Privacy policy

1Who we are

FairCart is run by BOUNCE IDEAS (PTY)LTD, 152 Bram Fischer Drive, Blairgowrie, Randburg, 2194. Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), we are the "responsible party" for the personal information you give us through faircart.co.za.

Our Information Officer is responsible for how we handle personal information. You can reach them at hello@faircart.co.za about anything in this policy.

2What we collect

• Your account — name, email address, phone number and a scrambled (hashed) version of your password. We never store the password itself.
• Your orders — what you bought, what you paid, and your delivery address or chosen pickup point.
• Proof of payment — the file you upload. These often show bank details, so they are kept out of public reach and only you and our administrators can open them.
• Your email list sign-up — your email address, when and where you joined, and the wording you agreed to. See Marketing emails.
• Trade account applications — trading name, area and contact number, and optionally an ID number, used only to verify who you are.
• Messages you send us through the contact form, so we can answer them.
• Basic technical details — the cookies listed below, and your IP address when you sign up to our list.

We never collect card numbers, CVV codes, online banking passwords or one-time PINs. You pay by EFT from your own bank.

3Why we collect it

POPIA only lets us use your information when there's a lawful reason. Ours are:

4Marketing emails and your consent

You join our email list when you enter your email in the sign-up window on our site, in the form at the bottom of every page, or when you ask us in person to add you. When you do, we record the date and time, where you signed up, your IP address, and the exact words you agreed to — so we can always show that you asked to hear from us.

We'll send you new arrivals, restocks and offers — and, if we're running one, a welcome code. We don't share our list with anyone, and we never email you marketing without your consent.

Leaving is one click. Every email has an unsubscribe link at the bottom, and most mail apps show their own unsubscribe button too. Leaving the list doesn't affect your account or your orders. Order confirmations and delivery updates aren't marketing, so they still come through.

5Who we share it with

Only the people who need it to get your order to you, and nobody else:

• Couriers — your name, phone number and delivery address, to deliver your parcel.
• Pickup Runners — if you choose Runner pickup, the Runner sees your name, contact number and the handover point. Nothing else.
• Our email provider — to send your order emails and, if you've joined, our newsletter.
• Our hosting provider — who stores the website and its database on secure servers.
• Authorities — only when the law requires it, for example a court order.

Everyone we share information with may use it only to do their job for us. We never sell or rent your personal information.

6Does it leave South Africa?

Some of the service providers above may store information on servers outside South Africa. When that happens, we only use providers who are bound — by law or by contract — to protect it to a standard at least as strong as POPIA, as section 72 of the Act requires.

7How we keep it safe

• Passwords are scrambled with bcrypt, so even we can't read them.
• Your sign-in is held in a secure, signed cookie that scripts on the page can't read.
• Every form is protected against cross-site request forgery.
• Uploads are checked for their real file type, renamed, and served only to people allowed to see them.
• Only staff who need access to do their job have it.

If there's ever a security breach that affects your information, we'll tell you and the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible, as POPIA requires.

8Keeping your account safe

Use a password you don't use anywhere else, and sign out on shared devices.

9How long we keep it

10Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

• know what personal information we hold about you, and get a copy;
• correct anything that's wrong or out of date;
• delete your information — except records the law makes us keep;
• object to us using your information, including for marketing, at any time and without giving a reason;
• complain to the Information Regulator — see Complaints.

To use any of these, send us a message or email hello@faircart.co.za. We may ask you to confirm who you are first, so nobody else can get your information. We'll respond within 30 days, and there's no charge.

11Cookies and browser storage

This is the complete list. There are no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies on FairCart.

12The shop assistant

The chat assistant on our site runs on our own server and answers from our product catalogue and your order records. Your messages are not sent to any outside artificial-intelligence service. Each one is answered and then discarded — we don't keep a copy of the conversation.

13Children

FairCart is for adults. You must be 18 or older to create an account or place an order, and our supplements aren't intended for anyone under 18. We don't knowingly collect information about children; if you think we have, tell us and we'll delete it.

14Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first at hello@faircart.co.za — we'd like the chance to put it right.

You can also complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at any time, through inforegulator.org.za.

15Changes to this policy

When we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of the page. If the change is significant — for example, a new way of using your information — we'll tell you by email or on the site before it takes effect.