Privacy Policy

Edamame.uk is a multilingual community marketplace for East Asian communities in the UK. We are the data controller for personal data processed through this Service.

Contact us at: hello@edamame.uk

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Account data: Email address, display name, profile photo (optional), and password (stored as a secure hash).
• Listing content: Titles, descriptions, images, price, and location you provide in listings.
• Messages: Content of direct messages between users.
• Usage data: Pages visited, listings viewed, search queries, and interactions (collected via Firebase Analytics).
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, and cookies.
• Newsletter: Email address if you subscribe to our mailing list.

We use your personal data to:

• Provide and operate the Service (contract basis).
• Authenticate your account and keep it secure.
• Display your listings and enable messaging between users.
• Automatically translate listings into supported languages using Google Gemini AI.
• Moderate content for safety and compliance.
• Send service notifications (e.g. new messages, listing updates).
• Send newsletters, if you have opted in (consent basis).
• Improve the Service through anonymised usage analytics.
• Comply with legal obligations.

We process your data under the following legal bases:

• Contract: Account management, listing publication, and messaging.
• Legitimate interests: Security, fraud prevention, and improving the Service.
• Consent: Newsletter subscriptions, optional analytics cookies.
• Legal obligation: Responding to lawful requests from authorities.

We share data with the following trusted third parties to operate the Service:

• Google Firebase — Authentication, database, file storage, and analytics. Servers in europe-west2 (London). Privacy policy
• Google Gemini AI — Automatic translation and content moderation of listing text.
• Vercel — Website hosting and deployment. Privacy policy
• Resend — Email delivery for newsletters and notifications. Privacy policy

We do not sell your personal data to any third party.

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service:

• Account data: Retained until you delete your account.
• Listings: Retained until you delete the listing or your account. Expired listings are removed after 30 days.
• Messages: Retained until either party deletes the conversation.
• Analytics: Aggregated, anonymised data may be retained for up to 26 months.

We use essential cookies to operate the Service (e.g. session management). We also use optional analytics cookies (Firebase Analytics) to understand how the Service is used.

You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings.

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”).
• Restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent at any time for consent-based processing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@edamame.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), Firebase Security Rules, and access controls.

No system is 100% secure. If you become aware of a security issue, please report it to hello@edamame.uk.

Your data is primarily processed within the UK and EEA (Firebase europe-west2). Some data may be processed in the US by Google and Vercel, both of which participate in appropriate data transfer mechanisms.

The Service is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, contact us immediately.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by posting a notice on the Service. The “Last updated” date at the top will always reflect the most recent revision.

If you have concerns about how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.