Privacy Policy for Rentings

Effective Date: 18 June 2025

When you join the Rentings community, you entrust us with your personal information. We take this responsibility seriously. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and your rights under South African law. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@rentings.co.za.

Who Are We?

We are Rentings Technologies (Pty) Ltd, trading as Rentings ("Rentings", "we", "us", or "our"). We are a company registered in South Africa under the Companies Act 71 of 2008, with our registered office at 15c Benacre Lane, Modderfontein, Johannesburg, 1609, South Africa.

What Information Do We Collect?

We collect personal information to provide, improve, and secure the Rentings Service (available at https://rentings.co.za). The types of information we collect include:

Information You Provide Directly

To ensure Rentings is a safe platform for renting and lending, we require certain information to verify your account. This may include:

Your full name, identity number, email address, phone number, residential address, and, where applicable, a selfie photograph or details about your employment or studies.
Information from communications you make through the platform, such as messages with other users.
Details about items you list for rent or rent, including descriptions and photos.
Payment information, such as bank account or card details, processed securely by our payment service providers.

Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Rentings Service, we may collect:

Device Information: Your IP address, browser type, operating system, and device settings.
Usage Information: How you interact with the Rentings Service, including pages visited, searches, and clicks.
Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use session, persistent, and third-party cookies to enhance your experience, track usage, and improve the platform. Cookies do not store sensitive financial details. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but this may affect your user experience. For more details, see our Cookie Policy at https://rentings.co.za/cookie-policy.

Information from Third Parties

Social Media Accounts: If you sign up or link your account with social media platforms, we may collect information like your name or profile details, subject to your privacy settings.
Verification Services: We may obtain information from identity verification or fraud prevention agencies to ensure platform safety.
Payment Providers: Our payment processors may provide transaction-related information to verify payments.

How Do We Use Your Information?

We use your personal information in compliance with POPIA to:

Provide the Rentings Service: Enable you to list, rent, or communicate about items, process payments, access customer support, and receive relevant notifications.
Ensure Safety and Compliance: Verify user identities, prevent fraud, money laundering, or other illegal activities, and enforce our Terms and Conditions (https://rentings.co.za/terms).
Improve the Platform: Analyse usage patterns to enhance features, functionality, and user experience.
Communicate with You: Send transactional messages (e.g., booking confirmations) or, with your consent, marketing communications about new features or services via email or SMS.
Meet Legal Obligations: Comply with South African laws, including tax, consumer protection, and data protection regulations.

We process your information based on:

Your consent (e.g., for marketing communications).
The performance of a contract (e.g., to facilitate rentals).
Our legal obligations (e.g., fraud prevention).
Our legitimate interests (e.g., improving the platform or ensuring safety), provided these do not override your rights.

Who Do We Share Your Information With?

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with:

Service Providers: Third parties who support the Rentings Service, such as:

Payment processors (e.g., Stripe) to handle transactions securely.
Customer support platforms (e.g., Intercom) for messaging.
Identity verification, fraud prevention, or cybersecurity providers.

Other Users: Your phone number may be shared with users you enter a rental agreement with to facilitate communication and rental logistics.

Legal Authorities: Where required by law, to comply with regulatory obligations, enforce our Terms, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Rentings, our users, or others.

Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the relevant entity, subject to POPIA compliance.

We ensure that any third parties receiving your information adhere to strict data protection standards.

Where Do We Store Your Information?

Your personal information is stored securely using industry-standard encryption (e.g., SSL) to protect data during transmission. Verification information is stored in encrypted form, accessible only to authorised Rentings employees for specific purposes, such as fraud prevention.

Data is primarily stored in South Africa. If transferred outside South Africa, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to maintain an adequate level of data protection, as required by POPIA.

Your Rights Under POPIA

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, you have the right to:

Access: View and update your personal information through your Rentings account. You may also request a copy of other personal information we hold, subject to verification and reasonable limitations (e.g., requests that are excessive or repetitive).

Correct: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information that you cannot update via your account.

Delete: Request deletion of your personal information. Note that we may retain certain information:

To comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax records).
For legitimate business interests (e.g., fraud prevention, such as retaining data from suspended accounts to prevent re-registration).
Publicly visible information (e.g., reviews) may remain after account deletion.

Object: Object to the processing of your information for direct marketing or, in certain cases, for our legitimate interests (e.g., analytics).

Withdraw Consent: Revoke consent for specific processing activities (e.g., marketing) by contacting us or adjusting your account settings.

Restrict Processing: Request restriction of certain processing activities in specific circumstances.

To exercise these rights, contact us at info@rentings.co.za. We will respond within a reasonable time, as required by POPIA.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies to improve your experience, track platform usage, and deliver personalised content. You can manage cookie preferences in your browser settings, but disabling cookies may limit functionality. For details, contact us at info@rentings.co.za.

Creditworthiness

For certain long-term rental plans with recurring payments (excluding standard marketplace rentals), we may assess your creditworthiness by sharing your personal information with credit reference agencies (CRAs), such as Experian. This may include your full name, address, date of birth, and payment history. CRAs provide us with financial and public information to evaluate your credit profile. For more details on how CRAs process data, visit their respective websites (e.g., https://www.experian.co.za).

How Long Do We Keep Your Information?

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, comply with legal obligations, or resolve disputes. For example:

Account information is kept while your account is active and for a reasonable period after closure to comply with tax or fraud prevention requirements.
Transaction records are retained for at least 5 years, as required by South African tax laws.
Verification data may be kept to prevent fraud, even after account deletion.

When no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise your information.

How to Ask Questions or Make a Complaint

If you have questions or a complaint about how we handle your personal information, please contact us at info@rentings.co.za. We will do our best to address your concerns promptly.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

Website: https://inforegulator.org.za
Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or platform features. The latest version will be posted at https://rentings.co.za/privacy-policy. For significant changes, we will notify you via email or through the Rentings Service. Your continued use of the Rentings Service after changes take effect indicates your acceptance of the updated policy.