Privacy Policy
Effective date: 4 May 2026 — Last updated: 4 May 2026
1. Who We Are
Khonza Marketplace (Pty) Ltd (“Khonza”, “we”, “our”) operates the Khonza online marketplace at khonza.online, connecting customers in the Ngwathe Local Municipality and surrounding areas with vetted home-service providers. We are the responsible party as defined in POPIA.
Contact: privacy@khonza.online — Parys, Free State, South Africa
2. Information We Collect
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | Name, email address, password (hashed) | Account creation and authentication |
| Contact details | Phone number, physical address | Service delivery, WhatsApp notifications |
| Location data | Town / GPS coordinates (only when you request proximity search) | Matching you with nearby service providers |
| Transaction data | Order details, payment status (no card numbers stored) | Order fulfilment, invoicing, fraud prevention |
| Provider verification | ID document, proof of address, company profile | Vetting service providers before listing |
| Usage data | Pages visited, search terms, device type | Improving the platform, analytics |
| Communications | Forum posts, support messages | Community features, dispute resolution |
We do not store full payment card numbers. Payments are processed by Yoco; their privacy policy applies to payment data.
3. Lawful Basis for Processing (POPIA Section 11)
- Contract — processing necessary to provide the service you have requested.
- Legitimate interest — fraud prevention, security monitoring, platform analytics.
- Legal obligation — tax records, regulatory reporting.
- Consent — marketing emails and WhatsApp notifications (you may withdraw at any time).
4. How We Use Your Information
- Create and manage your account.
- Match customers with service providers and facilitate bookings.
- Process payments and issue invoices.
- Send transactional WhatsApp and email notifications.
- Send marketing communications only where you have opted in.
- Investigate disputes and enforce our Terms of Service.
- Comply with legal obligations (SARS, CIPC, etc.).
5. Sharing of Personal Information
We share your information only where necessary:
- Service providers you book — name and contact details to fulfil your order.
- Payment processor (Yoco) — to complete transactions.
- Google Maps API — anonymised location queries for proximity matching.
- WhatsApp Business API — to send transactional notifications.
- Law enforcement or regulators — when required by South African law.
We do not sell personal information to third parties.
6. Cross-Border Transfers
Some of our infrastructure and third-party services (Google, WhatsApp/Meta) process data outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we rely on standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions, consistent with POPIA Section 72.
7. Retention
| Data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Account & transaction records | 5 years after account closure (SARS requirement) |
| Provider verification documents | 3 years after de-listing |
| Server / application logs | 14 days (rolling) |
| Marketing consent records | Until consent is withdrawn + 1 year |
8. Your Rights (POPIA Chapter 2, Part A)
You have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — request that inaccurate information be corrected.
- Deletion — request erasure, subject to legal retention obligations.
- Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interest.
- Withdrawal of consent — opt out of marketing at any time via your account settings or by emailing us.
- Complaint — lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
To exercise any right, email privacy@khonza.online. We will respond within 30 days as required by POPIA.
Information Regulator: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg — complaints@inforegulator.org.za
9. Cookies & Tracking
We use the following cookies:
- .AspNetCore.Identity.Application — session authentication (essential).
- KhonzaLanguage — stores your language preference (functional).
- ASP.NET_SessionId — server-side session (essential).
We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. No third-party analytics scripts are loaded.
10. Security
We implement industry-standard security measures including HTTPS (HSTS), hashed passwords (ASP.NET Core Identity), rate limiting on authentication endpoints, CSRF protection on all forms, and role-based access control. No system is perfectly secure; please use a strong, unique password and report any suspected breach to security@khonza.online.
11. Children
Khonza is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified via email or a prominent notice on the platform at least 14 days before taking effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.
13. Contact
Information Officer: Khonza Marketplace (Pty) Ltd
Email: privacy@khonza.online
Parys, Free State, 9585, South Africa
See also: Terms of Service