Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2026-08-16
Contents
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1. Data Controller
Loadbyton ("Company", "we", "us", "our") is the data controller for personal data processed through the Platform. Contact: privacy@loadbyton.ae (placeholder — replace with monitored inbox before launch).
2. Legal Basis (UAE PDPL)
We process personal data under the UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data (PDPL). Our lawful bases are:
- Contract performance: Operating the marketplace, escrow, and payouts (Sections 3–5).
- Legal obligation: VAT invoicing, anti-money laundering, record retention (Section 6).
- Legitimate interest: Fraud prevention, security, analytics, platform improvement.
- Consent: Optional marketing communications.
3. Data We Collect
| Category | Fields | Source | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account | Email, password hash, role, referral code | Registration | Auth, identity, referral tracking |
| Profile | Company name, phone, TRN, trade licence, IBAN, coverage zones, fleet size, owned chassis, insurance flag | User input | Verification, payouts, compliance, marketplace matching |
| Job Data | Equipment, route, schedule, budget, documents, messages, POD, ratings, cargo weight | Shipper/Carrier input | Marketplace execution, escrow, dispute resolution, analytics |
| Driver Data | Name, UAE mobile number | Carrier after award / reassignment | Pickup/delivery coordination, WhatsApp/SMS notifications |
| Technical | IP address, user agent, request IDs, session tokens, audit log entries | Automatic | Security, rate limiting, debugging, audit trail |
| Notifications | Preferences (per-type opt-out), read status | User settings | Delivery of relevant alerts |
4. Special Category Data
- TRN (Tax Registration Number): Encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM,
enc:v1:prefix). Used for carrier verification and VAT invoicing. - IBAN: Encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM). Used solely for Carrier payout destination.
- Trade Licence Number: Stored in plaintext (not classified as sensitive under PDPL) for verification display.
- No biometric, health, or genetic data is collected.
5. Data Sharing & Recipients
- Counterparty (on award): Shipper sees Carrier company name, rating, fleet; Carrier sees Shipper company name, rating. Phone, email, TRN, driver details revealed only after award.
- Admins: Full access for verification, disputes, audit, impersonation (time-limited, audited).
- Payment Processor: IBAN, company name, payout amount — only when initiating transfers.
- WhatsApp (Meta): Driver name, job code, pickup terminal — only if WhatsApp integration is configured and user consents via notification prefs.
- Email Provider (Resend): Email address, notification content — only for transactional emails.
- Legal/Regulatory: Data disclosed only when required by UAE law or court order.
6. Retention & Deletion
- Account & Profile: Retained while account is active. On deletion request: anonymized within 30 days per PDPL; financial records (invoices, payouts, audit log) retained for 5 years per UAE VAT/commercial law.
- Job Data: Retained for 5 years from Job completion (commercial record). Disputed Jobs: retained until resolution + 5 years.
- Audit Log: Append-only; never deleted. Immutable by DB trigger.
- Session Tokens: Expire after 7 days; purged on server boot.
- Notifications: Retained 90 days; read status updated in place.
7. Your Rights (PDPL)
- Access: Request a copy of your personal data.
- Rectification: Correct inaccurate data (Profile page for most fields).
- Erasure: Request deletion (subject to legal retention overrides above).
- Restriction: Request processing restriction where accuracy is contested.
- Portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format (JSON export available on Profile).
- Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interest (marketing, analytics).
- Automated Decisions: No solely automated decisions with legal/significant effect — all marketplace actions are human-initiated or rule-based with human override.
Exercise rights by emailing privacy@loadbyton.ae. We respond within 30 days per PDPL.
8. Security Measures
- Passwords: bcrypt (cost 10), never logged.
- Sessions: HttpOnly, SameSite=Lax cookies; DB-backed; 7-day expiry.
- Field Encryption: IBAN & TRN encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM); lazy upgrade on read.
- Transport: TLS in production (Render/Cloudflare); HSTS via security headers.
- Headers: CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy.
- Rate Limiting: Per-IP (API, auth, write); per-email login throttling (8/15min).
- Audit Trail: Append-only log of all state transitions (DB triggers block UPDATE/DELETE).
- Access Control: Role-based (SHIPPER/CARRIER/ADMIN) + seat roles (OPS/FINANCE/VIEWER) enforced server-side.
9. International Transfers
Primary hosting: Render (Frankfurt, EU) or Oracle Cloud (Abu Dhabi, UAE) per deployment config. Payment processor & email provider may process data in their jurisdictions (EU/US). WhatsApp (Meta) processes data per their Data Processing Addendum. No personal data is transferred to inadequate jurisdictions without appropriate safeguards (SCCs/adequacy decisions).
10. Cookies & Local Storage
lb_session(HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Lax) — session authentication.theme(localStorage) — user's dark/light preference.locale(localStorage) — user's language preference (en/ar).- No third-party analytics/tracking cookies. No advertising cookies.
11. Children's Data
The Platform is not directed to individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If a parent/guardian believes a minor has provided data, contact us for immediate deletion.
12. Changes to This Policy
Material changes will be communicated via the Platform and/or email at least 30 days before taking effect. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.
13. Contact
Data Protection Officer (placeholder): dpo@loadbyton.ae
General privacy inquiries: privacy@loadbyton.ae
Postal: Loadbyton, [Registered Address — add before launch], UAE.