This Privacy Policy describes how eSoko (“eSoko”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses and protects personal data in the course of operating the eSoko platform and related services. It is issued in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act, No. 11 of 2022 of the United Republic of Tanzania (the “Act”) and the regulations made thereunder. By accessing or using eSoko, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.
The platform — the esoko.co.tz website and the eSoko.co.tz app for Android — is operated by eSoko, based at 4th Floor, Hekima Point, 36 Mindu, Malik Rd, Dar es Salaam 21527, United Republic of Tanzania. eSoko is the data controller in respect of personal data processed through the platform and is responsible for determining the purposes and means of such processing.
eSoko is subject to the Personal Data Protection Act, No. 11 of 2022 and to the supervision of the Personal Data Protection Commission (the “Commission”) established under the Act.
Enquiries concerning this Policy or the processing of your personal data may be directed to our data protection contact at the contact details set out at the end of this Policy.
We collect and process the following categories of personal data:
We process personal data only where a lawful basis under the Act applies, including your consent, the performance of a contract to which you are a party, compliance with a legal obligation, or our legitimate interests in operating and securing the platform.
We process personal data for the following purposes: to create and administer your account; to display and personalise listings; to facilitate enquiries between seekers and agents; to answer you on WhatsApp, including through our automated assistant; to process payments; to send service communications and the alerts you request; to prevent fraud and abuse; and to comply with applicable law.
Where you submit an enquiry in respect of a property, we disclose your name and contact details to the relevant agent or property owner so that they may respond to you. Such recipients act as independent data controllers in respect of their subsequent use of that data.
If you are not signed in and choose to leave your telephone number (and, optionally, your name) when you message an agent or owner about a property, we record it with that enquiry and disclose it only to the agent or owner who receives the enquiry, so that they can call or message you back. Leaving it is optional; you can skip that step and still contact them.
We engage carefully selected processors — including Selcom (Tanzania) Limited for payment processing, Meta Platforms for WhatsApp messaging, Google for the artificial-intelligence service behind our WhatsApp assistant, and reputable hosting and analytics providers — who process personal data on our behalf and on our documented instructions under written contracts that impose obligations consistent with the Act. We do not sell personal data.
eSoko operates a WhatsApp number through which you can list a property, search for one, ask questions and reach our team. Messages travel through the WhatsApp Business Platform operated by Meta Platforms, and WhatsApp’s own terms and privacy policy apply to your use of WhatsApp.
Replies on that number may be written by an automated assistant that uses artificial intelligence, and the assistant tells you so the first time you use it. To answer you, the text of your message and of the recent messages in the same conversation is sent to our artificial-intelligence provider, Google, which processes it on our behalf. Under the terms of the paid service we use, Google does not use this content to train its models.
The assistant answers from eSoko’s published listings, guides and price figures. It can make mistakes, so please confirm important details on the listing page or with the agent. It does not take decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you. You may ask for a member of our team at any time by replying “talk to a person”.
Where you ask in the chat for an agent or owner to contact you, we pass your WhatsApp number, your name where you have given it, and the property you asked about to that agent or owner, in the same way as an enquiry made on the website. Where you choose to message an agent yourself, we give you a link to that agent’s WhatsApp and do not pass on your details.
We keep WhatsApp chat messages for ninety (90) days, after which they are deleted automatically. During that time we use them to answer you, to keep a record of enquiries, to investigate faults and misuse, and to improve the service. Listings, enquiries and alerts created in a chat are kept on the same terms as those created on the website. Reply STOP at any time to stop receiving messages from us. To have your chat history erased sooner, contact us using the details at the end of this Policy.
The eSoko platform runs on cloud infrastructure located outside the United Republic of Tanzania: our database and servers are currently in the European Union, and some of our processors, including our messaging and artificial-intelligence providers, may process personal data in other countries. We transfer personal data outside Tanzania only in accordance with the Act — that is, where the recipient jurisdiction affords an adequate level of protection, where you have consented, or where the transfer is otherwise permitted and, where required, approved by the Commission.
Subject to the conditions and exceptions in the Act, you have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, contact our Data Protection Officer using the details below. We will respond within the period prescribed by the Act.
We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, accounting or reporting requirements, after which it is securely deleted or anonymised. WhatsApp chat messages are deleted after ninety (90) days, and raw analytics records after twelve (12) months.
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures — including encryption in transit, access controls and monitoring — to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage. In the event of a personal data breach, we will notify the Commission and affected data subjects where, and within the time, required by the Act.
If you have a concern about how we handle your personal data, please contact our data protection contact at robot@esoko.co.tz or eSoko, 4th Floor, Hekima Point, 36 Mindu, Malik Rd, Dar es Salaam 21527. You also have the right to lodge a complaint directly with the Personal Data Protection Commission.
