Last updated: 30 June 2026.
Who we are
This Privacy Policy explains how Cape Town Local, operated by a South African sole trader trading as Cape Town Local, collects and uses personal information through the website at bloubergstrand.co.za. For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), we are the responsible party for the personal information described here.
Our Information Officer can be reached at [email protected] for any privacy question or request.
What personal information we collect
We collect personal information from different people depending on how they use the site:
- Visitors: technical data such as IP address, browser type, pages viewed and cookie identifiers, plus anything you send us through a contact or enquiry form.
- Business owners: your name, business name, email address, phone number, business address, listing content and account login details when you claim or manage a listing.
- Advertisers and paying customers: billing and contact details and a record of your subscription or placement. Card payments are handled by our payment provider, so we do not receive or store your full card number.
Why we collect it and our lawful basis
We process personal information to operate the directory and news service, create and manage accounts and listings, process payments and subscriptions, respond to enquiries, send service messages, prevent fraud and abuse, and meet our legal obligations. Our lawful bases under POPIA include your consent, the performance of a contract with you, our legitimate interests in running and improving the site, and compliance with the law. You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis, without affecting processing already carried out.
Cookies and similar technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to make the site work and to understand how it is used. These fall into broad groups:
- Essential cookies: needed for core functions such as logging in, security and remembering your session. The site does not work properly without them.
- Analytics cookies: help us see which pages and listings are popular so we can improve the site. This data is used in an aggregated way.
- Advertising cookies: may be set in connection with sponsored placements or advertising to measure and present relevant adverts.
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, and you can usually block or clear them at any time. Blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the site from working.
Security and data processing
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, including access controls, encryption in transit and limiting who can reach the data. To run the site we rely on trusted operators (sub-processors) who process information on our behalf and under our instructions, including our European hosting provider, Cloudflare (content delivery, caching and security) and PayFast (payment processing). If a data breach occurs that creates a real risk of harm, we will act to contain it and will notify the Information Regulator and affected people as required by POPIA.
How long we keep information
We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purposes described here or as required by law, for example to keep accounting and tax records. When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only with the operators that help us run the site (such as our hosting provider, Cloudflare and PayFast), with professional advisers, or where the law requires it. We never sell your personal information.
Cross-border processing
The site runs on a European VPS behind Cloudflare, so some personal information may be processed, stored or cached outside South Africa. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure the information receives a level of protection consistent with POPIA, including relying on operators who are subject to comparable data protection commitments.
Your POPIA rights
Subject to the law, you have the right to:
- ask what personal information we hold about you and request access to it;
- ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or out of date;
- ask us to delete information we no longer have a lawful reason to keep;
- object to certain processing, including direct marketing.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request.
Complaining to the Information Regulator
If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa), which oversees POPIA.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on the site, with the "last updated" date shown above.