Privacy Policy
How Market Hive SA collects, uses and protects your personal information under POPIA.
Last updated: 12 August 2026
This Privacy Policy is provided in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (ECTA) and the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA) of the Republic of South Africa.
1. Who we are (Responsible Party)
Market Hive SA ("Market Hive SA", "we", "us" or "our") operates this platform connecting South African local markets, vendors and suppliers. We are the "responsible party" for your personal information as defined in POPIA.
Registered entity: Market Hive SA (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2026/637506/07, a private company registered in the Republic of South Africa (the "Company").
2. The information we collect
We collect only the personal information needed to provide and improve the platform. Depending on how you use the site, this may include:
- Account details: your name, email address, phone number, WhatsApp number and a securely hashed password.
- Listing details you choose to publish: business name, description, physical or service address, contact details, website, social media links and images.
- Location data you provide for market listings (address and map coordinates).
- Reviews and ratings you submit about markets, vendors or suppliers.
- Event RSVPs: your email address and number of guests when you RSVP to an event.
- Enquiries and leads: the name, email, phone number and message you send when you contact a vendor or supplier through the platform.
- Contact and support messages: the name, email, phone number, subject and message you send us.
- Newsletter preferences: your email address and chosen city and category interests, where you opt in.
- Billing records: your subscription plan, billing cycle, invoices and the secure token issued by our payment processor. We do not store your card or bank account details (see section 5).
- Technical and usage data: anonymised advertising and page-view statistics. We do not build a personally identifying profile from this data; identifiers such as IP address and device are stored only as a salted, irreversible hash.
3. How and why we use your information
We process your personal information lawfully under POPIA to:
- create and operate your account and your listings;
- process subscriptions and payments and issue invoices;
- pass enquiries and event RSVPs to the relevant vendor, supplier or market organiser;
- moderate reviews and listings to keep the platform safe and lawful;
- send you newsletters and marketing only where you have opted in (you may withdraw consent at any time);
- respond to your support enquiries; and
- maintain the security of, and improve, the platform.
We do not sell your personal information.
4. Analytics and tracking technologies
Neither of the following tools is running on the platform at present. We tell you about them here so that nothing changes without notice on the day we switch them on, to understand how the platform is used and to measure marketing performance:
- Google Analytics (provided by Google LLC).
- Meta (Facebook) Pixel (provided by Meta Platforms, Inc.).
These tools set cookies and similar identifiers and may collect information such as your IP address, device and browser details, and the pages and actions you take on the platform. This information may be shared with, and processed by, Google and Meta. Where these tools are active, only essential cookies are used until you consent to non-essential (analytics and marketing) cookies via our cookie banner.
You can opt out of Google Analytics using Google's browser add-on, and manage Meta's advertising settings in your Meta account. You can also adjust your choice at any time through the cookie banner.
5. Payments
Paid subscriptions are processed by PayFast, a South African payment service provider, as a separate responsible party for the payment data it handles. Your card and banking details are entered on, and held by, PayFast. We receive only a secure subscription token and the transaction records needed to manage your billing. Please review PayFast's own privacy terms for how it handles your payment information.
6. Sharing and third parties
We share personal information only where necessary to operate the platform, namely with: vendors, suppliers and market organisers (when you send them an enquiry or RSVP); our payment processor (PayFast); analytics and advertising-measurement providers (Google and Meta, if and when the tools in section 4 are switched on); and our hosting, email and storage providers. We may also disclose information where required by law or to protect our rights.
7. Cross-border transfers
Some of our service providers (including Google and Meta) are located outside South Africa. Where your personal information is transferred across borders, we take reasonable steps to ensure it is protected by a comparable level of protection as required by section 72 of POPIA.
8. How long we keep your information
We keep your personal information only for as long as your account or listing is active, or as long as needed for the purposes set out above and to meet our legal and tax obligations. When information is no longer required, we delete or de-identify it.
9. How we protect your information
We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal information against loss, unauthorised access or disclosure, including hashed passwords, access controls and secure hosting. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Your POPIA rights
Subject to POPIA, you have the right to:
- access a copy of the personal information we hold about you (you can download it at any time from your dashboard);
- correct or update your information;
- request deletion of your account and associated data;
- object to, or withdraw consent for, processing such as marketing; and
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.
Information Regulator (South Africa): inforegulator.org.za, email [email protected].
11. Cookies
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and to remember your preferences. With your consent, we will also use analytics and marketing cookies (see section 4). You can manage your choice via the cookie banner shown on your first visit, or by clearing cookies in your browser.
12. Children
The platform is intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without the consent of a competent person.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "last updated" date above reflects the latest version. Material changes will be brought to your attention where required by law.
14. Contact our Information Officer
For privacy requests, questions or complaints, contact our Information Officer at [email protected].
Questions about this policy? Email [email protected].