Privacy Policy
1. Introduction
The Global Environmental Industry Supply-Demand (the "Platform") takes the protection of your personal data seriously. We process personal information securely and prudently, in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
This policy applies to the Platform website and related services. Please read it carefully before using the Platform; by registering, submitting an inquiry or otherwise using the Platform, you acknowledge the practices described here.
2. Information We Collect
Account information: email address or phone number, username, password (stored only as an irreversible hash), and optional avatar and language preference.
Light-inquiry information: when you submit a product inquiry as a visitor, we collect the email address, message and optional company name/contact details you provide, to create a light account and relay your inquiry to the supplier.
Company verification information: when you apply for company verification, claim a company or submit credentials, we collect the business licence number, licensed company name and contact details. Licence numbers are stored encrypted.
Personal identity verification (if enabled): two channels are offered. The main channel is carrier 3-factor verification — you provide your legal name, ID number and mobile number; after an SMS one-time code confirms you hold the number, the three factors are submitted to a carrier-authorised data service provider for matching. The plaintext factors are used only for that instant check and are not retained on our overseas systems — only the outcome and a verification serial number are kept (for audit and anti-replay). The fallback channel (passports and other documents) is manual review — we collect your legal name, ID number and document photos, store them with field-level encryption (AES-256-GCM) solely for verification purposes, and automatically delete the original photos within 30 days of the decision.
Transaction information: supply/demand interactions, orders and escrow payment records created through the Platform.
Content information: reviews, market posts, bids and subscription criteria (keywords/categories/regions) you submit.
Log information: for security and audit purposes we record the IP address, user-agent and time of sensitive operations (viewing verification material, moderation actions, login attempts).
3. How We Use Information
To create and manage your account and provide verification services;
To relay and facilitate inquiries, supply/demand posts and transactions, showing necessary contact details to the other party;
To send operationally required notifications (inquiry replies, review results, order status) and the tender digests you subscribed to;
For security auditing, anti-abuse and anti-fraud purposes strictly necessary to provide the service;
To improve content structure and search quality (aggregate statistics, not used to identify individuals).
We do not make automated decisions about you and never sell your personal information.
4. Disclosure and Cross-Border Transfer
To counterparties: when you submit an inquiry to a supplier, your message and the contact details you choose to leave are relayed to that supplier; likewise, a supplier's reply is delivered to the buyer.
Service providers: an email delivery provider delivers transactional emails on our behalf (receipts, review notifications, digests) and receives only the recipient address necessary for delivery.
Identity-verification providers: if you use the carrier 3-factor channel, your name, ID number and phone number are submitted through a domestic (mainland China) processing node we engage directly to a carrier-authorised data service provider. That domestic node relays the factors in memory only and retains no plaintext; our overseas systems receive only the match/mismatch outcome and a verification serial number.
Cross-border transfer: the Platform stores data in a data centre outside mainland China (Singapore region). Your personal information — including your email address, inquiry content and any verification material you submit — is transferred to and stored there. For users in mainland China this constitutes a cross-border transfer of personal information: we present a separate consent checkbox for the cross-border transfer at registration and for anonymous inquiries, and the corresponding operation cannot be completed without consent. We will fulfil the applicable cross-border compliance obligations, including standard-contract filing.
Apart from the above and where required by law, we do not disclose your personal information to any third party.
5. Cookies and Similar Technologies
The Platform only uses first-party cookies that are strictly necessary to keep your session and login state (e.g. login hint, theme preference). No third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies are used.
We run self-hosted, aggregated traffic analytics that sets no cross-site tracking cookies and shares no visit data with third parties.
For this reason the Platform does not display a marketing-cookie consent banner. You may still clear or block cookies in your browser; blocking necessary cookies may prevent you from signing in.
CDN edge-cache disclosure: the Platform uses CDN edge nodes to accelerate static delivery. Edge caches hold only public pages and static assets — never personal data or anything that could identify you; responses involving personal data (dashboard, inquiry submission) are not stored at the edge.
6. Storage and Security
Transport security: HTTPS/TLS is enforced site-wide;
Storage security: sensitive fields such as identity verification and licence numbers are encrypted at field level with AES-256-GCM, keys injected via a key management service with rotation support; ID numbers additionally store a salted hash for deduplication;
Access control: verification material is viewable only by authorised reviewers, and every view is written to an immutable audit log (with IP and time);
Automatic cleanup: after an identity verification decision, the original ID photos are automatically deleted within 30 days; the encrypted phone number of the 3-factor channel is purged under the same policy; SMS one-time codes are stored only as salted hashes with a 10-minute validity, and expired entries are cleaned daily;
No internet environment is absolutely secure. Should a personal-data security incident occur, we will inform you and notify the regulator as required by law.
7. Retention
We retain personal information only as long as necessary to provide the service. After you request account deletion we keep the account for a 30-day cooling-off period so you can withdraw the request; afterwards the account is anonymised: the identity is replaced and any inquiries, reviews or posts remain on the Platform attributed to a "deleted user", no longer linked to information that can identify you.
8. Your Rights
Access and export: you can self-export all personal data the Platform holds about you (JSON, including verification data) from the Account page;
Rectification: you can correct account details on your profile at any time; verification material corrections require resubmitting the verification;
Deletion: you can self-request account deletion; the account is deactivated immediately and the request can be withdrawn with your email and password within the 30-day cooling-off period;
Withdrawal of consent: you can unsubscribe from digest emails (one-click link in every email); withdrawing the inquiry-relay consent is achieved by account deletion;
Complaint: if you believe our processing infringes your rights, contact us via the channels below; you may also lodge a complaint with the competent data protection regulator.
9. Minors
The Platform is a B2B information and matchmaking service for the industrial water treatment industry and is intended for businesses and professionals aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may revise this policy from time to time. Without your explicit consent we will not diminish your rights under this policy. For material changes we will notify you through in-site notifications or email.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this policy or personal data protection, contact us via the details in the page footer. We generally respond within 15 business days.