This Privacy Policy explains how Linko ZA (“we”, “us”) collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information when you use the Platform. We process personal information in line with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) and other applicable data-protection laws.
Questions or privacy requests? Email shop@linkoza.co.za.
1. Information we collect
- Account details: your name, surname, email address, cell number and password (stored securely by our authentication provider).
- Orders and delivery: items ordered, order history, payment status, and delivery or collection details you give at checkout.
- Seller information: if you sell, your business profile (business name, owner name, address, province, contact details, social links, logo and summary), products, sales, and payment or payout details you choose to provide.
- Runner applications: if you apply to be a delivery runner, your name, email, mobile number, service area, profile picture, province, gender, age, PEP number, covered areas and prices, delivery method, vehicle type, experience, acceptance of runner terms, and an optional identity document (see “Delivery runners” below).
- Messages: chats with Business sellers and with the Linko ZA team, including the welcome message if you are a Business seller.
- Activity on the Platform: wishlist items, ratings and reviews you post, and basic visit counts such as how many people view a business profile or the store.
- Technical data: information your device or browser sends automatically, which we use to keep the Platform working and secure.
2. Why we use it
- To create and manage your account and let you log in.
- To process orders, confirm payments, and arrange delivery or collection between you and the seller.
- To run seller accounts, subscriptions, locks and payouts.
- To let customers and sellers communicate with each other and with us.
- To provide support, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our Terms of Use and meet legal duties, such as tax and record keeping.
- To understand and improve how the Platform is used.
We only collect information needed for these purposes. If we want to use your information for a new purpose, we will ask for your permission or rely on another lawful ground under POPIA.
3. Who we share it with
- Sellers: when you order from a seller, they receive the order and the delivery or collection details needed to fulfil it. When you chat with a seller, they see your name and your messages.
- Customers: a seller’s public business profile (such as business name, logo, province and contact details they choose to show) is visible to customers.
- Service providers: PayFast (payments), Supabase (database, authentication and file hosting), and other providers that help us run the Platform. They may only use your information to provide their services to us.
- Authorities: where the law requires it, or to protect rights, safety and prevent fraud.
We do not sell your personal information.
4. Card and payment details
Payments are made on PayFast’s secure pages. We do not see or store your full card details. Sellers who choose to provide bank or payout details do so to be paid, and we keep those details only for that purpose.
5. Who can see your chats
Chats between a customer and a seller are visible to those two people. The Linko ZA administrator can also access them where needed to investigate abuse, fraud or a complaint. Chats with the Linko ZA team are visible to the team.
6. Keeping it safe
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures, including access controls and encrypted connections, to protect your information. No system is completely secure. Please use a strong password and keep it private. If we become aware of a breach affecting your information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
7. How long we keep it
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above, or as the law requires. For example, we keep order and payment records for as long as tax and accounting rules require. When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it.
Delivery runners
- What we collect: only what is needed to register, verify and manage runners and their deliveries: contact and service-area details, a profile picture, province, gender, age, PEP number, the areas you cover and your price for each, an optional identity document, delivery history, ratings, earnings and payout records.
- How we use it: to review applications manually, assign and complete deliveries, handle disputes, and record earnings and payouts. We do not use identity documents for anything else.
- Who sees it: identity documents are kept in private storage that only you and the Linko ZA administrator can access. A customer whose order you are assigned to sees your name, Verified Runner badge, profile picture, province, gender, age, PEP number (customers use it to send you parcels), the areas you cover with your prices, the date you joined Linko ZA and, while a delivery is active, a way to contact you. Nobody else sees these details. Runners see the pickup and delivery details of their own accepted jobs only.
- Hire requests: when a customer sends a hire request, that runner sees the customer’s name, mobile number, chosen area and note. If the runner accepts, the customer sees the runner’s mobile number. Customers browsing runners see the first name and surname initial, picture, province, gender, age, areas, prices and ratings of approved runners.
- Keeping and deleting: we keep runner records while you are a runner and for as long as needed for payout, dispute and legal purposes. You can ask us to delete your runner information and documents at shop@linkoza.co.za, subject to records we must keep.
8. Where it is stored
Our service providers may store or process information on servers outside South Africa. Where this happens, we take steps to make sure your information is protected to a standard comparable to POPIA.
9. Your rights
Under POPIA, you may ask us to:
- tell you what personal information we hold about you and provide a copy;
- correct or update inaccurate information;
- delete information we no longer have a lawful reason to keep; and
- stop or limit certain uses of your information, including direct marketing.
You can update most account details yourself under My Profile. For anything else, email shop@linkoza.co.za. We may need to verify your identity first. If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa).
10. International users and outside services
- Extra information: when you register, we ask for your country and city. We also work out your approximate country when you open the Platform so we can show prices in a suitable currency and pre-fill your country. We keep your country and currency choice on your device so you do not have to set them again.
- Outside services we call: (1) a country lookup service (api.country.is), which receives your IP address from your device and returns your country; and (2) an exchange-rate service (open.er-api.com), which receives a request from your device for current exchange rates. Neither is sent your name, email, orders or account details, but each can see your IP address as part of the request and handles it under its own policy.
- Stored on your device: your country and currency choice and a copy of recent exchange rates are saved in your browser or app storage. You can clear them by clearing the site data.
- Transfers between countries: your information is processed and stored by us and by service providers such as our hosting and payment providers, which may be in South Africa or other countries. We take reasonable steps to keep it protected wherever it is handled.
- Your rights: depending on where you live, data-protection laws such as South Africa’s POPIA, the EU or UK GDPR and similar laws may give you rights to access, correct, delete or restrict the use of your information, object to its use, and receive a copy. Contact us to use these rights. You may also complain to your local data-protection authority or South Africa’s Information Regulator.
11. Children
The Platform is not meant for children under 18 acting on their own. If you believe a child has given us personal information without a parent or guardian’s consent, contact us and we will address it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date above shows the current version. Important changes will be communicated in reasonable ways.
13. Contact
For privacy questions or requests, email shop@linkoza.co.za.