Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 July 2026

This is a general-purpose template, not legal advice. South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) has specific requirements — including appointing an Information Officer and registering with the Information Regulator. Have this policy reviewed by a qualified professional before launch.

1. Information We Collect

Organizers: name, email address, phone number, country and province/state, password (stored as a secure hash, never in plain text), a copy of your identity document, and a verification photo.

Travelers & Visitors: when you comment on or request to join a trip, we collect the name, email, and phone number you choose to submit. Browsing the Platform does not require an account.

Technical Data: a session cookie is used to keep you logged in and to protect forms from cross-site attacks. We do not use tracking or advertising cookies.

2. How We Use Your Information

To verify Organizer identity before allowing trips to be published
To let Organizers see and respond to Traveler join requests and comments
To send account-related emails (verification, password resets, verification decisions)
To respond to messages sent via our Contact page

3. Who Can See Your Information

If you request to join a trip, your name, email, phone, and message are shared with that trip's Organizer. Your identity document and verification photo (Organizers only) are visible only to our admin team, and are never shared publicly or with any other Organizer or Traveler. We use a third-party SMTP provider solely to deliver emails on our behalf.

4. Data Storage & Security

Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text. Identity documents and verification photos are stored outside the public web directory and are only accessible to logged-in administrators. We take reasonable technical measures to protect your data, but no online system can be guaranteed 100% secure.

5. Data Retention

We retain account and verification information for as long as your account is active, or as needed to comply with legal obligations. You may request deletion of your data at any time via our Contact page, subject to any records we're legally required to keep.

6. Your Rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, and to object to certain processing. To exercise any of these rights, please reach out via our Contact page.

7. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

8. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or requests, please use our Contact page.