What we collect

When you browse

We run our own analytics. No third-party analytics or advertising services are involved, and we don't set cookies. For each page view or action we record:

• the page address and the time;
• the website that sent you to us (the domain only, e.g. google.com), if any;
• your device type (mobile, tablet or desktop), worked out from your browser's user-agent;
• what you did: searches you type, products you view, suggestions you pick, which store you click through to, and whether you set a price alert or reported a price.

To count visitors without tracking them, we combine your IP address and browser user-agent with a random value that changes every day, and keep only a short one-way code. We delete the daily value after the day ends, so we can't link your visits across days or work out who you are. We never store your IP address. If your browser sends a “Do Not Track” or “Global Privacy Control” signal, we skip even this code. Automated bots are not counted.

Our web server may keep standard technical logs (including IP addresses) for a short time to keep the service secure and working.

When you set a price alert

We store the email address or phone number you give us, the product and your target price. We use it only to send you that alert. We send email through our email provider, and SMS through Africa's Talking.

When you report a shelf price

We store the item, shop, branch or town and price you enter. We don't ask for your name or contact details. Approved reports are shown publicly without any information about you.

When you use PataBei AI

When you scan a photo, it's read on your own device and the image is never uploaded. When you submit a shopping list, receipt, delivery note or label, we send that text to our AI provider (currently DeepSeek) to work out the products and compare them. We keep the text and the answer in memory for up to an hour, so the same request isn't processed twice, and we don't store it in a database. Please don't include personal details such as your name, phone number or address in what you submit. We count how often the feature is used, but not what you submitted.

How we use it

• To run the site: show prices, send the alerts you ask for, and publish checked shopper reports.
• To improve it: for example, finding searches that return nothing, which products people look for, and which stores shoppers click through to. We use this, together with page views, to rank search results.
• To keep it secure and to prevent abuse.

We may share aggregated statistics that can't identify anyone, such as “Store X received 1,200 click-throughs this month”, with stores and partners. We don't sell or rent personal data.

Third parties

Product images are loaded directly from the stores' own websites, so your browser contacts those sites when it shows an image. We ask browsers not to send the page address with those requests. When you click “Visit store”, you leave PataBei, and that store's own privacy policy applies.

How long we keep it

• Analytics events: up to 13 months, then deleted automatically.
• Price alerts: while the alert is active. You can ask us to delete an alert and your contact details at any time.
• PataBei AI requests: in memory for up to one hour, never written to a database.
• Shopper reports: as long as they are useful for price history.

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act you can ask to see, correct or delete personal data we hold about you, and object to how we use it. Because our analytics can't identify you, there is usually nothing in them to give back or delete. For price alerts, tell us the email address or phone number you used. If you're not happy with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).

Security

The site is served over HTTPS. Admin access is password-protected, and analytics are kept in a separate store from price data.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. Significant changes will also be shown on the site.