Privacy Policy (POPIA-Compliant)

Privacy Policy for WashWell SA

Last Updated: 07/11/2025

1. Introduction Welcome to WashWell SA (“we”, “us”, “our”), accessible at [https://laundry.focusednet.com/]. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our users (“you”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your Personal Information in compliance with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

2. Who is Responsible? (Information Officer) We have appointed an Information Officer who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this policy.

  • Information Officer: [Insert Name or Title, e.g., “The Director”]
  • Email: [Insert Email Address]

3. What Personal Information Do We Collect? We collect Personal Information in the following ways:

  • Information You Provide to Us:
    • Account Registration: When you register, create a listing, or claim a listing, we collect your name, email address, phone number, and business details.
    • Paid Listings (WooCommerce): When you purchase a listing package, we and our payment processor (e.g., PayFast, Yoco) collect payment and billing information. We do not store your full credit card details.
    • User-Generated Content: We collect information you post in listings, FAQs, “Post Your Need” requests, and booking forms.
  • Information Collected Automatically:
    • Log & Usage Data: We collect your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps.
    • Location Data: We may collect your location based on your IP address or if you use our “near me” search features.
    • Cookies: We use cookies to manage sessions, remember your preferences, and for analytics.

4. How and Why Do We Use Your Information? We process your Personal Information for the following purposes, based on a lawful ground:

  • To Provide Our Service (Contract): To create and manage your account, display your listings, process your payments, and facilitate bookings.
  • To Manage the Platform (Legitimate Interest): To allow business owners to claim listings, to facilitate communication between users and businesses, and to secure and improve our website.
  • For Marketing (Consent): To send you newsletters or promotional offers, only where you have explicitly opted-in. You may opt-out at any time.

5. Disclosure of Your Information We do not sell your Personal Information. We may share it with:

  • The Public: Information you voluntarily place in a public listing (e.g., business name, address, phone number, FAQs) will be visible to all users of the site.
  • Service Providers: Our payment processors (WooCommerce), web hosts, and analytics providers.
  • Booking Facilitation: When you make a booking, your relevant details (name, email, requested time) are shared with the business you are booking with.
  • Legal Compliance: If required by law or to respond to a valid legal process.

6. Security of Your Information We use technical measures (like SSL) and operational procedures to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

7. Data Retention We retain your Personal Information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. We may retain some information for legal or accounting purposes.

8. Your Rights Under POPIA As a South African data subject, you have the right to:

  • Request Access: To the Personal Information we hold about you.
  • Request Rectification: To correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Request Erasure (Deletion): To ask us to delete your information.
  • Object to Processing: To object to our processing of your information.
  • Lodge a Complaint: To complain to the Information Regulator of SouthA (IRSA) if you believe we are not processing your data lawfully.

To exercise these rights, please contact our Information Officer.

9. Third-Party Links Our site contains links to other websites (e.g., the websites of the laundromats listed). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites.

10. Changes to This Policy We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page.

11. Contact Us If you have any questions, please contact our Information Officer at [Solomon Mhlanga | solomon@focusednet.com].