Privacy Policy
Last Updated: March 15, 2026
Welcome to HotWheels Marketplace ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data when you use our website.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information that you provide to us directly when you register or use our services.
- Account Information: When you register, we collect your Username, Email Address, and Country.
- Profile Data: You may choose to upload a Profile Picture.
- Listing Data: When you list a car, we collect details about the item (Brand, Model, Condition) and your Pickup Location (Town) if you enable local collection.
- Images: Photos you upload of your cars or profile are stored on our servers.
- Communications: We store messages sent through our Trade Request and Chat systems to facilitate transactions between users.
- Technical Data: We automatically collect your IP address and login timestamps for security purposes (e.g., to prevent brute-force attacks).
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your information for the following purposes:
- To Provide Services: To create your account, display your listings, and facilitate trades or sales.
- To Facilitate Communication: To allow buyers and sellers to chat and negotiate safely within our platform.
- Security: To detect and prevent fraud, spam, and unauthorized access (e.g., locking accounts after failed login attempts).
- Support: To respond to your inquiries or resolve disputes.
3. Publicly Visible Information
Because this is a marketplace, certain information is public:
- Your Username and Profile Picture.
- Your Listings (including car photos and descriptions).
- Your Country and Pickup Town (if provided).
- Your Account Creation Date.
Your Email Address and Password are never shown publicly.
4. Cookies
We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) to:
- Keep you logged in (Session Cookies).
- Secure your forms against attacks (CSRF Tokens).
We do not use cookies for third-party advertising or tracking across other websites.
5. Data Security
We take the security of your data seriously:
- Passwords: All passwords are heavily encrypted (hashed) using modern standards (bcrypt). We cannot see your actual password.
- Image Safety: Uploaded images are processed and compressed to remove potentially malicious code.
- Secure Connection: We recommend accessing our site via HTTPS to ensure data is encrypted in transit.
6. Third-Party Sharing
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal identification information to others. We may share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding visitors and users with our business partners and advertisers.
We may disclose your information if required by law or to protect our rights and safety.
7. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access: View your own profile and listings at any time via the Dashboard.
- Edit: Update your profile details, email, and password via the "Profile Settings" page.
- Delete: You may delete your listings at any time. To request a full account deletion, please contact us.
8. Children's Privacy
Our service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: