Privacy Policy

Driving Schools Directory ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights in relation to it.

1. Information We Collect

Account information: When you register, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored hashed).

Listing information: Business owners provide their school name, address, contact details, photos and other business information.

Reviews and bookings: We store reviews and booking requests you submit through the platform.

Usage data: We collect anonymised usage analytics including pages visited, search queries and general geographic region (province-level). We do not use tracking cookies beyond what is necessary for the Service to function.

Payment information: Payments are processed by PayFast. We do not store your card details — PayFast handles all payment data under their own security standards.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account.
• To display your school listing to prospective students.
• To process subscription payments.
• To send you transactional emails (booking notifications, account updates).
• To improve the Service through anonymised analytics.
• To comply with our legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising profiling.

3. Sharing of Information

We may share your information with:

• Service providers: Third-party vendors that help us operate the Service (hosting, email delivery, payment processing), who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Legal authorities: Where required by law or to protect the rights, property or safety of Driving Schools Directory, its users or the public.

4. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Service. You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time by contacting us.

5. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Your Rights (POPIA)

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of your information (subject to legal obligations).
• Object to processing of your information.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us.

7. Cookies

We use only essential cookies required for the Service to function (session management and CSRF protection). We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users by email of material changes. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

For privacy-related queries, please contact us.