Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2026
1. Information We Collect
Account information: name, email address, phone number (optional), and city/province when you register. Request and listing data: vehicle details, part descriptions, photos, and location (as an approximate point, or precise if you share your location in chat) when you post a request or submit a bid. Messages: the content of chat messages between buyers and sellers, including any photos or location shared in a conversation. Reviews: ratings and written reviews you leave after a completed deal. Payment information: if you subscribe to a paid plan, our payment processor (Stripe) collects your card details directly — we never see or store your full card number. Business verification documents: business accounts may upload a verification document (e.g. business license) to confirm their business status. Usage data: pages visited, actions taken (e.g. posts created, bids submitted), and device/browser information, collected to operate and improve the platform.
2. Third-Party Services We Use
We share limited data with the following service providers, each of whom processes it only to provide their service to us: Stripe — processes subscription payments. Stripe receives your payment details directly; we only receive confirmation of payment and a subscription status. Cloudinary — hosts photos and documents you upload (part photos, chat images, verification documents). Google — if you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile photo from your Google account. Mapbox — powers the maps and location search features; your search location may be sent to Mapbox to show nearby results. Twilio — sends SMS notifications to Enterprise-plan business accounts that opt in; we do not use SMS for marketing. Resend — sends transactional emails (verification codes, bid notifications, receipts). MongoDB Atlas — hosts our database. Atlas infrastructure may be located outside Canada (including the United States); by using AutoPartsBid you consent to this cross-border storage and processing. We do not sell your personal information to anyone, and we do not share it with third parties for their own advertising purposes.
3. How We Use Your Information
To operate the marketplace: matching your request with nearby sellers (or your inventory with nearby requests), displaying your posts, bids, and profile to other users, and enabling in-app chat. To reveal contact details: a seller's name becomes visible to the buyer only once the buyer approves that seller's bid, and vice versa — not before. To communicate with you: account notifications, bid/post updates, and (only if you opt in at registration) platform tips and marketing updates. You can withdraw marketing consent at any time from Settings. To improve the platform: we track in-app events (such as which features are used) in aggregate to understand usage and guide product decisions. This is first-party analytics only — we do not use third-party advertising trackers, and no data is used to serve you ads on other apps or websites. To keep the platform safe: detecting fraud, abuse, and policy violations, and enforcing our Terms of Service.
4. Cookies and Local Storage
The AutoPartsBid web app stores your login session (an access token) in your browser's local storage, and uses an httpOnly cookie to support automatic session refresh. We don't use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.
5. Data Storage and Retention
Your data is stored on MongoDB Atlas, with industry-standard encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest. We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we deactivate and anonymize it immediately; to prevent abuse of free-plan limits, a deleted account's email address cannot be used to re-register for 31 days. Some records (such as completed transaction history) may be retained longer where needed for legal, tax, or dispute-resolution purposes.
6. Your Rights and Choices
You can review and update most of your profile information directly in Settings. You can delete your account and its associated data at any time from Settings — see Section 5 for what happens next. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time from Settings, and object to or request correction of your data by contacting us. You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you by contacting us at the email below. If you're located in a jurisdiction with additional statutory privacy rights (for example under Canada's PIPEDA or applicable US state privacy laws), those rights apply to you in addition to the above, and you can exercise them the same way — by contacting us.
7. Children's Privacy
AutoPartsBid is a marketplace for real financial transactions between individuals and businesses, and is not directed at or intended for use by anyone under 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as the platform changes. If we make material changes, we'll update the "last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you in-app or by email.
9. Contact
For privacy questions or to exercise any of the rights above, contact us at privacy@autopartsbid.ca.
10. Related Policies
This Privacy Policy should be read together with our Terms of Service, which cover the marketplace rules, account responsibilities, and limitations of liability for transactions between buyers and sellers.