Privacy policy
Last updated: 19 October 2026
This is a draft that is still being reviewed by our legal advisers. It may change before the service opens to everyone. Questions: contact support.
Expert Marketplace helps you describe a problem and find a trustworthy expert nearby. This policy explains what information we collect when you use the website, why we use it, who we share it with and the choices you have. It applies to customers and to experts.
What we collect
- Your account: your mobile number (we send a one-time code to sign you in), your name if you give it, and your language.
- Your requests: the problem you describe, the answers you give to follow-up questions, the service you choose, and the location you search from (your device location if you share it, or a city).
- Bookings: who you booked, the note you add, visit times, messages exchanged about the booking, status changes, and reviews.
- If you are an expert: your public profile (name, trade, description, photos, services and prices, areas you work in, availability and working hours) and the verification details and documents you submit, such as your CNIC and professional registration.
- Coins: coin purchases and how coins were spent. Card or wallet details are entered with the payment provider, not on our site.
- Technical information: your IP address, which we use to estimate your country with an offline database and to protect the service from abuse; and, if you turn on browser notifications, the subscription your browser gives us.
How we use it
- To understand your problem and show you suitable experts near you.
- To create and manage bookings, and let customers and experts message each other.
- To verify experts before they are shown as verified.
- To send you codes and notifications about your bookings (in the website, by browser notification if you turn it on, and by SMS to experts for new booking requests).
- To keep the service safe: preventing fraud, fake reviews and abuse, and investigating reported problems.
- To measure and improve the service, for example how many requests lead to a booking.
We do not sell your information, and we do not show third-party advertising.
Who can see what
- Public: experts’ profiles, services, photos, verification badges and published reviews (with the reviewer’s first name and last initial, e.g. “Ali K.”). An expert’s phone number is never public.
- The other side of a booking: the expert sees the customer’s name, note and approximate distance. Phone numbers and the exact location are shared only after the expert accepts, and only while the booking is active.
- Our team: verification documents are seen only by our verification team, and every view is logged. Support staff see what they need to handle a case.
Service providers
We use a small number of providers who process information for us:
- OpenAI reads the problem you describe to work out which service you need. Phone numbers, CNIC numbers and e-mail addresses are removed from the text before it is sent, and we ask OpenAI not to store the request. The text may be processed outside Pakistan.
- An SMS provider delivers sign-in codes and booking-request texts to your mobile number.
- Your browser’s notification service (for example Google, Apple, Mozilla or Microsoft) delivers browser notifications. Their content is encrypted so that only your browser can read it.
- Hosting and storage providers run our servers, database and file storage.
- A payment provider processes coin purchases, when they are available.
We may also disclose information when the law requires it, or to protect people from harm.
Cookies and storage on your device
We use only the cookies needed for the site to work. There are no advertising or third-party tracking cookies.
| Cookie | Purpose | Kept for |
|---|---|---|
web_at, web_rt | Keep you signed in (access and refresh tokens). | Until you sign out, or up to the end of the session period |
web_signin | Your mobile number between “send code” and “enter code”. | 10 minutes |
web_anon | Ties a problem you described before signing in to this browser. | 30 days |
web_country | The country you chose in the country picker. | 1 year |
web_push | This browser’s notification subscription, so signing out can switch it off. | 1 year, or until you turn notifications off |
If you install the site or use it often, your browser may keep copies of public pages so they open faster and work offline. Private pages, such as your bookings, are never kept.
How long we keep it
We keep information for as long as your account is open and as long as we need it for the purposes above, for example to handle a complaint about a booking, or because the law requires it. The text of problem descriptions is kept only for a limited time after the request ends. Verification documents are kept while the expert account is open and for any period the law requires. Records of safety and administrative actions are kept for longer.
How we protect it
Connections to the site are encrypted. CNIC numbers are encrypted in our database, verification documents are stored privately and scanned for malware, and access to them is limited and logged.
Your choices
- You can update your profile, and experts can change their listing, at any time.
- You can turn browser notifications off on the notifications page or in your browser settings.
- You can ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, or to close your account and delete it, through support. Some records, such as completed bookings involving another person and records we must keep by law, may be kept after your account is closed.
Children
The service is meant for adults (18 and over).
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the date above and tell you on the site before the change takes effect.
Contact
Questions or requests about your information: contact support.