Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following information when you use MaktabaBooks:

• Email address — used to create and authenticate your account via one-time password (OTP). We do not collect passwords.
• Listing data — book details, condition, meetup preferences, and any notes you provide when listing a book.
• Borrow request data — records of borrow requests, exchanges, returns, and associated notes or reviews.
• Payment data — the one-time SGD $10 platform access fee is processed by Stripe. We do not store your card details. Stripe retains payment information in accordance with their own privacy policy.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Authenticate your identity and provide access to the platform
• Facilitate lending arrangements between lenders and borrowers
• Send transactional emails such as borrow request notifications, reminders, and confirmations
• Resolve disputes and maintain platform integrity
• Improve the platform and respond to user-reported issues

3. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

When a borrow request is accepted, the lender's and borrower's email addresses are shared with each other to allow them to arrange the book exchange. This is essential to the functioning of the platform and you consent to this when you use MaktabaBooks.

We use the following third-party services which may process your data in accordance with their own privacy policies:

• Supabase — database and authentication
• Resend — transactional email delivery
• Stripe — payment processing
• Railway — hosting and deployment

4. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. If you wish to have your account and associated data deleted, please contact us at hello@maktababooks.com.

Borrow history and review data may be retained in anonymised form for platform integrity purposes even after account deletion.

5. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Authentication is handled via one-time passwords sent to your email — we never store passwords. Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processor.

While we strive to protect your data, no system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted over the internet.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal information. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@maktababooks.com. We will respond to requests within a reasonable timeframe.

7. Cookies

MaktabaBooks uses cookies solely to maintain your authenticated session. We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking purposes. Session cookies are automatically deleted when you log out or close your browser.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will endeavour to notify you of material changes via email. Continued use of the platform after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at hello@maktababooks.com.