Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

BookdAfrika is an online booking platform that helps small businesses in South Africa accept appointments online. The responsible party for the BookdAfrika platform is BookdAfrika. You can contact us at info@bookdafrika.com for any privacy-related question or request.

When you book with a business that uses BookdAfrika, that business is the responsible party for the booking information you share with them. BookdAfrika acts as an operator that processes the information on their behalf.

2. Information we collect

• Account details — name, email address, password (hashed) and phone number you provide when signing up.
• Business profile — business name, category, location, logo, cover image, services, prices and operating hours.
• Booking details — your customers' names, email addresses, phone numbers, appointment times, notes and (where enabled) deposit payment status.
• Communications — confirmations, reminders and review requests we send on your behalf, and any messages you send us through support channels.
• Usage data — basic technical information such as IP address, browser type, pages visited and timestamps, collected to keep the service secure and reliable.

3. Why we process this information

We only process personal information for a lawful purpose, specifically to:

• provide and operate the booking platform (create accounts, accept bookings, send confirmations and reminders);
• process deposit payments through trusted payment partners;
• improve the platform, prevent fraud and keep our systems secure;
• comply with our legal obligations under South African law.

4. Legal grounds for processing (POPIA)

We rely on one or more of the following grounds, as required by section 11 of POPIA:

• your consent (for example when you create an account or make a booking);
• performance of a contract with you;
• compliance with a legal obligation;
• our legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving the service, balanced against your rights.

5. Sharing of information

We do not sell your personal information. We only share information with the following categories of recipients, and only as needed:

• the business you are booking with (for customer-side information);
• service providers that host our infrastructure, send emails or process payments, under contracts that require them to protect your information;
• law enforcement or regulators, where we are legally required to do so.

6. Cross-border transfers

Some of our service providers may store or process data outside of South Africa. When this happens, we only use providers that offer an adequate level of protection comparable to POPIA, or we put appropriate contractual safeguards in place, as required by section 72 of POPIA.

7. How long we keep your information

We keep personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out above, or as required by law. Booking records are retained for the period needed to support businesses with their tax and consumer obligations, after which they are securely deleted or anonymised.

8. How we protect your information

We use industry-standard security measures, including encryption in transit, access controls, role-based permissions, audit logging and row-level security on our database. No system is perfectly secure, but we work continuously to reduce risk.

9. Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

• be notified that your information is being collected;
• ask whether we hold information about you, and request a copy;
• request that incorrect, misleading or outdated information be corrected or deleted;
• object to the processing of your information on reasonable grounds;
• withdraw consent at any time (this will not affect processing already done);
• lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@bookdafrika.com. We will respond within a reasonable time and at no cost (unless the request is manifestly excessive).

10. Children

BookdAfrika is not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information of children without the consent of a competent person, as required by section 34 of POPIA.

11. Cookies

We use a small number of cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences and measure how the platform is used. You can clear or block cookies in your browser settings, but some parts of the service may not work properly.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make a material change we will notify you by email or with a notice on the platform. The "last updated" date at the top of this page shows when this version took effect.

13. Contact and complaints

If you have any questions or want to lodge a complaint, please contact us first at info@bookdafrika.com. You also have the right to complain directly to the Information Regulator of South Africa:

Information Regulator (South Africa)
JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za
Website: inforegulator.org.za