Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 October 2026

1. Who we are

Everything Hermanus (www.everythinghermanus.co.za) is a local business directory covering Hermanus, Sandbaai, Onrus, Vermont, Hawston, Fisherhaven and the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. This policy explains what information we collect through the website and app, why we collect it, and what you can do about it.

If you have any questions about this policy or want to exercise any of the rights described below, contact us at info@everythingHERMANUS.co.za.

2. What we collect

We keep the information we collect to what's actually needed to run the directory:

a) Listing and event submissions. When you use the "Add your business or event" form, we collect your name, email address and phone number (so we can reach you about your submission), plus the business or event details you provide (name, description, address, contact details, photos, dates, etc.). If you email or WhatsApp us directly instead, we collect whatever you send us.

b) Reviews. When you leave a review on a listing, we collect your name, email address, star rating and comment. Your name and comment are shown publicly once a review is approved; your email address is never shown publicly — we keep it only so we can tell a genuine customer apart from a competitor, and to get in touch if a review is ever disputed.

c) Business owner accounts. If a business owner sets up a login to manage their own listing, we collect the email address and password used for that login, and a session cookie is set so you can stay logged in.

d) Basic site-visit counts. We keep a simple day-by-day count of how many times pages are viewed, so we can see how the directory is being used overall. This is an aggregate number only — we do not track, store, or link this to any individual visitor, and it is not tied to your IP address, device, or any other identifier.

e) Push notifications (app only). If you enable notifications in the Everything Hermanus app, we collect a device token — an identifier assigned by Apple or Google to your device, not linked to your name or any other personal details — so we can send you notifications (for example, local news or safety alerts). You can stop this at any time by turning off notifications for the app in your device settings; we remove tokens that are no longer valid.

f) Google Analytics (website only). To understand which pages are visited and how people find the directory, our website uses Google Analytics, a service from Google. When you visit, Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser (named like _ga) and receives your IP address (which Google anonymises), the pages you view, roughly where you are (city or region), and your device and browser type. We have switched off Google signals and ad personalisation, we do not use this data for advertising, and we do not link it to your name or any account. It is not used inside the mobile app, and it is skipped if your browser sends a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal, and on the business owner and admin pages. You can also stop it by blocking cookies or by installing Google's opt-out add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. Google processes this information on our behalf, and may do so on servers outside South Africa.

g) Meta Pixel (website only). To measure how well our own Facebook and Instagram adverts work, and to show those adverts to people who are more likely to be interested, our website uses the Meta Pixel, a service from Meta Platforms. When you visit, your browser sends Meta the pages you view, your IP address and your browser details, and Meta sets cookies (named like _fbp) that it can match to a Facebook or Instagram account if you are logged in to one. When a business owner starts or completes a sign-up or payment, we also tell Meta that this step happened and the amount, but never your name, email address, phone number or payment details. We have switched off Meta's automatic form and button tracking. The Pixel is not used inside the mobile app, and it is skipped if your browser sends a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal, and on the admin pages. You can control the adverts Meta shows you at facebook.com/adpreferences, or stop it by blocking cookies. Meta processes this information under its own policies and may do so on servers outside South Africa.

h) What we don't do. Apart from Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel on the website, we don't use advertising trackers, or any other third-party tracking technology. Other than the cookies of Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel, we don't set cookies for ordinary browsing — cookies are only set if you log in to a business owner account or the site's admin area. We don't sell, rent, or trade any personal information to anyone.

3. How we use your information

We use the information above to:

• review, verify and publish business and event listings;
• contact you about a submission, a review, or a query you've sent us;
• moderate reviews and resolve disputes about them;
• operate business owner logins;
• send confirmation or notification emails related to the above (sent either directly or through an email delivery service on our behalf — that service only ever sees what's needed to deliver the email, and doesn't use it for anything else);
• keep basic, aggregate statistics on how the site is used, so we can improve it (including through ${trackerNames} on the website, section 2).

We do not use your information for marketing you haven't asked for, and we do not build advertising profiles of our own. Where the Meta Pixel is switched on, Meta's own advertising tools use the visit data as described in section 2.

4. How long we keep it

We keep listing and event submissions, and review records, for as long as the related listing or review is active on the directory, plus a reasonable period afterwards in case of a dispute. Aggregate site-visit counts are kept for a rolling period and then discarded. If you'd like your information deleted sooner, contact us and we'll action it, subject to any records we're required to keep by law.

5. Who we share it with

We don't sell or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes. The only outside parties who may see it are:

• our hosting provider, which stores the site's data on our behalf;
• an email delivery service, if configured, used only to send the notification emails described above;
• Google, for website analytics, as described in section 2(f);
• Meta Platforms, for the measurement of our own adverts, as described in section 2.

Each is only ever given what it needs to provide that service to us.

6. Links to other websites

The directory links out to individual businesses' own websites, social media pages, and booking platforms. Once you leave our site, their own privacy practices apply — we're not responsible for how they handle your information, and we'd encourage you to check their policies too.

7. Your rights

Under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the right to:

• ask what personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that's wrong or out of date;
• ask us to delete information we hold about you;
• object to how we're using your information;
• lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe we've handled your information improperly.

To exercise any of these, email info@everythingHERMANUS.co.za.

8. Children's privacy

Everything Hermanus is a general local business directory and isn't directed at children. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. The mobile app

Where this policy refers to "the website," the same practices apply to the Everything Hermanus mobile app, which displays the same directory content. The only thing the app collects that the website doesn't is the push notification device token described in section 2(e), and only if you turn notifications on. The app does not use Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel. The app does not request access to your contacts, camera, location, or other device permissions beyond what's needed for a feature you've chosen to use (for example, uploading a photo when submitting a listing).

10. Changes to this policy

If we make significant changes to how we collect or use information, we'll update this page and change the "Last updated" date above.