Privacy Policy

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored as a bcrypt hash — we never store plain-text passwords). If you sign in with Google OAuth, we receive your name, email, and profile photo from Google.

Organization Information

If you create or join an organization on Collective Genesis, we collect the organization name, type (buyer, producer, logistics, quality, platform), country, website, and logo. Organization membership records include your role within the organization.

Transaction Data

When you place orders, submit RFQs, participate in auctions, or engage in other marketplace activities, we collect transaction details including order amounts, payment milestones, shipping information, and associated documents. Payment processing is handled by Stripe — we do not store full credit card numbers on our servers.

Traceability and Quality Data

We collect and publish lot-level traceability data including cupping scores, lab analysis results, IoT sensor readings (temperature, humidity, GPS location), and supply chain documents such as certificates of origin and phytosanitary certificates.

Usage and Analytics Data

We collect data about how you interact with our platform, including pages visited, features used, search queries, and marketplace activity. This data is used to improve the platform and may be used in aggregated, anonymized form for analytics.

Device and Technical Data

We automatically collect your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, and device identifiers when you access our platform. This data is used for security, fraud prevention, and platform stability.

Platform Operations

We use your data to operate the Collective Genesis platform: processing orders, facilitating marketplace transactions, managing RFQs and auctions, tracking shipments, generating lot traceability passports, and providing customer support.

Communication

We send transactional emails for order confirmations, milestone updates, document review notifications, and account security alerts. You can manage your notification preferences (in-app, email, and SMS) from your account settings. All marketing emails include CAN-SPAM compliant unsubscribe links.

Security and Fraud Prevention

We use your data to protect against unauthorized access, detect fraudulent activity, enforce rate limits, and maintain the integrity of our audit trail. All mutating operations are recorded in an append-only, SHA-256 hash-chain audit log.

Platform Improvement

We use aggregated, anonymized usage data to improve platform features, optimize performance, and develop new services. Our AI-powered features (trade matching, document validation, risk assessment) may process your transaction data to provide personalized recommendations.

Legal Compliance

We may use your data to comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful government requests, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect the rights, property, and safety of Collective Genesis, our users, and the public.

Trading Partners

When you engage in marketplace transactions (orders, RFQs, auctions, sample requests), certain information is shared with your trading partners as necessary to facilitate the transaction. This includes organization name, contact information, and transaction-specific details.

Service Providers

We share data with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate the platform: Stripe (payment processing), shipping carriers (logistics), laboratory partners (quality testing), and cloud infrastructure providers (hosting and storage). These providers are contractually bound to protect your data.

Published Traceability Data

Lot traceability data (cupping scores, lab results, sensor readings, supply chain documents) is published on the platform as part of our transparency commitment. Producer organization names and origin information are included in published lot profiles. Personal contact details are never published without explicit consent.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your data when required by law, in response to valid legal process (court orders, subpoenas), to protect our legal rights, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

No Sale of Personal Data

Collective Genesis does not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not share your data with advertisers or data brokers.

Essential Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your session, remember your authentication state, and ensure the platform functions correctly. These cookies are strictly necessary and cannot be disabled.

Authentication Tokens

Your authentication token is stored in browser localStorage (not cookies) as "cg_access_token" for the buyer portal and "cg_admin_token" for the admin portal. These tokens are JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) that expire after the configured session duration.

Analytics

We use platform-internal analytics (our Events module) to understand usage patterns. We track page views, feature interactions, and conversion funnels. This data is processed on our own infrastructure and is not shared with third-party analytics providers.

Encryption and Hashing

Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a configurable work factor (default: 12 rounds). All communication with our platform is encrypted via HTTPS/TLS. Sensitive data at rest is encrypted using industry-standard algorithms.

Audit Trail

All mutating operations on the platform are recorded in an append-only audit log secured with SHA-256 hash chaining and Merkle tree batching. This makes any tampering with historical records immediately detectable. PII is automatically redacted from audit logs.

Access Controls

We enforce role-based access control (RBAC) with a five-level hierarchy (viewer, member, manager, admin, owner). All API endpoints are protected by JWT authentication and tenant isolation. Document access is restricted by organization membership and order participation.

Infrastructure Security

Our API enforces rate limiting (60 requests per minute globally, with tighter limits on authentication endpoints), security headers via Helmet (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options), and request body validation via Zod schemas.

Right to Access (Data Export)

You can export all of your personal data at any time from your Account Settings under the "Data & Privacy" tab, or by making a GET request to /api/v1/auth/my-data. The export includes your profile information, organization membership, order history, document metadata, and PII-redacted audit events. Exports are rate-limited to one request per hour.

Right to Erasure (Account Deletion)

You can request account deletion from your Account Settings under the "Data & Privacy" tab, or by making a DELETE request to /api/v1/auth/my-account. Upon deletion, your personal information (name, email, avatar) is immediately anonymized. A 30-day grace period allows you to contact support to reverse the deletion. After 30 days, your account is permanently removed.

Right to Rectification

You can update your personal information (name, email) at any time from your Account Settings. Organization administrators can update organization details.

Right to Data Portability

The data export feature provides your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable JSON format, enabling you to transfer your data to another service.

Right to Object

You can opt out of non-essential communications by adjusting your notification preferences. You can object to AI-powered processing of your data by contacting our support team.

Ownership Transfer Requirement

If you are the sole owner of an organization, you must transfer ownership to another member before deleting your account. This ensures continuity for other organization members and ongoing transactions.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases: (a) Contractual necessity — to provide our platform services and fulfill transactions; (b) Legitimate interests — to improve our platform, prevent fraud, and ensure security; (c) Consent — for optional features such as marketing communications; (d) Legal obligations — to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Data Protection Officer

For GDPR-related inquiries, you can contact our Data Protection team at [email protected].

International Data Transfers

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where our primary servers are located. We implement appropriate safeguards for such transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs).

Supervisory Authority

If you are in the EEA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe we have violated your data protection rights.

Right to Know

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell. We detail this in Sections 1-3 above.

Right to Delete

You can request deletion of your personal information as described in Section 6. We will comply within 45 days of a verifiable request.

Right to Opt Out

Collective Genesis does not sell personal information. Therefore, there is no need to opt out of the sale of personal information.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. We will not deny you services, charge different prices, or provide a different level of service quality for exercising your rights.

Account Data

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. After account deletion, anonymized data is retained for the 30-day grace period. Transaction records and audit logs may be retained for up to 7 years for legal and regulatory compliance.

Transaction Records

Order data, payment records, and supply chain documents are retained for a minimum of 7 years to comply with tax and trade regulations.

Audit Logs

Audit trail events are retained indefinitely as part of our platform integrity guarantee. PII is automatically redacted from audit logs at the time of recording.

Collective Genesis is a business-to-business platform for commodity trading professionals. Our platform is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email (sent to the address associated with your account) and by posting a notice on the platform at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the platform after the effective date of the updated policy constitutes acceptance of the changes.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal data, or wish to exercise your data rights, you can contact us at: