Mercari, a Japanese company operating in the US, collects extensive identity and financial data. Sellers must complete identity verification to withdraw funds, providing government ID and Social Security numbers. As a publicly traded Japanese company, data is subject to both US and Japanese data protection frameworks, with cross-border data transfers to Mercari's headquarters.
| Data Type | Collected | Shared | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name, email, phone | Yes | Yes | No |
| Government ID (sellers) | Yes | Verification | No |
| Social Security Number | Yes | Tax/IRS | No |
| Payment and banking info | Yes | Partners | No |
| Shipping addresses | Yes | Yes | No |
| Device and browsing data | Yes | Yes | Unclear |
| Transaction history | Yes | Japan HQ | No |
To withdraw earnings, sellers must submit government-issued ID and often SSN. This sensitive data is retained and processed through third-party identity verification services.
As a Japanese company, Mercari transfers user data to its Japan headquarters. Japanese privacy laws differ from US standards, and data may be subject to different protections.
Identity verification is performed by third parties like Stripe Identity, meaning your government ID is shared with multiple companies in the verification chain.
Mercari maintains detailed records of your balance, transactions, and payout requests. Inactivity fees mean they monitor account activity continuously.
The app requests access to your contact list to help "find friends," collecting data about your personal relationships and social network.
Mercari's privacy policy clearly categorizes what data is collected and why, making it easier to understand their practices compared to vaguer policies.
Users can request account deletion and data removal, though some information may be retained for legal compliance (tax records, fraud prevention).