Privacy Policy

“Helemart”, “we” and “us” means the Helemart service, operating in Ethiopia. We run the website, the Telegram bot and the Telegram Mini App. We are the controller of the data described below. The Contact page says how to reach us.

Each store on Helemart belongs to an independent merchant. When you place an order, the merchant receives your order details so they can fulfil it, and they use them for that purpose.

• Your Telegram identity. When you log in with Telegram or order through the bot or Mini App, we receive your Telegram user ID and display name. We use the ID to send you order updates. When you log in with Telegram on the website, Telegram asks whether our bot may message you. We do not receive or store your Telegram password, and logging in with Telegram does not give us your phone number.
• Order details. The items you order, their prices, the delivery fee, your contact phone number, your delivery address (or that you chose pickup), and the order’s status over time.
• Restock requests. If you ask to be told when an item is back in stock, we keep your Telegram ID against that item until we send the message.
• Activity in stores. Store and product views, adds to cart, starting checkout, and taps on links to the merchant’s Telegram bot or channel, with the time. On the website this is tied to a random ID kept in your browser, not to your name. Inside Telegram it can be tied to your Telegram ID.
• Channel joins. When someone joins or leaves a merchant’s Telegram channel through a link we provided, Telegram tells our bot who did, and we record it so the merchant can see where their subscribers come from.

• Your Telegram ID, business name, phone number, business category and language, given when you register.
• Your store details, products, photos, prices, stock levels, delivery areas and fees, and linked Telegram channel.
• The orders your store receives and how you process them, and the one-time codes used to log you into the dashboard.

• To run the service: show stores, take orders, calculate totals and delivery fees, keep stock accurate, and let merchants manage orders.
• To message you on Telegram about your orders (confirmation and status changes), back-in-stock requests, and, for merchants, new orders, low stock and login codes.
• To show merchants summary analytics about their own store: visits, carts, orders and where their customers come from.
• To keep the service secure, prevent abuse and fix problems.

We do not sell personal data, and we do not use it for advertising.

• The merchant you order from sees your name, phone number, address and order. Their analytics never show individual browsing.
• Telegram carries our messages to you and handles Telegram login. Its own privacy policy applies to what it does.
• Service providers that host our servers and storage act on our instructions. Servers may be located outside Ethiopia.
• Authorities, where the law requires us to disclose something.

We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. Your browser’s local storage keeps your shopping cart, your Telegram login for checkout, an anonymous visitor ID used for the activity counts above, and (for merchants) your dashboard session. You can clear these in your browser settings; your cart and login will be forgotten.

Order records are kept for as long as the merchant and we need them to run the store, deal with disputes and meet legal obligations. Activity counts are kept in the same way. Restock requests are deleted once we send the message. Login codes expire within minutes. When you ask us to delete your data we remove what we can, and keep only what we must keep by law.

You can ask us to show you the personal data we hold about you, correct it, or delete it, and you can ask us to stop sending you Telegram messages. To do so, contact us using the details on the Contact page. You can also stop the messages yourself by blocking the bot in Telegram. Merchants can edit or delete their products and store details from the dashboard.

Our website uses HTTPS, we check that Telegram logins and Mini App sessions are genuinely signed by Telegram, and dashboard access needs a one-time code sent to the merchant on Telegram. No system is perfectly secure, so please tell us at once if you think your account has been misused.

Helemart is not meant for children. Merchants must be 18 or older, and we do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has given us data, contact us and we will delete it.

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, tell merchants on Telegram. Read our Terms of Service too.