Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Casual Encounters South Africa ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website casualencounters.co.za (the "Platform") or use our services.

By accessing or using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please discontinue use of the Platform immediately.

We comply with applicable data protection laws in South Africa, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and are guided by international privacy standards where appropriate.

This policy applies to all users of the Platform, including registered members, visitors browsing the website, and any other individuals whose personal information we may process.

2. Information We Collect

We collect several categories of information to provide and improve our services. The information we collect depends on how you interact with the Platform.

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you create an account, complete a profile, or communicate with us, you may provide:

• Account information: your email address, chosen username, and password.
• Profile information: your age or date of birth, gender, location (city or region), profile photo, interests, and the type of connection you are looking for (e.g., casual dates, hookups, new friends).
• Communication data: messages you send through the Platform, responses to surveys or feedback forms, and any information you provide when contacting our support team.
• Verification information: if we offer identity or photo verification features, the documents or images you submit for that purpose.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit or use the Platform, certain information is collected automatically:

• Device and usage data: your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution, referring URL, pages viewed, time and date of visits, time spent on pages, and clickstream data.
• Location data: approximate geographic location derived from your IP address. We may also collect precise location data if you enable location services on your device and grant permission.
• Activity data: features you use, profiles you view, searches you perform, and interactions with other members on the Platform.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party services, such as:

• Social media platforms if you choose to link your account or sign in through a third-party service.
• Advertising and analytics partners who provide aggregated demographic or interest-based data.
• Fraud prevention and identity verification services.

2.4 Sensitive Personal Information

We do not intentionally collect or process sensitive personal information (such as information about your health, religious beliefs, political opinions, or sexual orientation) unless you voluntarily include such information in your profile or messages. Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information on the Platform.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

3.1 To Provide and Maintain the Platform

• Create and manage your account and profile.
• Enable you to browse other members' profiles and connect with them.
• Facilitate messaging and communication between members.
• Display your profile to other members based on your preferences and settings.
• Provide customer support and respond to your inquiries.

3.2 To Improve and Personalise Your Experience

• Personalise content and member recommendations based on your preferences and activity.
• Analyse usage patterns to improve the Platform's features, functionality, and user experience.
• Conduct research and analytics to understand user behaviour and trends.
• Test new features and measure their effectiveness.

3.3 To Communicate With You

• Send account-related notifications (e.g., new messages, profile views, matches).
• Deliver service updates, security alerts, and administrative messages.
• Send marketing communications about features, promotions, or events (with your consent where required).
• Request feedback or invite you to participate in surveys.

3.4 For Safety, Security, and Legal Compliance

• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent, unauthorised, or illegal activity.
• Enforce our Terms of Service and other policies.
• Comply with legal obligations, court orders, or law enforcement requests.
• Protect the rights, property, and safety of our users, employees, and the public.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as web beacons, pixels, and local storage) to collect information and enhance your experience on the Platform.

4.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help the website recognise your browser, remember your preferences, and understand how you interact with the site.

4.2 Types of Cookies We Use

• Essential cookies: required for the Platform to function properly. These enable core features such as account login, security, and session management. The Platform cannot operate without these cookies.
• Functional cookies: remember your preferences and choices (such as language or region) to provide a more personalised experience.
• Analytics cookies: help us understand how visitors use the Platform — which pages are most popular, how users navigate the site, and where improvements can be made. We use aggregated and anonymised data for these purposes.
• Advertising cookies: used to deliver relevant advertisements and measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. These may be set by us or by third-party advertising partners.

4.3 Third-Party Tracking

We may use third-party services (such as Google Analytics) that set their own cookies to collect information about your use of the Platform. These third parties have their own privacy policies governing how they use the data they collect.

4.4 Managing Cookies

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically block or delete cookies, or set your browser to alert you when cookies are being placed. Please note that disabling essential cookies may affect the Platform's functionality and your ability to use certain features.

To learn more about managing cookies, visit www.aboutcookies.org or consult your browser's help documentation.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We share your information only in the limited circumstances described below.

5.1 With Other Members

Information you include in your public profile (such as your username, age, city, interests, profile photo, and the kind of connection you want) is visible to other members of the Platform. Messages you send to other members are shared only with the intended recipients.

5.2 With Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, including:

• Hosting and infrastructure providers.
• Email delivery and communication services.
• Analytics and data-processing services.
• Customer support platforms.
• Fraud detection and security services.

These providers are contractually bound to use your information only as instructed by us and in compliance with applicable data protection laws.

5.3 For Legal and Safety Reasons

We may disclose your information if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:

• Comply with a legal obligation, court order, or governmental request.
• Enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements.
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Casual Encounters South Africa, our users, or the public.
• Detect, investigate, or prevent fraud, security breaches, or illegal activity.

5.4 Business Transfers

If Casual Encounters South Africa is involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

6. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

6.1 Security Measures

• Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption (TLS/SSL) to protect data transmitted between your browser and our servers.
• Access controls: Access to personal information is restricted to authorised personnel who require it to perform their duties. We enforce the principle of least privilege.
• Secure infrastructure: Our servers are hosted in secure data centres with physical and network security controls.
• Regular reviews: We periodically review and update our security practices to address emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
• Incident response: We maintain procedures for identifying, investigating, and responding to data security incidents.

6.2 What You Can Do

While we take steps to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We encourage you to:

• Use a strong, unique password for your account and keep it confidential.
• Log out of your account when using shared or public devices.
• Be cautious about sharing personal information in messages or on your public profile.
• Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

6.3 Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Platform's services. If you close your account, we will delete or anonymise your information within a reasonable timeframe, unless retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes (such as fraud prevention or dispute resolution).

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

7.1 Access and Portability

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and to receive it in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

7.2 Correction

You can update or correct your profile information at any time through your account settings. If you believe we hold inaccurate or incomplete information about you that you cannot update yourself, you may request a correction.

7.3 Deletion

You may request that we delete your personal information. You can also close your account through your settings. Upon account closure, we will remove or anonymise your data as described in our data retention policy, subject to any legal obligations that require us to retain certain information.

7.4 Objection and Restriction

You may object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including processing for direct marketing purposes. You may also request that we restrict the processing of your information in specific situations.

7.5 Marketing Communications

You can opt out of marketing emails by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing message we send, or by updating your communication preferences in your account settings. Please note that you may still receive transactional or service-related emails even after opting out of marketing.

7.6 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in the Contact Information section below. We will respond to your request within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

7.7 Complaints

If you believe we have not adequately addressed your privacy concerns, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa. Visit www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/ for more information.

8. Children's Privacy

The Platform is intended for adults aged 18 years and older. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from anyone under the age of 18.

If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a person under the age of 18, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our records. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the Platform's features, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will notify you by:

• Posting a prominent notice on the Platform before the changes take effect.
• Sending an email to the address associated with your account (for material changes).
• Updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Contact Information

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out to us:

• Email: privacy@casualencounters.co.za
• Contact form: Visit our Contact page to send us a message.
• Postal address: Available upon request via email.

We aim to acknowledge all privacy-related inquiries within 48 hours and provide a substantive response within 30 days, or sooner where required by law.

Last reviewed: 1 July 2026