8FO.COM Privacy Policy
Effective Date: August 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how 8FO.COM ("the Platform," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects your information when you use our B2B marketplace. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your data in a transparent and lawful manner, in compliance with applicable data protection laws including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable.
1. Information We Collect
- Business Information: Company name, business registration details, contact person name, job title, phone number, email address, business address, business scope/industry, and certification documents.
- Account & Activity Data: Login credentials (hashed), account preferences, browsing history, search queries, product views, RFQ submissions, chat messages, and published content (products, RFQs, company profiles).
- Technical Data: IP address, browser type and version, device information, operating system, referring URLs, timestamps, and page interaction data.
- Communication Data: Messages sent through the Platform's messaging system, support inquiries, and feedback.
2. How We Use Your Information
- Service Delivery: To operate and maintain the Platform, process registrations, verify business identities, and provide core B2B matching functionality.
- Business Matching: To display company profiles and product listings, facilitate RFQ matching, and deliver relevant business inquiries to Users.
- Communication: To send service-related notifications, respond to inquiries, and provide customer support.
- Improvement & Analytics: To analyze usage patterns, optimize Platform performance, and develop new features.
- Security & Compliance: To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access; to comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.
- Marketing (with consent): To send promotional communications about Platform features and services, where you have given consent.
3. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
- Contractual Necessity: Processing necessary to perform our contract with you (e.g., account registration, service delivery).
- Legitimate Interests: Processing for Platform security, fraud prevention, analytics, and business development, balanced against your privacy rights.
- Consent: Where you have given explicit consent (e.g., marketing communications, certain cookie categories).
- Legal Obligation: Processing required to comply with applicable laws and regulatory requirements.
4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
- Essential Cookies: Required for Platform operation — session management, authentication, and security. These cannot be disabled.
- Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences (language, display settings) to improve your experience.
- Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how Users interact with the Platform (page views, feature usage). We use privacy-respecting analytics.
- Your Control: You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect Platform functionality.
- We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies on the Platform.
5. Data Sharing & Disclosure
- Public Profile: Business information you publish (company name, products, RFQs) is visible to other registered Platform Users as part of the B2B marketplace functionality.
- Service Providers: We may share data with trusted third-party service providers (hosting, analytics, email delivery) bound by strict data processing agreements.
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or governmental authority with proper legal process.
- Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, User data may be transferred as a business asset.
- No Sale of Data: We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal or business data to third parties for their marketing purposes.
6. International Data Transfers
- Your data may be stored and processed on servers located in multiple jurisdictions.
- Where data is transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we implement appropriate safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or rely on adequacy decisions where applicable.
7. Data Retention
- We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services.
- Upon account termination, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 90 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., fraud prevention, dispute resolution).
- Published business information may remain in cached or archived form for a limited period.
8. Data Security
- We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your data: encryption in transit (TLS), encryption at rest, access controls, and regular security assessments.
- While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
9. Your Rights
- Access & Portability: You may request a copy of your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Rectification: You may correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data through your account settings or by contacting us.
- Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
- Restriction & Objection: You may request restriction of processing or object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.
- Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.
- To exercise these rights, contact us via the Contact page. We will respond within 30 days.
10. Third-Party Links
- The Platform may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Please review their policies independently.
11. Children's Privacy
- The Platform is intended for business use only and is not directed at individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.
12. Policy Updates
- We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.
- Continued use after changes are posted constitutes acceptance. We encourage you to review this Policy regularly.
13. Contact
- For privacy-related inquiries, data subject requests, or to contact our Data Protection Officer, please use the Contact page on the Platform.