Privacy Policy
Effective 17 October 2026 · BSC (Private) Limited
Trust is the whole point of BSC Pakistan, and that includes how we treat your information. This policy explains what we collect, why, who can see it, and the choices you have.
- Never public: your CNIC, verification documents, email, exact address, and your phone number (unless you switch on the Call button).
- Public: your display name, city/area, join date, badges, ratings, reviews, active ads and response statistics.
- We don't sell your personal data, and we don't use it for third-party advertising.
- You can edit your profile, change notification and contact settings, request a copy of your data or ask us to delete your account at any time.
1. Who we are
BSC (Private) Limited (Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan) operates BSC Pakistan and is responsible for your personal data. Pakistan does not yet have a single, comprehensive data-protection statute in force. We follow the Constitution's protection of privacy (Article 14), the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 — which makes unauthorised obtaining, sale or use of identity information an offence — and widely recognised data-protection principles: collect only what we need, use it only for clear purposes, keep it secure, and keep it no longer than necessary. We will update this policy when new law takes effect.
2. What we collect
| Type | Examples | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Name, mobile number, optional email, password (stored only as a secure hash), city, profile photo, bio | You |
| Verification | CNIC number, CNIC images, business registration/NTN, business address, supporting documents | You (only if you request verification) |
| Listings | Titles, descriptions, photos, prices, specifications, location (city/area), status | You |
| Communications | Chat messages, photos sent in chat, offers, reports you file, emails to support | You and other users |
| Reviews & trust | Ratings and reviews you give or receive, sold-through-platform confirmations, response times | You, other users, the Platform |
| Payments | Promotion package, amount, payment method and transaction ID (we do not receive your bank or wallet PIN/password) | You, payment providers |
| Technical | IP address, device and browser type, pages viewed, approximate location from IP, session and security logs | Your device |
| Usage | Searches, saved ads, followed sellers, notification preferences | You |
3. How we use it
- Run the marketplace: create your account, publish and show your ads, deliver chats, offers and notifications.
- Verify and build trust: send one-time codes, review verification requests, show badges, calculate ratings and the trust score.
- Keep people safe: detect scams, duplicate or prohibited ads, fake accounts and reused photos; enforce limits; investigate reports; warn users about risky messages.
- Process promotions: confirm payments, run and report on promotions, handle refunds.
- Improve BSC Pakistan: understand which features help, fix problems, and produce aggregated statistics (for example “most searched items”) that don't identify you.
- Communicate: service and security messages, and — only if you opt in — tips or updates. You can turn optional messages off in Settings.
- Meet legal obligations: respond to lawful requests and keep records the law requires.
We do not make decisions with legal effect about you based only on automated processing. Automated risk flags lead to a human review before an account is suspended.
4. What other users see
- Your profile/store: display name or business name, photo or logo, city, join date, badges, rating, reviews, number of active and sold ads, response rate and typical response time, last-active status.
- Your ads: everything you put in the ad, with the area and city — never your street address.
- Your phone number: hidden by default. If you enable WhatsApp, signed-in buyers can open a WhatsApp chat with you; if you enable the Call button, signed-in buyers can reveal your number. Each reveal is logged.
- Reviews you write show your display name and the item, not your contact details.
5. CNIC & verification documents
- Collected only when you ask to be verified, and used only to verify you and to prevent fraud.
- CNIC numbers are encrypted in our database. Documents are stored in private storage that is not reachable from the internet.
- Only authorised verification staff can view them, and every view is recorded in an audit log.
- They are never shown to buyers, sellers or other users — only the resulting badge is public.
- We keep them for as long as you hold the badge plus 12 months, then delete them, unless we need them for an ongoing fraud investigation or by law.
6. Who we share data with
We share personal data only as needed, and never sell it:
- Other users — as described in section 4, and the content of chats with the person you are chatting with.
- Service providers who work for us under contract: hosting, email delivery, WhatsApp/SMS messaging (for example Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform to deliver OTP codes), payment processing, and security tools. They may use the data only to provide their service to us.
- Authorities — the police, FIA/NCCIA, PTA, courts or other regulators when the law requires it or to protect users from serious harm or fraud. We review each request and share the minimum necessary.
- Business transfers — if BSC Pakistan is reorganised, merged or sold, data may transfer to the new owner under this policy.
7. Cookies & local storage
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in, protect forms against forgery (CSRF), and remember security settings. We may use privacy-friendly analytics to understand overall usage. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. You can clear cookies in your browser, but some features (like staying logged in) will stop working.
8. How long we keep data
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account and profile | While your account is open; deleted or anonymised within 30 days after you close it |
| Ads and photos | While live or in your dashboard; deleted ads are removed from public view immediately and purged within 90 days |
| Chats | While either participant's account is open, up to 2 years after the last message |
| One-time codes | Stored only as a hash; deleted within 2 days |
| Verification documents | While the badge is held + 12 months |
| Payment records | As long as tax and accounting law requires (generally up to 6 years) |
| Reports, enforcement and audit logs | Up to 5 years, to prevent repeat fraud and meet legal duties |
| Security logs | Up to 12 months |
9. Security
We use HTTPS encryption, hashed passwords and codes, encryption for identity data, private storage for documents, role-based staff access, rate limits on login and OTP requests, and audit logs of sensitive actions. No system is perfectly secure; if we become aware of a breach that puts you at risk, we will notify you and take steps to limit the harm. Help us by using a strong password and never sharing codes.
10. Your choices & rights
- Access & correct: view and edit your profile, ads and settings at any time, or ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Control visibility: turn WhatsApp contact and the Call button on or off in Settings.
- Notifications: choose which emails and messages you receive. Security messages cannot be switched off.
- Delete: ask us to close your account and delete your data. Some records may be kept as described in section 8.
- Object or complain: contact us if you disagree with how we use your data. You may also have a right to approach the PTA in respect of unlawfully obtained identity information under section 16 of PECA.
Send requests to privacy@bsc.com.pk from the email or number on your account. We respond within 30 days and may ask you to confirm your identity first.
11. Children
BSC Pakistan is for adults. We do not knowingly create accounts for anyone under 18. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Where data is stored
Your data is stored on servers operated by our hosting provider, which may be located outside Pakistan. Where data is processed outside Pakistan, we choose providers with strong security and contractual protections, and we will meet any data-localisation requirements that apply to us under Pakistani law.
13. Changes & contact
We will post updates here and tell you about significant changes before they take effect. Questions or requests: privacy@bsc.com.pk · BSC (Private) Limited, Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan.