Overview
vardz.am values the privacy of your personal data. This page explains what data we collect and why, whom we may share it with and how we keep it. By registering or using the Site, you agree to this Policy.
What we collect and why
We collect the data needed to provide the service:
- account data: name, email, phone number(s), password (stored in protected form), chosen language, and company details if you have a company account
- content you post: listings, photos, prices, approximate location, reviews and reports
- booking data: requests, dates and statuses
- wallet and payment data: top-ups, purchases and refunds
- technical data: IP address, browser type and sign-in history (you can see it in your profile too)
- verification data: see below
We use this data to provide and improve the service (publish listings, handle bookings, show relevant offers), to send notifications and emails (you can manage them in your profile), and for security, to detect and prevent fraud and duplicate or fake accounts.
Public data. other users see your name with an abbreviated surname ("Name A."), your avatar, your "About you" text, your social links, your ratings and reviews, your completed deals, your trust level, which checks you have passed (not how), your achievements, a "On Vardz since …" note and the listings you publish. Your full surname is not public.
Saved cards. while a card is saved, we keep only its last four digits, its expiry date and the bank's identifier for it; the full number and the security code never reach us. When you delete a card in Wallet › Cards, it is removed at the bank too.
Phone and identity verification
To verify phone numbers and identity we use an external provider, Didit. The data is processed and stored in the European Union (Ireland); the contracting party is Didit Identity, Inc. (USA).
Phone. the number is passed to Didit to send the verification code (via Telegram, or by SMS if the number cannot be reached on Telegram). To protect against fraud, Didit also receives the request's IP address, browser details, your account's internal identifier and the page language. We do not keep the code: we keep that the number is verified and when, along with the history of verification attempts.
Identity. your document and your photo (selfie) are processed by Didit, with your consent, including consent to the processing of biometric data. Vardz does not keep copies of documents or photos. We keep: the result, the date, the name written on the document, a one-way code of the document's or personal number (the number cannot be recovered from it without our secret key), the history of verification attempts and a record of your consent (when, from which IP address and in which browser). The document and the selfie are kept by Didit for 6 months, so that your identity can be confirmed in a dispute, and are then deleted automatically.
A verified phone number and the document code let us prevent one person from running several fake accounts. For the same purpose a Vardz staff member may compare accounts by document, verified name and sign-in IP addresses.
Whom we share your data with
We do not sell your data. We may share it:
- with a court or law enforcement, in the cases and manner the law provides
- when needed to protect the rights, safety and property of Vardz, other users or the public (for example, in a case of fraud)
- on your instruction or action: for example, when you send or receive a booking request, the other party sees your name and contact details
- with providers working on our behalf (sending emails, statistics, technical maintenance, identity and phone verification), only as far as that work requires
Listing videos are shown through YouTube API Services (a Google service) or Vimeo. While you watch a video, that service may receive technical data under its own privacy policy: Google Privacy Policy(opens in a new tab)
What we keep
We keep data for as long as your account is active, and afterwards for as long as needed to meet legal obligations, resolve disputes and prevent fraud. Wallet and payment records are kept for accounting.
Security measures
We apply technical and organizational measures to protect data from unauthorized access, alteration and loss, including protected storage of passwords, encrypted connections and restricted access. Transmission over the internet can never be completely secure, however. Please keep your password secret. Vardz never calls you and never asks for your password or verification code by email or message; enter them only on vardz.am.
Closing your account and your data
To close your account, send a request from your profile settings; Vardz reviews the request and decides; closure is not possible while you have an ongoing booking. After closure your listings are taken off the Site and all sessions end. The account is not deleted forever: if you sign in again, it is reopened (listings are not restored). Reviews you left remain, without your name.
The phone numbers of a closed account stay attached to it and cannot be used by another account (unless Vardz releases a number). If an account is deleted completely, its phone data is removed; only the one-way code of the identity document is kept, to fight fake and duplicate accounts: on that basis a new account with the same document is not verified automatically. For questions about personal data, or to exercise your rights, get in touch through the Contact us page; we will consider your request as the law requires.
Policy updates
This Policy may be updated. The new version is published on this page with its update date. By continuing to use the Site after an update, you agree to the new Policy.