Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7 September 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can stop this at any time by turning off notifications for the app in your device settings; we remove tokens that are no longer valid.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) What we don't do. We don't use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, advertising trackers, or any other third-party tracking technology. 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.

We do not use your information for marketing you haven't asked for, and we do not build advertising profiles.

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.

Both are only ever given what they need 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 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.