Security & Privacy
You decide who sees your catalog, for how long, and at what price. These are the controls ShowCato gives you, and how your data is handled.
Your designs, prices and buyer list are the heart of your business. A photo forwarded to a competitor, or an old price list still sitting in a chat, can cost you sales. This page explains how to keep that under control.
- Stay on the buyer's phone forever
- Old prices keep circulating
- Easy to forward to anyone
- No way to take them back
- Stops working at the time you set
- Always shows your current prices
- Can ask the buyer to verify first
- You can stop it any time
Control who sees your catalog
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Link expiry | Every link stops working at the time you set, from 1 hour to 30 days. After that, the buyer sees an expired page and no products, even from a saved link. |
| Deactivate | Stops a link at once, before its expiry time. |
| Private links | Each link has its own random 10-character code and shows only the products you picked for that buyer. |
| Buyer verification | The buyer must enter an email or mobile number that is in your buyer list. After 3 wrong tries, that device is locked out of the link for 1 hour. |
| Price visibility | Show all prices, hide all prices, or follow each product's own setting, per link. |
| Copy protection | In the interactive catalog, right-click, image dragging and common copy and save shortcuts are blocked, which makes casual copying of your photos harder. |
No web page can stop a screenshot. For designs you have not launched yet, use a short expiry and send links only to trusted buyers.
Choosing the right protection
You do not need every control on every link. Match the protection to what you are sharing.
| You are sharing | Suggested settings |
|---|---|
| Regular stock with a known, trusted buyer | Expiry of 3 or 7 days, prices shown |
| New designs before launch | Expiry of a few hours, verification on, only trusted buyers |
| A price list that changes daily, such as metal-rate jewellery | Expiry of 24 hours or less, so old prices never linger |
| A catalog for buyers you have not met yet | Hide all prices, so they must enquire first |
Why links expire
An expired link shows no products, even if the buyer saved or forwarded it. This means a link forwarded to someone else stops working on its own. If a genuine buyer needs more time, open the link and use Extend by, or Reactivate it. See Catalog Links.
How verification helps
With verification on, a person who gets a forwarded link cannot open it unless their email or mobile is in your buyer list. This stops a buyer from passing your catalog to a competitor. Add the buyer on the Buyers page first, with the exact number or email they will type.
Control your team
- Each team member gets only the permissions you switch on. See Team Members.
- A team member can be limited to the buyers they added themselves.
- Invoices, Settings, Storage, Support, Advance Features and Role Manager stay with the account owner.
Give each staff member their own login rather than sharing yours. When someone leaves, delete their user in Role Manager. Their login stops working at once, and your data stays with you.
Your account
- Passwords are at least 8 characters and are stored hashed, never as plain text.
- After 5 wrong passwords, the account is locked for 30 minutes.
- Your business data is stored encrypted with AES-256: buyer details, product details, enquiry notes, leads and support tickets.
What "stored hashed" means
ShowCato keeps only a scrambled form of your password that cannot be turned back into the original. Nobody can read your password from the database, so no one at ShowCato will ever ask you for it.
What encryption means for you
Sensitive fields are scrambled before they are saved, using a secret key held by the ShowCato app. For example, a buyer's name, mobile and email are encrypted. If someone got a copy of the database alone, those fields would be unreadable.
Keep your login safe
Use at least 8 characters, mixing words and numbers. Do not reuse your email or bank password.
Add staff as team members instead. The owner login opens billing, storage and settings.
If you think someone knows your password, change it in User Profile right away.
Your data
| You want to | How |
|---|---|
| Export buyers | Buyers → Export CSV |
| Export enquiries | Enquiries → Export CSV |
| Export invoices | Invoices → download CSV (Invoice Billing add-on) |
| Delete one business | Settings → Delete Business, type DELETE and enter your password |
| Delete your account | User Profile → Delete Account, or email info@appteam.com from your registered email with the subject "Delete My Account" |
Export your buyers and enquiries now and then, and keep the CSV files safe. It is a simple backup of your most important records.
Deleting your account removes your profile, businesses, catalogs, links and enquiries, and they cannot be recovered. Export anything you want to keep first.
Your buyers' data
Add only buyers whose contact details you are allowed to use, for example customers who gave you their number. Buyer details are visible to you and your permitted team members, never to other ShowCato sellers.
Notes you write about a buyer or an enquiry are private. Buyers never see them.
For the full legal terms, read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.