1. Who is responsible for your data
The Build Hub (Pty) Ltd, registration 2023/812644/07, is the responsible party (data controller) for personal information collected through thebuildhub.co.za. Our Information Officer is Tamuka James, reachable at privacy@thebuildhub.co.za.
2. What we collect
When you use the site, we may collect:
- Identifiers — name, email, phone
- Project details — scope, province, suburb, budget, timeline (only when you submit a hire request)
- Account data — login email, hashed password
- Usage data — pages viewed, articles read, tools used, device and browser
- Communications — emails, messages and reviews you submit
We do not collect special personal information (race, religion, biometrics) or information about children under 18.
3. Why we collect it
- To match you with verified contractors when you submit a hire request
- To send newsletters and updates you've subscribed to
- To respond to your questions and reviews
- To improve our editorial, tools and matching
- To comply with legal obligations
4. Who we share with
We share personal information only with:
- Matched contractors — when you submit a hire request, we send your details to three verified contractors. Each is bound by a contractor agreement that includes a POPIA processing schedule.
- Service providers — hosting (Vercel), email (Postmark), analytics (Plausible). All process personal information on our behalf under a written contract.
- Authorities — where required by law.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it for advertising purposes.
5. Cross-border transfers
Some of our service providers are based outside South Africa. Where personal information leaves the country, we ensure the receiving country provides adequate protection under section 72 of POPIA, or we obtain your consent.
6. How long we keep it
- Hire request data — 24 months from submission, then deleted unless an account exists
- Account data — for the life of your account, plus 12 months after closure
- Reviews — indefinitely (unless you ask us to remove yours)
- Usage logs — 13 months
7. Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- Confirm what we hold about you
- Request a copy of your personal information
- Ask us to correct or delete inaccurate information
- Object to processing for direct marketing
- Withdraw consent (where consent is our lawful basis)
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator
Exercise any of these rights by emailing privacy@thebuildhub.co.za. We respond within 30 days.
8. Security
We protect personal information with industry-standard measures, including TLS in transit, encryption at rest, hashed passwords (Argon2id), least-privilege access controls and regular penetration testing.
If a security compromise affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator without undue delay.
9. Cookies
We use essential cookies for session management. We use Plausible Analytics, which is cookie-free and privacy-preserving — no personal identifiers are collected.
10. The Information Regulator
If you're not satisfied with how we've handled your information, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforegulator.org.za.
11. Updates
We may update this notice from time to time. The effective date at the top reflects the current version. Material changes will be communicated by email and posted on the site.