Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23/07/2026

1. About this Privacy Policy

Welcome to Katoula.

Katoula is an online marketplace that allows people in Cyprus to buy and sell second-hand clothes, accessories and other permitted items.

This Privacy Policy explains how Katoula collects, uses, stores and shares your personal information when you:

  • visit or use the Katoula website, mobile application or related services;

  • create or manage a Katoula account;

  • list, buy or sell an item;

  • communicate with another Katoula member;

  • contact our customer support team;

  • receive marketing communications from us; or

  • otherwise interact with Katoula.

In this Privacy Policy, our website, application, marketplace features and associated services are collectively referred to as the “Platform”.

By using the Platform, you acknowledge that your personal information will be handled as described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Who Is Responsible for Your Information?

Katoula is the controller of the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

Our company details are:

Company name: Katoula

Email: info@katoula.com

When this Privacy Policy refers to “Katoula”, “we”, “us” or “our”, it means the company identified above.

3. Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends on how you use Katoula.

3.1 Account and profile information

When you create or manage an account, we may collect:

  • your name;

  • username;

  • email address;

  • telephone number;

  • password or other login credentials;

  • profile photograph;

  • preferred language;

  • town, city or general location;

  • account settings and preferences; and

  • information contained in your profile or biography.

Your password is stored securely in an encrypted or hashed form. We cannot view your original password.

3.2 Identity and verification information

To help protect the Katoula community, prevent fraud or comply with legal obligations, we may ask you to provide information such as:

  • your date of birth;

  • confirmation that you meet the minimum age requirement;

  • a copy or photograph of an identity document;

  • a photograph or video used for identity verification;

  • billing or delivery address;

  • payment account ownership information; and

  • information required by payment, financial or fraud-prevention providers.

We will only request identity information when it is reasonably necessary.

3.3 Listing information

When you create a listing, we collect the information you provide about the item, including:

  • listing title and description;

  • photographs and videos;

  • brand, category, size, colour and condition;

  • asking price;

  • delivery or collection options;

  • location information;

  • listing status; and

  • any other details you choose to include.

Listings and associated profile information may be visible to other users and, depending on the Platform’s settings, to people who are not logged in.

3.4 Transaction information

When you buy or sell through Katoula, we may collect:

  • the items purchased or sold;

  • transaction date and value;

  • offers, discounts and accepted prices;

  • buyer and seller details;

  • delivery or collection information;

  • transaction status;

  • cancellations, returns, refunds and disputes;

  • commissions, fees and applicable taxes; and

  • information required to administer or investigate the transaction.

3.5 Payment information

Payments may be processed by an independent payment provider.

Depending on how payments are arranged, we or our payment provider may collect:

  • payment card details;

  • bank account or payout information;

  • billing address;

  • payment status;

  • transaction reference numbers;

  • refunds and chargeback information; and

  • identity information required for payment verification.

Katoula may not receive or store complete payment card details when payments are handled directly by an authorised payment provider.

Payment providers process information according to their own privacy policies and legal obligations.

3.6 Messages and communications

We collect communications sent through the Platform, including:

  • messages between buyers and sellers;

  • offers and responses;

  • customer support enquiries;

  • complaints and dispute communications;

  • reports about users or listings;

  • feedback, ratings and reviews; and

  • emails or other messages sent to Katoula.

We may access or review communications where reasonably necessary to provide support, investigate suspected fraud, enforce our terms, resolve disputes or protect users.

3.7 Delivery information

Where delivery services are offered, we may collect or process:

  • sender and recipient names;

  • addresses;

  • telephone numbers;

  • delivery instructions;

  • parcel tracking information;

  • collection point information;

  • proof of dispatch or delivery; and

  • information about lost, delayed, damaged or returned parcels.

Relevant delivery information may be shared with the buyer, seller and delivery provider as necessary to complete the transaction.

3.8 Technical and usage information

When you use the Platform, we may automatically collect:

  • IP address;

  • device type and device identifiers;

  • browser type and version;

  • operating system;

  • language and regional settings;

  • pages, listings and features viewed;

  • searches and filters used;

  • links or buttons selected;

  • login activity;

  • session dates and times;

  • referring website or advertising source;

  • approximate location based on IP address;

  • cookie identifiers; and

  • information about errors, crashes and Platform performance.

3.9 Information from third parties

We may receive personal information from:

  • payment providers;

  • delivery companies;

  • identity verification providers;

  • fraud-prevention and cybersecurity providers;

  • analytics and advertising partners;

  • social media or login providers;

  • other Katoula users;

  • publicly available sources; and

  • law-enforcement bodies or public authorities where permitted by law.

For example, another user may provide information about you when reporting a transaction, making a complaint or participating in a dispute.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for the purposes described below.

4.1 Providing the Platform

We process your information to:

  • create and manage your account;

  • allow you to create and manage listings;

  • display listings to potential buyers;

  • enable purchases and sales;

  • process commissions, payments and payouts;

  • facilitate delivery or collection;

  • provide messages, reviews and other marketplace features;

  • provide customer support;

  • send service-related notifications; and

  • manage cancellations, refunds, complaints and disputes.

The legal basis for this processing is normally the performance of our contract with you or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.

4.2 Maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace

We process information to:

  • verify accounts or identities where appropriate;

  • detect fraudulent, misleading or suspicious activity;

  • prevent account misuse;

  • identify prohibited items or conduct;

  • investigate reports and complaints;

  • moderate listings, messages, reviews and profiles;

  • protect buyers, sellers and Katoula;

  • enforce our Terms and Conditions;

  • restrict, suspend or close accounts where necessary; and

  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

This processing may be necessary for our legitimate interests in protecting the Platform and its users, for performing our contract with you, or for complying with legal obligations.

4.3 Improving and developing Katoula

We may analyse how people use Katoula to:

  • improve the design and functionality of the Platform;

  • understand which features are useful;

  • diagnose technical problems;

  • monitor Platform performance;

  • develop new services;

  • improve search results and recommendations; and

  • conduct statistical and business analysis.

We normally rely on our legitimate interest in developing and improving our business and services.

Where possible, information used for analysis is aggregated or anonymised.

4.4 Personalising your experience

We may use information about your searches, listings, purchases and activity to:

  • personalise your home page;

  • suggest relevant items;

  • remember your preferences;

  • show suitable categories or sellers;

  • make search results more relevant; and

  • tailor Platform notifications.

We normally rely on our legitimate interest in providing a useful and relevant user experience. Where legally required, we will ask for your consent.

4.5 Marketing and promotions

With your consent where required, we may use your contact details and activity to:

  • send news, promotions and special offers;

  • tell you about new Platform features;

  • invite you to take part in surveys or competitions;

  • remind you about unfinished listings or activity;

  • promote free-listing periods or reduced seller fees; and

  • measure the effectiveness of our marketing.

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails by selecting the unsubscribe link in the email or by changing your account preferences.

Service messages relating to your account or transactions are not marketing messages and may still be sent when necessary.

4.6 Advertising and measurement

Subject to your cookie and privacy choices, we may work with analytics and advertising partners to:

  • understand how visitors find and use Katoula;

  • measure advertising performance;

  • limit how often advertisements are shown;

  • create audiences for advertising campaigns; and

  • display advertisements that may be more relevant to you.

Where required by law, this processing is based on your consent.

More information should be provided in our Cookie Policy and cookie settings tool.

4.7 Complying with legal obligations

We may process and retain information to:

  • comply with tax, accounting and company-law requirements;

  • respond to valid requests from public authorities;

  • comply with court orders or legal proceedings;

  • prevent money laundering, fraud or other unlawful activity;

  • maintain legally required transaction records; and

  • comply with consumer protection and data protection laws.

The legal basis for this processing is compliance with a legal obligation.

5. Legal Bases for Processing

Depending on the situation, we process personal information on one or more of the following legal bases:

Performance of a contract

Processing is necessary to provide the Platform, administer your account or complete a transaction.

Legal obligation

Processing is necessary for Katoula to comply with applicable law.

Legitimate interests

Processing is necessary for Katoula’s legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

Our legitimate interests may include:

  • operating and improving the Platform;

  • protecting users and preventing fraud;

  • securing our systems;

  • resolving complaints and disputes;

  • understanding how our services are used;

  • promoting our business to existing users where permitted; and

  • establishing or defending legal claims.

You may contact us for more information about the legitimate-interest assessment relevant to a particular processing activity.

Consent

We rely on your consent where required, including for certain cookies, personalised advertising or marketing communications.

You may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

6. When We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share information in the following circumstances.

6.1 With other Katoula users

To facilitate marketplace activity, we may share relevant information between buyers and sellers, such as:

  • username and profile information;

  • listings, photographs and reviews;

  • transaction status;

  • delivery or collection details;

  • messages exchanged through the Platform; and

  • other information needed to complete a transaction or resolve a problem.

You should not include unnecessary personal or sensitive information in your profile, listings, photographs or messages.

6.2 With service providers

We may use trusted providers that help us operate Katoula, including providers of:

  • website and application hosting;

  • cloud storage;

  • payment processing;

  • identity verification;

  • fraud prevention;

  • delivery and logistics;

  • email, SMS and customer communications;

  • customer support software;

  • analytics;

  • advertising;

  • security;

  • accounting;

  • professional advice; and

  • technical maintenance.

These providers may process personal information only as necessary to provide their services and must handle it in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

6.3 With public authorities

We may disclose information to courts, regulators, law-enforcement bodies, tax authorities or other public authorities when:

  • required by law;

  • necessary to respond to a valid legal request;

  • necessary to investigate or prevent unlawful activity;

  • necessary to protect a person’s safety or rights; or

  • necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

6.4 During a business transaction

If Katoula is involved in a merger, acquisition, investment, restructuring or sale of all or part of its business, relevant information may be disclosed to professional advisers, potential investors or purchasers.

Any recipient will be required to protect the confidentiality of the information and use it only for the relevant transaction unless otherwise permitted by law.

7. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers may process information outside Cyprus or outside the European Economic Area.

Where personal information is transferred to a country that has not been recognised as providing an adequate level of protection, we will use appropriate safeguards where required. These may include:

  • European Commission standard contractual clauses;

  • contractual and organisational security measures;

  • transfers to a country covered by an adequacy decision; or

  • another lawful transfer mechanism permitted by data protection law.

You may contact us at info@katoula.com for further information about the safeguards used for relevant international transfers.

8. How Long We Keep Your Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Retention periods depend on factors including:

  • how long your account remains active;

  • whether the information is needed to provide a service;

  • legal, tax, accounting or regulatory obligations;

  • the applicable limitation period for legal claims;

  • fraud-prevention and marketplace safety requirements; and

  • whether a complaint, dispute or investigation remains open.

When you close your account, some information may be deleted or anonymised. Other information may be retained where necessary to:

  • comply with law;

  • maintain financial and transaction records;

  • resolve disputes;

  • prevent fraud or repeated misuse;

  • enforce our agreements; or

  • establish or defend legal claims.

Public listings will normally be removed or made unavailable after account closure, unless retention is required for a legitimate or legal reason.

Backup copies may remain for a limited period before being securely overwritten or deleted.

9. How We Protect Your Information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised access;

  • accidental loss;

  • unlawful disclosure;

  • alteration;

  • destruction; and

  • misuse.

These measures may include encryption, restricted access, secure hosting, account authentication, monitoring and staff or contractor confidentiality requirements.

No online service can guarantee complete security. You are responsible for keeping your login details confidential and for notifying us promptly if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.

10. Your Choices and Controls

You have several ways to control how your information is used.

10.1 Account information

You may review or update certain account and profile information through your Katoula account settings.

Please keep your details accurate and up to date.

10.2 Marketing communications

You may stop receiving marketing emails by:

  • selecting the unsubscribe link in the email;

  • changing your communication preferences in your account; or

  • contacting us at info@katoula.com.

We may continue to send essential service communications concerning your account, security, transactions or changes to our terms.

10.3 Cookies

You may manage non-essential cookies through our cookie consent tool.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking certain cookies may affect the availability or performance of some Platform features.

10.4 Notifications

Where notification controls are available, you may adjust push notifications, email notifications and other alerts through your account or device settings.

10.5 Listing visibility

You can edit, deactivate or delete your listings using the available Platform tools, subject to any retention needed for completed transactions, disputes or legal obligations.

10.6 Closing your account

You may request account closure through your account settings or by contacting info@katoula.com.

Closing your account does not automatically require us to delete information that must be retained for legal, safety, fraud-prevention or dispute-resolution purposes.

11. Your Data Protection Rights

Subject to the conditions and limitations of applicable law, you may have the following rights.

Right of access

You may ask whether we process your personal information and request a copy of the information we hold about you.

Right to rectification

You may ask us to correct personal information that is inaccurate or complete information that is incomplete.

Right to erasure

You may ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.

This right is not absolute. We may retain information where processing remains necessary for legal compliance, fraud prevention, dispute resolution or legal claims.

Right to restriction

You may ask us to limit the way we process your information in certain circumstances.

Right to data portability

Where processing is based on consent or a contract and carried out by automated means, you may request certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Where technically feasible, you may also ask us to transmit that information to another controller.

Right to object

You may object to processing based on our legitimate interests where your particular circumstances justify doing so.

We may continue processing where we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds or where processing is needed for legal claims.

You may object to direct marketing at any time. When you do, we will stop using your personal information for that purpose.

Right to withdraw consent

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

Rights concerning automated decisions

You may have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

Katoula may use automated tools to identify suspicious activity, recommend listings or assist with content moderation. Where a decision has a significant effect and applicable law provides this right, you may request human review and provide your point of view.

Right to complain

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

In Cyprus, the relevant authority is:

Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection
Website: www.dataprotection.gov.cy
Telephone: +357 22818456

We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concern first, so you are welcome to contact us at info@katoula.com.

12. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise a data protection right, email us at:

info@katoula.com

Please include enough information for us to understand and respond to your request.

We may ask you to verify your identity before completing a request. This helps us avoid disclosing, changing or deleting information at the request of someone who is not authorised to act for you.

We will normally respond without undue delay and within one month. Where a request is particularly complex or multiple requests have been made, the response period may be extended where permitted by law. We will inform you if an extension is necessary.

Data protection requests are normally handled free of charge. We may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, where permitted by law.

13. Information About Other People

When you provide information about another person, such as a recipient’s delivery details, you confirm that:

  • you are authorised to provide the information;

  • the information is accurate; and

  • the person understands that their information may be used for the relevant transaction.

Do not provide another person’s sensitive or unnecessary personal information through Katoula.

14. Public Information

Information included in your profile, listings, photographs and reviews may be visible to other users or publicly available.

Publicly available content may also:

  • appear in search-engine results;

  • be shared through social media;

  • be viewed outside Cyprus; or

  • remain temporarily available in cached search results after deletion.

Please consider this before publishing personal information.

15. Children’s Privacy

Katoula is not intended for children under the minimum age stated in our Terms and Conditions.

A person below that age must not create an account or use the Platform independently.

If we reasonably believe that an account belongs to a child who is not permitted to use Katoula, we may restrict or close the account and delete associated information, subject to applicable legal requirements.

Parents or guardians who believe that a child has provided personal information without appropriate permission should contact info@katoula.com.

16. Third-Party Websites and Services

The Platform may include links to third-party websites, payment services, delivery providers or social media platforms.

Katoula does not control how these third parties process personal information. Their activities are governed by their own privacy policies and terms.

We encourage you to review the privacy information provided by any third party you use.

17. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Katoula may use cookies, pixels, local storage and similar technologies to:

  • keep you signed in;

  • remember your preferences;

  • provide essential Platform functionality;

  • protect accounts and detect fraud;

  • understand Platform usage;

  • measure performance;

  • improve our services; and

  • support advertising and marketing where permitted.

Essential cookies may be used without consent where they are necessary to provide a service you requested.

We will request consent before using non-essential cookies where required by law.

Further details should be provided in our separate Cookie Policy.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when:

  • our services or business practices change;

  • we introduce new Platform features;

  • our service providers change; or

  • legal or regulatory requirements change.

The latest version will be published on the Platform with an updated revision date.

Where changes are significant, we may also notify you by email, through your account or by displaying a notice on the Platform.

Your continued use of Katoula after an updated Privacy Policy takes effect will be subject to the updated policy, although we will request consent where required by law.

19. Contact Us

For questions, concerns or requests relating to privacy or personal information, please contact:

Katoula
Email: info@katoula.com

Please use the subject line “Privacy Request” so that we can direct your message appropriately.