Privacy Policy

1. About This Policy

This privacy policy explains how KiesSlim ("we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, processes, and protects your personal information when you use our website and services. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) of South Africa.

2. Who We Are

KiesSlim connects South African vendors — flea market, festival, church bazaar, school fête, fundraiser, and pop-up event vendors — with the organisers who need them. Vendors set up a profile describing their business, what they sell, and how far they'll travel; organisers list events describing what kind of vendors they need. The platform automatically shows each vendor the events that match their profile. The entire platform is login-gated — there is no public directory, listing, or search visible without an account.

3. What Information We Collect

3.1 Account Information (all users)

• Name, email address, and password at registration
• Account role: whether you registered as a vendor or an organiser

3.2 Organiser Profile

• Organisation or event brand name
• Contact person name, phone number, WhatsApp number, and contact email

3.3 Vendor Profile

• Business or stall name, and a description if provided
• The categories of goods you sell (e.g. food, ice cream, crafts)
• Your home town and how far you're willing to travel (used to calculate distance to events — see section 3.6)
• A contact email, if you choose to provide one
• Your saved "interested," "going," or "removed" status against specific events — this is private to your account and never shown to organisers or other users

3.4 Event Listings (submitted by organisers)

• Event name, type, date, time, venue, and town
• A description and the categories of vendor being sought
• Any pricing, deposit, or facility details the organiser chooses to include
• The organiser's contact details for that event

3.5 Support Communications

Information you provide when contacting us for support or with a query.

3.6 Location Data

We maintain an internal reference list of South African town names and approximate coordinates, used only to calculate the distance between a vendor's home town and an event's town. We do not collect GPS location, precise addresses, or track your real-time location. Coordinate data for some smaller towns may be missing or approximate — see our Terms of Service, section 3.6, for the matching accuracy disclaimer.

3.7 Information We Collect Automatically

• Usage Data: pages viewed, features used, time spent on platform
• Device Information: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system
• Analytics Data: website performance and usage statistics through Vercel Analytics

4. How We Use Your Information

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

4.1 Service Provision

• Creating and managing your account
• Matching vendors with relevant events based on category and distance
• Displaying event listings to matching vendors, and organiser contact details so they can be contacted directly
• Letting you save and track your own interest in specific events

4.2 Platform Improvement

• Analyzing usage patterns to improve our services
• Developing new features and functionality

4.3 Safety and Security

• Preventing fraud, fake accounts, and fake listings
• Enforcing our terms of service

4.4 Communication

• Sending important updates about our services
• Responding to your inquiries and support requests

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under POPI Act, we process your personal information based on:

• Consent: When you voluntarily provide information and agree to our terms
• Contract Performance: To provide the matching service you've registered for
• Legitimate Interest: For platform security, fraud prevention, and service improvement
• Legal Obligation: When required by South African law

6. Information Sharing and Disclosure

6.1 No Public Disclosure

Unlike a public directory, nothing on KiesSlim is visible without logging in, and nothing is indexed by search engines. Information is only shown to other registered users of the platform, and only as described below.

6.2 Organisers — Contact Details Shown to Matching Vendors

6.3 Vendors — What Is Shown, and What Is Not

6.4 Service Providers

• Supabase: Database and authentication services
• Vercel: Website hosting and analytics

6.5 Legal Requirements

We may disclose personal information when required by law, court order, or directive from a competent South African regulatory authority, or where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of KiesSlim, our users, or the public.

6.6 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of all or part of our business, personal information held by us may be transferred to the acquiring party, subject to equivalent data protection obligations.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Row-level database security so users can only access data they're entitled to
• Access controls and authentication requirements
• Regular security review of the platform

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our services to you
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes and enforce agreements

Account Data: Retained while your account is active, and deleted within 30 days of a verified deletion request
Event Listings and Vendor Profiles: Retained for as long as the account is active; deleted along with the account
Analytics Data: Aggregated and anonymized after 2 years

9. Your Rights Under POPI Act

As a South African data subject, you have the following rights:

To exercise these rights, use our contact form. We will respond within 30 days.

10. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies to keep you logged in and to remember your session. We also use Vercel Analytics to understand website performance and usage. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though the platform requires login cookies to function.

11. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for children under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child without parental consent, we will delete it immediately.

12. International Data Transfers

Your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside South Africa where our service providers operate. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with POPI Act requirements.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or through our platform. The "Last updated" date at the top indicates when this policy was last revised.

14. Contact Us

15. Complaints and Regulatory Contact

If you're not satisfied with our handling of your personal information or privacy concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator.