This policy explains how Along the Shaws collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
1. Who we are
Along the Shaws is a Cape Town–based private tour and transfer service operated by [LEGAL ENTITY NAME TO BE CONFIRMED] ("Along the Shaws", "we", "us", "our").
We are the Responsible Party in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) in respect of personal information collected through this website and in the course of providing tour, transfer and related services.
Business name: Along the Shaws
Telephone: +27 68 030 8407
Location: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
2. Information we collect
We collect the following categories of personal information when you use our website or request our services:
- Contact information: first name, last name, email address, telephone number and WhatsApp number.
- Travel preferences: preferred dates, tour or transfer of interest, number of adults and children, collection area and any special requirements you choose to share.
- Special personal information (where voluntarily provided): dietary requirements linked to health or religion, mobility or accessibility requirements. We process this information only to deliver the experience safely and with your express consent.
- Children's information: age of children travelling, provided by a parent, guardian or authorised competent person on their behalf.
- Payment information: when payment is enabled, transactions are processed by Yoco. We receive only reference numbers and payment status. We do not receive or store card numbers.
- Communications: messages you send through our contact form, WhatsApp or email.
- Technical and usage information: device type, browser category, referring page, approximate region and website interaction information. Essential technical data may be collected through server logs; optional Google Analytics 4 usage data is collected only after you consent to analytics.
3. How we use your information
- To respond to your enquiry and check availability for your requested date and service.
- To prepare a personalised itinerary or quotation.
- To confirm, manage and deliver your booking.
- To process payment where you choose to pay online.
- To send transactional communications related to your active enquiry, quote or booking.
- To send marketing communications where you have given separate, express consent and have not withdrawn it.
- To comply with legal obligations including tax, financial record-keeping and any applicable regulatory requirements.
- To respond to privacy requests and manage our compliance obligations under POPIA.
- Where you consent to analytics, to understand website usage, measure the enquiry and booking journey and improve the website experience.
4. Legal basis for processing
We rely on the following grounds under POPIA to process personal information:
- Consent — for marketing communications, optional cookies, media and testimonial permissions, and the processing of special personal information such as dietary or health-related requirements.
- Contractual necessity — to fulfil our obligations to you in connection with a booking, quotation or transfer.
- Legal obligation — to comply with tax legislation, financial record-keeping requirements and regulatory obligations.
- Legitimate interest — to operate and improve our website, to prevent fraud and to manage our business in the ordinary course, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
6. International transfers
This website is operated using cloud-based technology services whose infrastructure may be hosted outside South Africa. If you consent to Google Analytics 4, analytics information may also be processed on Google's international infrastructure. Where personal information is transferred to a country that does not provide an adequate level of protection equivalent to POPIA, we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including contractual protections with our service providers.
7. How long we keep information
- Enquiries that did not convert to a booking: up to 24 months after our last meaningful contact, unless you request earlier deletion.
- Booking and payment records: for a minimum of five years where financial and tax records are implicated, or such longer period as required by law.
- Marketing records: until you withdraw consent or opt out, after which we retain only the minimum information necessary to honour your opt-out.
- Consent records: for as long as is necessary to demonstrate that processing was lawful.
- Privacy request records: for a reasonable compliance audit period.
We will not delete records subject to a legal hold, active dispute, insurance claim, audit, investigation or statutory retention obligation.
8. Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate information.
- Request deletion or destruction of information we are no longer entitled to retain, subject to legal hold exceptions.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
- Withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
- Opt out of direct marketing at any time.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
To exercise any of these rights, please submit a privacy request or contact our Information Officer directly. We will respond within 30 days.
Information Regulator of South Africa: www.inforegulator.org.za
10. Marketing
We will only send you marketing communications if you have given separate, express consent to receive them. Booking-related transactional communications (such as quote confirmations, payment receipts and tour reminders) do not require marketing consent and will continue for active engagements.
You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting us or by submitting a marketing opt-out request. We will act on your opt-out promptly and will not automatically resubscribe you if you make a subsequent enquiry.
11. Children
Children's personal information is provided to us by a parent, guardian or authorised competent person and is used only to plan and deliver the tour or transfer safely. We do not create marketing profiles for children, use children's images without documented guardian permission, or publish a child's full name, location or travel dates unnecessarily.
12. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These measures include encrypted connections (HTTPS), role-based access controls, non-guessable public tokens for payment and quote links, and private-by-default database access rules.
If a security incident affects your personal information, we will assess our notification obligations under POPIA and notify you and the Information Regulator where required by law.
13. Changes to this policy
When we update this Privacy Policy, we will publish a new version with an updated effective date and a summary of what changed. Where a change is material and affects how we process your information, we will take reasonable steps to notify you. Prior versions remain accessible on request.
14. Contact us
For privacy enquiries, requests or complaints, please contact our Information Officer:
Business: Along the Shaws
Information Officer: [To be confirmed]
Email: alongtheshaws@gmail.com
Telephone: +27 68 030 8407
Location: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
You may also submit a formal request using our online privacy request form. We aim to respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
