Privacy

balikbayan.deal is a buy-on-order sourcing service operating from the Philippines. This page describes what we hold about you, why, and what you can make us do about it. It is written to the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10173).

What we collect

An anonymous session, created in your browser when you place a request. No account is needed: the session is a random identifier that ties your orders to this browser, and a private link on each order is how you reach it from anywhere else.

Your email address, only if you sign in. Signing in is optional and passwordless, either Google or a link sent to that address. It attaches your orders to you instead of to a browser.

A contact number, which you give us when you submit a request, so we can reach you about that order.

A delivery name and address, which you give us with each request, so the parcel can be sent to your door.

The requests themselves: the pieces you asked for, their sizes, the total, the status, and any note you added.

We do not collect payment card details, and no card is ever charged on this site. Payment happens outside the site, by GCash or bank transfer, so we see only whatever your own bank or wallet shows the recipient. We run no analytics, no advertising and no third-party trackers.

What your browser stores

Your bag is kept in your own browser using local storage, not on our servers, until you submit it as a request. Placing a request, or signing in, stores a session in your browser so your orders open there without a link. Clearing your browser data removes both; your orders still open from their private links.

Why we hold it, and for how long

We use it only to confirm a piece is available, arrange payment, buy and forward your order, and answer you about it. We do not sell it, and we do not share it for anyone else's marketing.

Requests are kept while your account exists, because they are the record of what you ordered and what you paid. Ask us to delete your account and we remove your email, contact number, delivery address and requests.

Who can see it

Only our own operators, and only after signing in to an internal console restricted to a named list of accounts with verified email addresses. There is no public access to any of it.

The delivery name and address on your request are passed to the forwarding service that carries the parcel, and nothing else about you. Requests placed before 4 September 2026 were made without an address; for those we ask by phone, and the same rule applies to whatever you tell us.

Where it is stored

We use Google Firebase. Your account and requests are stored in a database hosted in Singapore, and product images are stored in the United States. Being processed outside the Philippines is disclosed here because the Data Privacy Act requires it.

Your rights

Under the Data Privacy Act you may ask what we hold about you, have it corrected, have it erased or blocked, object to how we use it, receive a copy in a portable form, and be told if it is ever compromised in a way that puts you at risk.

You can also complain to the National Privacy Commission at privacy.gov.ph, whether or not you have raised it with us first.

Reaching us

We have not published a contact address yet, so there is currently no way to reach us about a privacy request. That is a gap on our side, not a limit on your rights. Until it is published, please do not treat this service as able to action an access or deletion request.