Draft for COBOLYNK to approve. It describes how the service works today; it is not yet in force.
LegalPrivacy policy
COBOLYNK (business name no. BN323771026, Ghana) runs Merchant. This policy says what personal data we hold, why, and who helps us process it. We handle it under Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843).
What we collect
- From businesses: the names, phone numbers and email addresses of the people who run a shop; the shop's details; and the bank or Mobile Money account it is paid into.
- From buyers, on behalf of the shop they buy from: name, phone number, an email address if given for a receipt, the delivery address and map location, and what was ordered and paid.
- When you use the service: what is needed to keep it secure and working, such as sign-in sessions and error reports.
Why we use it
- To run shops, take orders and payments, deliver, and send the messages an order needs (by SMS or email).
- To pay businesses their share and keep the records the law requires.
- To prevent fraud and keep the service secure.
- To improve the service, using counts that do not identify buyers.
We do not sell personal data.
Who processes it for us
- Paystack, for payments and payouts.
- Stytch, for sign-in.
- Arkesel and Africa's Talking, for text messages.
- Resend, for email.
- Cloudflare, for hosting, security checks and file storage.
- PlanetScale, for our database.
- Hetzner, for our servers.
- PostHog, for error reports, anonymous usage counts and, with your consent, this website’s analytics.
- AI providers (OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek and TypeSafe), reached through Cloudflare AI Gateway. They help a shop write listings and messages, read its photos and files, check orders and summarise its day. They receive only what a task needs, which for a message to a buyer is the buyer's first name and the order's details.
- OpenStreetMap, whose map tiles a buyer's browser loads at checkout to place a delivery pin.
- Google Fonts, which serves this website's typefaces.
- Meta and X, when a shop chooses to connect its accounts.
Some of these providers process data outside Ghana.
Cookies
On this website, cookies are used only if you accept them in the banner. With your consent, PostHog sets cookies so we can see which pages help people and where they get stuck, and recognise a returning visit. If you decline, we store only your answer, so we do not ask again, and your visit is counted anonymously without a cookie. You can change your answer at any time from "Cookie settings" at the foot of every page.
In Merchant, we use cookies to keep you signed in. A shop may add its own analytics, such as Google Analytics or Meta Pixel; these load only if you agree on that shop.
How long we keep it
We keep data while a shop is open. When a shop closes, we delete its data after 30 days, except the payment records we are required to keep.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete your personal data, or object to how we use it, by writing to contact@cobolynk.com. A buyer's order data belongs to the shop they bought from; we will help the shop answer your request. You can also complain to Ghana's Data Protection Commission.