Abode-able is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of our users. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and safeguard your information when you visit or use Abode-able, in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.
1. Information we collect
We collect information you provide when you create an account, book a service, list a business, apply for verification or contact us. This includes:
Personal identifiers: full name, email address and phone number.
Booking information: the service, date and time, amount, notes you add, and reviews you post.
Vendor verification data: legal name, physical address, South African ID or passport number and issuing country, a photograph of the identity document and a verification selfie. These are reviewed manually by our administrators; this is not biometric identification or a Home Affairs check. We do not currently collect CIPC registration documents.
Business details: company name, services, pricing and location, and banking details used for vendor payouts.
Account credentials: passwords and security details used for sign-in (passwords are stored in hashed form). If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email from that provider.
Technical data: for security and audit purposes, we record IP address and device information for administrative actions.
Payment information: card and EFT payments are processed by PayFast. We do not store your full card details on our servers.
2. How we use your information
We use your information to run your account; process booking requests and 50% deposits; pay vendors; verify vendor identities and prevent fraud; send booking updates, account alerts and support replies; improve the directory; and comply with South African legal and tax obligations.
We process information to perform our agreement with you, with your consent (for example identity review and optional cookies), to meet legal obligations, and for our legitimate interest in keeping the platform safe.
3. How your data is stored, hosted and protected
Infrastructure: Abode-able is built using Lovable and hosted on secure cloud servers that use industry-standard encryption. These servers may be located outside South Africa; we use providers that apply data protection safeguards comparable to POPIA.
Security measures: we take reasonable organisational and technical measures to prevent unauthorised access, loss or damage to your personal information, as required by POPIA.
Access control: identity documents are stored in private, encrypted storage. Access is restricted to the applicant and authorised administrators. Administrators view documents through links that expire after five minutes, and our interface discourages saving or dragging images. No system can prevent every form of copying, such as screenshots.
4. Data breaches
If we become aware of a breach that compromises your personal information, we will notify the Information Regulator and affected users as soon as reasonably possible, as required by section 22 of POPIA.
Our notification will explain what happened, what information was affected, what we are doing about it, and the steps you can take to protect yourself. We keep an internal record of all security incidents, including those we are not required to report.
5. Sharing your information
We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We share only what is needed: booking details with the vendor you book, payment data with PayFast, and email addresses with our email delivery service to send notifications.
These providers may use your data only to perform specific tasks for us.
6. Cookies and local storage
Essential cookies and browser storage keep you signed in and the site secure. Optional cookies are used only if you allow them, and you can change your choice at any time using Cookie settings.
7. Your rights under POPIA
You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you; to ask us to correct or update it; to ask us to delete it (subject to legal and financial record-keeping requirements); and to object to processing, including for direct marketing.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): inforegulator.org.za, POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za.
8. Retention and automatic purge
General retention: we keep personal information only while your account is active or as long as needed to provide the service, resolve disputes and comply with South African tax laws. Booking and payment records are kept as required by law.
Account deletion: when a vendor deletes their directory account, their identity records are erased immediately and their ID photos and selfies are deleted from our storage.
Rejected applications: if a vendor application is rejected, uploaded ID photos, selfies and identity records are permanently deleted seven (7) days after rejection.
Approved applications: verification documents of approved vendors are retained for traceability and fraud investigation while the listing is active.
Provider backups may persist for a limited period under our hosting provider's retention rules.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our service or local laws. We will post the new policy on this page and update the date above.
10. Contact our Information Officer
For questions about this policy, or to exercise your rights, contact our Information Officer at info@abode-able.org. Abode-able, 3 Emerald Avenue, Greenfields, kuGompo City, Eastern Cape, South Africa.