Privacy Policy

1. Introduction & who we are

This privacy policy applies to the website Doing Business in Bushbuckridge (DBiB), a business directory and listing platform accessible at [WEBSITE URL]. The website is operated by [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] (Registration number: [COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER]), the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Our registered physical address is [PHYSICAL ADDRESS].

We are committed to protecting your personal information and processing it lawfully, fairly and transparently. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the steps we take to safeguard it.

2. Information Officer

We have appointed an Information Officer responsible for all matters relating to the processing of personal information and the handling of requests under POPIA and the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). You can contact our Information Officer using the details below:

• Name: [INFORMATION OFFICER NAME]
• Email: [INFORMATION OFFICER EMAIL]

3. What personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with DBiB, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Identity & contact information – your name, surname, email address, telephone number, and the physical or postal address you provide.
• Business listing details – business name, description, category, operating hours, location, contact information and any images or content you submit.
• Account credentials – a username and encrypted password you create when registering for an account.
• Payment information – billing details and payment method. Note: we do not store or process full card numbers ourselves. Card payments are processed securely by our payment partner Yoco. We only retain a transaction reference for verification purposes.
• Enquiry & job‑posting content – any messages, attachments or details you include when you use our contact forms or submit a job posting.
• Technical data – when you visit our website we automatically collect your IP address, browser type and version, device information, operating system, pages viewed, time spent on pages, and referring website addresses for first‑party analytics purposes.

4. How we collect your information

We collect personal information in the following ways:

• Directly from you – when you register an account, fill in a listing form, submit an enquiry, or otherwise provide information through the website.
• Automatically – when you navigate the site, certain technical data is collected through standard web logs (see Section 6 below).

5. Purpose & lawful basis for processing

We process your personal information for specific, clearly defined purposes and rely on one or more lawful bases as required by POPIA.

Purposes of processing:

• To provide, operate and maintain the business directory and your account.
• To manage business listings and display them to directory visitors.
• To process payments for listings or other paid services.
• To send you service‑related communications such as payment receipts, renewal reminders, and important account updates.
• To respond to your enquiries, support requests or job‑posting submissions.
• To analyse website usage and improve the functionality and user experience of DBiB (first‑party analytics only).

Lawful bases (POPIA section 11):

• Performance of a contract – processing is necessary to provide the services you request (e.g., account creation, listing management, payment processing).
• Legitimate interests of the responsible party – for first‑party analytics and site improvement, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
• Consent – where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.
• Compliance with a legal obligation – where necessary to meet statutory requirements.

6. Cookies & similar technologies

Our website uses the following:

• Strictly necessary (session/authentication) cookies – essential to keep you signed in when you move between pages and to maintain the security of your session.
• First‑party analytics – we record basic listing and page view information on our own systems (server‑side) to understand how the directory is used and to improve it. We do not use third‑party advertising or cross‑site tracking cookies, and we do not sell personal information to anyone.

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings. Blocking the strictly necessary cookies may prevent you from signing in or using certain features of the website.

7. Sharing & third parties / operators

We only share personal information with trusted third parties who process data on our behalf (operators) under agreements that impose security and confidentiality obligations consistent with POPIA. These operators are:

• Payment processing: Yoco – processes payment card data securely. We do not have access to full card numbers.
• Website hosting and database: Vercel and PocketBase – host the website and store user data.
• Email delivery provider: [EMAIL PROVIDER NAME] – used to send transactional and service emails.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information to any third party for their own marketing purposes.

8. Cross‑border transfers of personal information

Some of our third‑party operators may store or process data on servers located outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred across borders, we take appropriate safeguards in accordance with POPIA (sections 72 and 73), such as ensuring the operator is subject to comparable data protection obligations or that the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and us.

9. Security safeguards

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. These measures include encryption of data in transit (TLS), secure password hashing, access controls, and regular security reviews. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, but we strive to continuously improve our safeguards.

10. Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, or as required by applicable law. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it. Specific retention periods depend on the type of data:

• Account information: retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period after closure to comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes.
• Payment records: retained for the period required by tax and financial regulations (typically 5 years).
• Enquiries and job postings: kept for up to 12 months after the last interaction, unless a longer period is required.

11. Your rights under POPIA

As a data subject, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access – you may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and obtain a copy of that information.
• Right to correction or deletion – you may ask us to correct inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive or incomplete information, or to delete information that we are no longer authorised to keep.
• Right to object – you may object, on reasonable grounds, to the processing of your personal information. Where we process based on legitimate interests, you can object and we will stop processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds.
• Right to withdraw consent – where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
• Right to lodge a complaint – you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe we have interfered with the protection of your personal information. Contact details:
  • Email: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
  • Website: https://inforegulator.org.za

To exercise any of your rights, please contact our Information Officer using the details in Section 2 above.

12. Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or operational needs. The latest version will always be available on our website, and we will indicate the date it was last updated. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Where changes are material, we may also notify you via email or a prominent notice on the site.

13. How to contact us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this privacy policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact us:

• Email: [CONTACT EMAIL]
• Phone: [CONTACT PHONE]
• Post: The Information Officer, [COMPANY LEGAL NAME], [PHYSICAL ADDRESS]

This policy was last updated on: [LAST UPDATED DATE].