Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated 28 September 2026. This explains what personal information Uni Markets collects, why we need it, who else sees it, and what you can ask us to do about it. It follows the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

1. Who is responsible for your information

The responsible party is Webbex Solutions (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2026/690092/07, which operates Uni Markets.

Our Information Officer is the director of Webbex Solutions (Pty) Ltd. Write to kekanakarabouf@gmail.com or phone 060 892 1150 about anything in this policy.

2. What we collect

If you create an account: your name, email address, and a password. The password is stored by our authentication provider as a one-way hash — we never see it. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address and profile picture from Google instead.

If you open a store: your store name, description, category, campus, pickup area, WhatsApp number, and the photographs you upload. This is shown publicly, because that is the point of a listing.

If you become a tutor: your name, what you study, subjects, rate, where you meet, a short biography and a photograph, all of which are public. Your WhatsApp number and email are not public — they are stored separately and are only given to a student once they have paid for a session with you.

If you order or book: your name, your WhatsApp number, optionally your email, and what you ordered or booked, including any note you write. The seller or tutor sees this, because they cannot serve you otherwise.

If you pay: the payment is handled by PayFast. We never receive your card number. We keep the payment reference, the amount, the fee and PayFast's confirmation, so we can prove what was paid and pay tutors correctly.

Automatically: our host and database keep technical logs, including your IP address, browser and the pages requested, for security and to fix faults. We also count how many people opened a seller's share link — a count only, with no profile attached to it.

3. Why we use it, and on what basis

To run your account and the site — necessary to perform our agreement with you.
To connect buyers with sellers, and students with tutors — necessary to provide the service you asked for.
To take payment and pay tutors — necessary for the transaction, and to meet our record- keeping obligations.
To keep the site safe — to spot fraud, abuse and broken rules. This is our legitimate interest and yours.
To send you notices about your own activity — an order, a booking, an approval.
Consent — for anything else, such as marketing. You can withdraw consent at any time.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising profiles.

4. Who else sees it

The other side of your transaction. A seller sees your name and WhatsApp number when you order. A tutor sees the same when you book. You get a tutor's WhatsApp number once you have paid.
Other students in a tutor's WhatsApp group. Tutors often teach through a class WhatsApp group. If your tutor adds you to one, the other members can see your number. Tell your tutor if you would rather not be added, or leave the group at any time.
Supabase — our database, sign-in and file storage.
Vercel — our website hosting.
PayFast — payments. They are the responsible party for the card details you give them.
Google — only if you choose to sign in with Google.
Anyone we must tell by law, such as a court order or a lawful request from the authorities.

5. Information sent outside South Africa

Our hosting and database providers run servers outside South Africa, so your information may be stored or processed abroad. POPIA allows this where the receiving country or the contract with the provider gives protection similar to POPIA. We use established providers whose terms commit them to that standard, and we only give them what they need to run the service.

6. How we protect it

Traffic to the site is encrypted (HTTPS).
Passwords are hashed by our authentication provider; nobody at Uni Markets can read them.
The database enforces row-level rules, so one user's orders, bookings and messages are not readable by another.
Tutors' contact numbers are kept in a separate, restricted table and released only after payment.
Administrative access is limited to those who need it.

No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal information, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

7. How long we keep it

Account, store and tutor profiles — while your account is open, and up to 12 months after you close it, in case of a dispute.
Orders, bookings and payment records — at least five years, because tax and company law require us to keep records of transactions.
Technical logs — a short period, typically no more than 12 months.

8. Your rights

Under POPIA you may ask us to:

tell you what personal information we hold about you, and give you a copy;
correct anything that is wrong;
delete information we no longer have a reason to keep;
stop using it for a particular purpose, or withdraw consent you gave;
object to processing based on our legitimate interest.

Email kekanakarabouf@gmail.com and we will respond within a reasonable time, normally 30 days. We may need to confirm who you are first. Note that we cannot delete records we are legally required to keep, such as payment records.

9. Complaints

Tell us first and we will try to put it right. You may also complain to the regulator:

The Information Regulator (South Africa)
Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
Telephone 010 023 5200, toll free 0800 017 160
POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za

10. Children

Uni Markets is meant for university students aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information about children under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe we hold a child's information without that consent, email us and we will remove it.

11. Cookies and what your browser stores

We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Your browser stores your sign-in session and small preferences, such as your saved stores and which campus you last viewed, so the site remembers them. Clearing your browser data removes them and signs you out.

12. Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it, and we will say so on the site when the change is significant.