Privacy Policy

Little Finds is operated as a South African-based platform designed to help parents and families discover child-friendly places, activities, events and experiences.

For any privacy-related matters, you may contact us at hello@littlefinds.co.za.

We may collect the following types of personal information:

• Account information — your name, email address and password if you create an account or sign in with Google.
• Submitted content — if you submit a venue, suggest a listing update, submit an event, or leave a review, we collect the details you provide, which may include your name, email address and the content of your submission.
• Location data — if you use the “Near Me” feature, your approximate location is used in your browser session to show nearby places. If you grant location permission, we may store your last known location in your browser's local storage to improve your next visit. We do not continuously track your location.
• Usage data — information about how you use the platform, including pages visited, features used, search queries, links clicked and general device and browser information. This may be collected through analytics tools.
• Cookies and similar technologies — we use cookies and local storage to improve your experience, remember your preferences and analyse how the platform is used.
• Communications — if you contact us by email, we collect the information you include in that communication.

We use your personal information to:

• Provide and improve the Little Finds platform and its features
• Personalise your experience, including showing relevant nearby content
• Process and review venue submissions, listing updates and event submissions
• Respond to your enquiries and requests
• Send you updates or communications where you have consented or where we are otherwise permitted to do so
• Analyse platform usage to understand what's working, fix issues and develop new features
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations

Under POPIA, we process your personal information only where we have a lawful basis to do so, including:

• Where you have given your consent (for example, granting location access or creating an account)
• Where processing is necessary to perform or fulfil a service you have requested
• Where processing is required to comply with a legal obligation
• Where processing is in our legitimate interests (for example, improving the platform and preventing misuse), provided those interests do not override your rights

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it in the following circumstances:

• Service providers — we may share information with trusted third-party providers who help us operate the platform, such as cloud hosting, analytics and authentication services. These providers are required to process data in a manner consistent with this policy.
• Legal requirements — we may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order or lawful request from a public authority.
• Business transfers — if Little Finds is acquired, merged or substantially reorganised, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• Aggregated data — we may share anonymised, aggregated data that does not identify individuals.

Little Finds uses third-party services to operate the platform. These may include:

• Google Firebase — for authentication and data storage
• Google Analytics — for anonymised usage analytics
• Google Maps — to display maps and location data
• Vercel — for web hosting and deployment

Each of these services has its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review them if you want to understand how they process data.

We use cookies and browser local storage to:

• Remember your location preference
• Store your saved favourites on your device
• Keep you signed in if you have an account
• Collect anonymised analytics data

You can clear cookies and local storage through your browser settings at any time. Doing so may affect certain features of the platform.

Location access is entirely optional. If you choose to use “Near Me” functionality:

• Your device's location is used to show and sort nearby places
• Your approximate location may be stored in your browser's local storage to improve future visits
• We do not continuously monitor or track your location
• Your precise location is not shared with third parties for advertising

You can revoke location permission in your device or browser settings at any time.

Little Finds is a platform designed for use by parents, guardians and adults. It is not directed at children under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact us at hello@littlefinds.co.za and we will take prompt steps to address it.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. These include secure hosting, encrypted data transmission and access controls.

No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately.

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law.

• Account information is retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period thereafter
• Venue submissions and associated contact details are retained as long as they are needed for moderation and platform operation
• Analytics data is typically retained in aggregated or anonymised form

When personal information is no longer required, we will delete or anonymise it.

Some of the third-party services we use (including Google and Vercel) may process your data outside of South Africa. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure that your information receives adequate protection consistent with POPIA's requirements.

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

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction — request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Deletion — request that we delete your personal information (subject to certain legal exceptions)
• Objection — object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
• Withdrawal of consent — where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time
• Complaints — lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been infringed

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@littlefinds.co.za. We will respond within a reasonable time and no later than required by applicable law.

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information or a complaint, you have the right to lodge a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator:

• Website: inforegulator.org.za
• Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as our platform grows or as legal requirements change. The latest version will always be available on the Little Finds website with the date it was last updated. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of Little Finds after a revised policy is published constitutes acceptance of the updated terms, subject to applicable law.

If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us at:

hello@littlefinds.co.za

We are committed to resolving any privacy concerns promptly and fairly.