name and account number for withdrawals. Card details are entered with our payment partners and are not stored by us.
- Support: anything you tell us when you contact us.
- Website price check: if you value your phone on our website, your name, email, the phone's details and whether you want cash or a swap.
Collected as you use SwapIt
- Activity: what you view, open, like, save, share, search for and offer on, and which listings and matches were shown to you.
- Device and technical: device type, operating system, app version, IP address, notification token, crash and error reports.
- Location: your general area from what you tell us, and your device location only if you tap "Use my location" and allow it.
From others
- Google or Apple (if you sign in with them), our payment partners (payment status, fraud signals), courier partners (delivery status), and other users (for example reports, reviews and messages about you).
3. How we use it, and why we are allowed to
| What we do | Our lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Create and run your account; show your listings and Trade items; let you message, offer, pay and arrange handover | To perform our contract with you |
| Suggest matches, estimate worth, order your feed and matches, and personalise what you see | Contract, and our legitimate interest in a useful marketplace |
| Check photos, listings, messages and comments for fraud, prohibited items, contact details and abuse; verify accounts; prevent and investigate wrongdoing | Legitimate interests in keeping users safe, and legal obligations |
| Selfie verification | Your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| Take payments, hold and release money, pay out, and keep financial records | Contract and legal obligations (including tax and anti-money-laundering rules) |
| Arrange delivery with couriers | Contract |
| Send notifications about your deals, messages and matches | Contract and legitimate interests (you can turn most off) |
| Send marketing | Your consent, where the law requires it |
| Email your phone's price from our website, and invite you to SwapIt when it opens | Your consent, given when you ask for your price. Unsubscribe at any time |
| Use your device location | Your consent |
| Fix problems, measure and improve SwapIt | Legitimate interests |
| Comply with the law, respond to authorities, and defend legal claims | Legal obligations and legitimate interests |
4. AI and automated decisions
We use automated tools, including AI models provided by companies such as Google, to:
- read listings, Trade items and wishes into standard details (product, specs, condition) so the right people find each other;
- estimate what items are worth and suggest and order matches, including learning from how people use SwapIt;
- check photos are real photos of the item and do not show prohibited items or contact details;
- check messages and comments before they are delivered, to stop scams, abuse and contact details being shared.
Some of these checks can automatically hold or stop a listing, photo or message. If an automated decision affects you, you can ask for a person to review it by contacting us. We do not use your data to train AI models offered to others.
5. What other people can see
Other users can see your username and display name, profile photo, verification badge, general area (for example "Lekki, Lagos"), followers, reviews, your listings and Trade items with their photos and details, and your public comments. They cannot see your phone number, email, exact address or payment details. The person you agree a deal with may see what they need to complete it (for example a pickup area or delivery details).
6. Who we share it with
We share personal data only as needed, and we never sell it:
- Service providers who work for us under contract: hosting and storage (such as Render, Cloudinary and Amazon Web Services), AI and maps (such as Google), notifications and messaging (such as Google Firebase, OneSignal, Twilio and our email provider), and error monitoring (such as Sentry).
- Payment partners (such as Stripe and Paystack) to take payments, hold and release money, pay out and prevent fraud.
- Courier partners (such as Fez Delivery) when you choose delivery: names, phone numbers and addresses for pickup and drop-off.
- Other users, as described in section 5.
- Authorities and others when the law requires it, or to protect people from harm, prevent fraud, or enforce our terms.
- A new owner if our business is sold or restructured, under this policy.
7. Data sent abroad
Some of our providers store or process data outside Nigeria and the UK, for example in the European Union and the United States. When we do this we use the protections the law requires, such as adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or other safeguards under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and the UK GDPR.
8. How long we keep it
- Account and listings: while your account is open. When you delete your account we delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except what we must keep below.
- Payments and deals: up to 6 years after the deal, to meet tax, accounting and anti-money-laundering rules.
- Activity used for suggestions (what was shown, viewed and opened): up to 12 months.
- Messages: while both accounts exist, then deleted or anonymised; messages connected to a reported problem may be kept longer to investigate.
- Website price checks: until we invite you to SwapIt, then up to 12 months if you do not join. Sooner if you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
- Verification selfies: deleted once the check is complete, keeping only the result.
- Safety records (for example why an account was banned): as long as needed to stop the same person returning, and no longer than 6 years.
9. Your rights
Under Nigerian and UK data protection law you can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your personal data, and in some cases send it to another service;
- correct data that is wrong or incomplete;
- delete your data;
- restrict or object to how we use it, including for direct marketing;
- withdraw consent where we rely on it (this does not affect what we did before);
- have a person review an automated decision that significantly affects you.
Email privacy@swapit.co.uk. We may need to confirm who you are, and we will reply within the time the law allows (usually one month). Some rights have limits, for example where we must keep records by law.
10. Your choices
- Change your profile, notifications and privacy settings in the app.
- Turn off location in your phone's settings; you can still type your area.
- Unsubscribe from marketing using the link in any marketing email or in your settings.
- Delete your account in Settings.
11. Security
We use encryption in transit, access controls and trusted providers to protect your data. No system is completely secure; if a breach affects you in a way the law requires us to tell you about, we will tell you and the regulator.
12. Children
SwapIt is only for people aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you think a child is using SwapIt, tell us and we will delete the account.
13. Cookies
Our app does not use advertising cookies. Our website pages (such as shared listing links and these policies) use only what is needed for them to work. If this changes we will update this policy and ask for consent where required.
14. Changes
We may update this policy. If the changes are important we will tell you in the app or by email before they apply.
15. Contact and complaints
Contact us at privacy@swapit.co.uk or [Registered address]. If you are not happy with our answer you can complain to the regulator: in Nigeria, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (ndpc.gov.ng); in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).