PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy explains how Home Food and Travel collect, control, process, and use information about you (which we call “personal data”).

Home Food and Travel collects, processes, and uses personal information about you as necessary to facilitate our correspondence with you as well as the sale of vouchers through our affiliate, Bargain Buys.

When we talk about the “Sites”, we mean our platforms, which include our websites, Home Food and Travel, Business Link, Kids Connection and our Affiliate, Bargain Buys, as well as our communications that we send and services that we provide, social networking sites, and any other websites we offer that link to or reference this Privacy Policy.

Change

We routinely update this Privacy Policy to clarify our practices and to reflect new or different privacy practices, such as when we add new services, functionality, or features to the Site. If we make any material changes we will notify you, either by email (sent to the email address specified in your account), by means of notice on the Site or by using other methods. You can determine when this version of the Privacy Policy was adopted by us by referring to the “Effective Date” above.

You understand that your continued use of the Site after we send a notice about our changes to the Privacy Policyt means that the collection, control, processing, and use of your personal data is subject to the updated Privacy Policy.  If you object to any changes, you may modify your account settings or close your account as described below.

  1. Personal Data We Collect

We will collect the following personal data when you interact with the competitions on this Site:

  • Basic personal details (e.g. your first name and surname);
  • Contact details (e.g. your physical location, telephone number, and email address). We may need some of this information, such as your email address to send you vouchers, and won’t be able to carry out these services if you don’t provide it;

Some information we collect is necessary for us to provide our services or meet our legal obligations. We will make this clear when we collect that information from you.

We will also automatically collect personal data when you interact with the Site through your computer, mobile device, or other device. This personal data includes the following:

  • Analytics data (e.g. information about app downloads, app and web page histories), which may include data collected from cookies and other types of device identifiers;
  • Profile inputs (e.g. page and deal views on the site, purchase details, click information and information about the website you clicked to our Site from). This may include data about your location. With respect to geolocation information collected from your mobile device, we will only collect this where you have provided consent for us to do so; and
  • Device details (e.g. IMEI, MAC address, IP address, bluetooth data and advertising identifiers).

We also receive personal data and other online and offline information from third parties with whom we conduct business, such as merchants, co-marketers, distributors, resellers, and other companies or organizations with whom we enter into agreements to support our business and operations, including advertising partners and third party data providers that provide us with supplemental or additional information about our customers (collectively “Business Partners”).

The personal data we receive from Business Partners includes basic personal details, contact details, device details, profile inputs, as well as:

  • Demographic information, (e.g. details about age brackets and educational background);
  • Location data (e.g. information about postal or ZIP code); and
  • Purchase information from third party sites (e.g. information about purchases on other sites).

We will only receive data from our Business Partners where they are legally permitted to share such data, and we will only process that data for the purposes described below. We use the data provided to better understand your preferences, deals that are relevant to you, and how our merchants are performing. By combining the data we collect directly from you with that received from third parties, we are able to provide you with a better, and more personalized, Home Food and Travel and Bargain Buys experience.

We will collect the personal data described above at various stages in your relationship with us when you:

  • Register, subscribe, authorise the transfer of, or create an account with us.
  • Open or respond to emails or messages from us;
  • Provide information to enroll or participate in programs provided on behalf of, or together with Sellers and Business Partners, with your consent or as necessary to provide services you have requested;
  • Visit any page online that displays our ads or content and/or enter competitions on our site.
  • Connect, log-in, or link to the Site using social networking tools; and

We also create profiles about you based on the personal data you provide to us or that is collected about you, as described above and including personal data that we receive from Business Partners. We do this to market offers to you we think you would be interested in buying. The contents of that profile include:

  • Account details. For example, we create a permanent URL to your account page which may include your name. We also generate tokens to remember your subscription and purchase histories, and any loyalty numbers you may have obtained;
  • Marketing segment information. For example, if you show interest in products or services related to wellness and beauty, we may infer that you are interested in these types of products.
  • Audience information. We create audiences based on parameters such as gender, age, and location (e.g. males aged 25-35 in your city), and if your personal data matches those audiences, you’ll be assigned to it. This is to help you receive relevant offers; and
  • Activity information.Based on your interactions with communications, we’ll generate personal data about how many communications you like to receive, so that we don’t send you more than are useful to you.
  1. Your Choices

You can manage the types of personal data you provide to us and can limit how we communicate with you. At the same time, we think that the more you tell us about yourself and what you like, the more relevant and valuable your experience with our Site and services will be.

  •  You can also manage your subscriptions by following subscription management instructions contained in any commercial emails that we send you. You may choose to subscribe to some types of messages, and may choose not to subscribe to, or to unsubscribe from, others. You may update your subscription preferences at any time. Even if you decide not to subscribe to, or to unsubscribe, from promotional email messages, we may still need to contact you with important transactional information related to your account and your purchases from Sellers. For example, even if you have unsubscribed from our promotional email messages or push notifications, we will still send you confirmations when you make purchases on the Site;
  • You can manage how your browser handles cookies. Privacy and security features and settings of the various browsers differ, so please refer to the instructions for your browser to learn how to best use cookie-related and other privacy and security settings that may be available. You may also manage how your mobile device and mobile browser share information on and about your devices with us, as well as how your mobile browser handles cookies by adjusting the privacy and security settings on your mobile device. Please refer to instructions provided by your mobile service provider and the manufacturer of your device to learn how to adjust your settings.
  • Objecting to uses of data. In certain circumstances, you have the right to object to the use of your personal data. In particular, you can object to our use of personal data where we use such data to meet our own interests in running our business (as described under ‘How We Use Information’ below and including use of your data for marketing purposes and management of our business needs). If you object to our use of your data, we will assess the objection and cease processing that data upon confirmation of a valid request. For more information, see ‘Your Rights’ below;
  • Social networking.  You may also manage sharing certain personal data with us when you connect with us through social networking platforms or applications. Please refer to Section 8 below and also the privacy policy and settings of the social networking website or application to determine how you may adjust our permissions and manage the interactivity between us and your social networking account or your mobile device.
  1. Your Rights

You can access, update, rectify, and delete your personal data which makes up some of your profile by contacting us via email. Keeping your personal data current helps ensure that we can respect your preferences and offer you the goods and services that are most relevant to you.

In accordance with applicable law, you may:

(i)              request access to any personal data we hold about you;

(ii)            request that it be updated, rectified, deleted or blocked;

(iii)           request that we delete personal data we hold about you;

(iv)           request that we restrict our processing of your personal data;

(v)            request that we provide you or a third party with a copy of certain personal data about you (that is referred to as the right of  “data portability”);

 (vi)          revoke your consent to the processing of your personal data, to the extent consent was required and provided by you.

  1. How We Use Information

We control and process the personal data you provide to us, which we collect from other sources, and which we generate, to:

  • Create your account when you sign up and log you in, which is necessary for us to provide our services to you.
  • Operate, maintain, and improve the Sites by analyzing how you and our other customers use and interact with it. This is to meet our legitimate business interests in providing the Sites and ensuring that it provides the best experience for our customers;
  • Validate, facilitate, and prevent fraudulent purchases. This may include processing orders for vouchers and other goods and services, payment verification, and verifying that vouchers redeemed by customers are valid;
  • Carry out marketing, which may involve:

o   Establishing and analyzing individual and group profiles and customer behavior, in order to determine your or others interest in certain types of offers, products, and services. We do this by analyzing your interactions with the Site and your other personal data (including personal data received from Business Partners) to determine what your interests are, and what sorts of products and services people with similar interests also buy, which helps us understand what products and services you may be interested in viewing. This is to meet our legitimate interests in understanding the types of products and services our customers are interested in, and to provide the most relevant products to you and our other customers;

o   Showing relevant offers and advertising. We will use the profiles described above to create advertising for our products that will be displayed on relevant third-party sites. We do this to meet our legitimate interests in showing you products which may be relevant to you;

o   Sending you relevant direct marketing messages and other communications via email or push notifications on mobile devices, including, with your consent, using your location data to notify you of tailored location-based deals. We will either send these messages on the basis that you have consented to receiving them or, where permitted by applicable law, to meet our legitimate interests in showing you which of our products and services are relevant to you; and

o  Analyzing advertising effectiveness, which may involve analyzing the advertising campaigns our customers choose to interact with most often. This is to meet our legitimate interests in understanding which types of advertising campaigns are more or less effective than others.

  • Answering your questions and respond to your requests, for example in the context of customer service;

 

  • Send you reminders, technical notices, updates, security alerts, support and administrative messages, service bulletins, and requested information, including on behalf of Business Partners, Affiliates or other Sellers. This is to meet our legitimate interests in managing our relationship with you effectively;

 

  • Administer rewards, surveys, sweepstakes, contests, or other promotional activities or events, in order to meet our contractual commitments to you set out in the terms and conditions of those promotional events;

 

  • Manage our everyday business needs, such as administration of the Sites, forum management, fulfillment, analytics, fraud prevention, and enforcement of our corporate reporting obligations and to comply with the law; and

 

  • Comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. We do this where necessary to comply with legal obligations to which we are subject, or to meet our legitimate interests in enforcing our legal rights and resolving disputes or verifying payments and preventing fraud.
  1. When and Why We Disclose Personal Data

We share your personal data as follows:

  • with your consent;
  • with our Affiliates and other Home Food and Travel entities
  • with unaffiliated third-party Sellers and Business Partners, so they can sell, deliver, and provide the products or services purchased to you (e.g. to deliver products to you, or to provide a Getaways provider with your details so they can confirm reservations). We share personal data with unaffiliated third-party Sellers and Business Partners in order to meet our contractual obligations to you, and they are not permitted to use your personal data in any way other than for selling, delivering, and/or providing the products or services purchased by you;
  • with third parties that provide tools and services to help us better understand your deal preferences, so that we can show you advertisements for Bargain Buys vouchers, goods, or services on third party websites which are more suited to your interests and tastes. Those third parties may also use your personal data to match you with their existing customer base;
  • as necessary to perform contractual obligations towards you with Sellers or Business Partners to the extent you have purchased or redeemed a Bargain Buys voucher, goods, or services offered by them or participated in an offer, rewards, contest or other activity or program sponsored or offered through us or the Sellers on behalf of a Business Partner;
  • to a subsequent owner, co-owner, or operator of one or more of the Sites or any portion or operation related to part of one or more of the Sites;
  • in connection with a corporate merger, consolidation, or restructuring, the sale of substantially all of our stock and/or assets, or other corporate change, including, without limitation, during the course of any due diligence process;
  • to comply with legal orders and government requests, or as needed to support auditing, compliance, and corporate governance functions, where this is necessary to comply with these legal obligations;
  • to combat fraud or criminal activity, and to protect our rights or those of our Affiliates, Sellers, or Business Partners, and users, or as part of legal proceedings affecting us and/or our Affiliates, as it is in our legitimate interests to prevent fraud and protect these rights; or
  • in response to a subpoena, or other legal process compelling our assistance, including to law enforcement agencies, regulators, and courts, to the extent this is necessary to comply with such legal obligations.

Where possible, we contractually restrict how our Sellers and Business Partners, including merchants, use your personal data and aim to ensure they do not use it for any purposes which are incompatible with those set out in this Privacy Policy.

In a number of the cases set out above, we will transfer your personal data to a country located outside South Africa, which may not be considered as providing the same level of protection for personal data under local law. In such cases, we put in place appropriate safeguards to ensure that there is adequate protection for your personal data.

  1. Security of Personal Data

We have implemented an information security program that contains administrative, technical and physical controls that are designed to safeguard your personal data, including industry-standard encryption technology. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

 

  1. Retention of Personal Data

We will retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you close your account, we will retain your personal data for a period where it is necessary to continue operating our business effectively, to maintain a record of your transactions for financial reporting purposes or fraud prevention purposes until these purposes no longer exist, and to retain as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

 

  1. Social Networks

Social Community Areas

You may access the Sites through, or the Sites may contain connections to, areas where you may be able to publicly post information, communicate with others such as discussion boards or blogs, review products and merchants, and submit media content. All of the information you post may be accessible to anyone with Internet access, and any information you include in your posting may be read, collected, and used by others. For example, if you post your email address along with a public restaurant review, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties. You should avoid publicly posting sensitive information about you or others.

Connecting through Social Networks

We offer social networking users the opportunity to interact with friends and to share on social networks. If you are logged into both the Site and a social network, when you use the Site’s social networking connection functions, you will connect your social network account with your Bargain Buys account (this happens automatically,if the email addresses match). If the email addresses do not match, we ask you if you want to link them and you must validate that you control the accounts by logging in to your social network account. If you are already logged into the Site but not into your social network site, when you use the Site’s social network connection functions, you will be prompted to enter your social network website credentials or to sign up for the social network.

When you use the Site’s social network connection function, you will have the opportunity to consent to our accessing all of the elements of your social network profile information that you have made available to be shared (as per the settings chosen by you in your social network profile) and to use it in accordance with the social network’s terms of use and this Privacy Policy.

  1. Privacy Practices of Third Parties

This Privacy Policy in relation to our Sitse addresses the collection, processing and use (including disclosure) of personal data only by us through your interactions with our Site. Other websites that may be accessible through links from the Site may have their own privacy policies and personal data collection, processing, use, and disclosure practices. Our Business Partners may also have their own privacy policies. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with the privacy policiess provided by these other parties prior to providing them with information or taking advantage of a sponsored offer or promotion.

 

  1. Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at info@bybargainbuys.co.za. If you want to make use of any of the above rights, or other rights that you may have in relation to your personal data, please contact us. 

Last Updated: 29 June 2021