We understand that you are concerned about how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your confidence in us to do so carefully and sensibly. This Privacy Notice explains how we collect and process your personal information when you use Areknet websites, products, services, online stores, and applications that link to this Privacy Notice (together "Areknet Services").

1. Controllers of Personal Information

Areknet South Africa, Areknet Zimbabwe, Areknet Ghana and Areknet Group Company are data controllers of personal information collected and processed through Areknet Services. 

2. What Personal Information About Customers Does Areknet Collect?

We collect your personal information in order to provide and continually improve our products and services.

Here are the types of personal information we collect:

• Information you give us: Any information you provide in relation to Areknet Services is received and stored by us. Section 14 contains examples of what we collect. You can choose not to provide certain information, but you may be unable to use many of our Areknet Services as a result.
• Automatic information: We automatically collect and store certain types of information about your use of Areknet Services, such as your interactions with content and services provided by Areknet Services. We use cookies and other unique identifiers, as do many other websites, and we collect certain types of information when your web browser or device accesses Areknet Services and other content served by or on behalf of Areknet on other websites. Section 14 contains examples of what we collect.

3. For What Purposes Does Areknet Process Your Personal Information?

We use your personal information to run, provide, and improve the Areknet services we provide to our customers. Among these goals are:

• We use your personal information to process payments, deliver products and services, and communicate with you about orders, products and services, and promotional offers.
• We use your personal information to provide functionality, analyse performance, troubleshoot problems, and improve the usability and effectiveness of Areknet Services.
• We use your personal information to recommend features, products, and services that may be of interest to you, to identify your preferences, and to personalise your Areknet Services experience.
• We process your images, videos, and other personal information when you use our image and camera services in order to respond to your requests, provide the requested service to you, and improve our Areknet services.
• We collect and use your personal information to comply with laws in some cases. For example, we collect information about the seller's place of business and bank account information from them for identity verification and other purposes.
• We use your personal information to communicate with you about Areknet Services through various channels (e.g., by phone, email, chat).
• We use your personal information to show you interest-based advertisements for features, products, and services that you might be interested in.
• To protect the security of our customers, Areknet, and others, we process personal information to prevent and detect fraud and abuse.
• To personalise your experience (your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs)
• To improve our website (we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you)
• To improve customer service (your information helps us to more effectively respond to your customer service requests and support needs)
• Your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested.
• To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature
• The email address you provide for order processing, may be used to send you information and updates pertaining to your order, in addition to receiving occasional company news, updates, related product or service information, etc.

Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.

4. What About Cookies and Other Identifiers?

We use cookies and other similar tools to improve your shopping experience, provide our services, understand how customers use our services so we can improve them, and display advertisements. These tools are also used by approved third parties in connection with our ad display. We use cookies to allow our systems to recognise your browser or device and provide Areknet Services to you.

5. Does Areknet Share Your Personal Information?

Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we do not sell our customers' personal information to third parties. Areknet only shares customers' personal information as described below and with Areknet Group of Companies, which are Areknet Group controlled subsidiaries that are either subject to this Privacy Notice or follow practices at least as protective as those described in this Privacy Notice.

• Transactions involving third parties: We make third-party services, products, applications, or skills available to you for use on or through Areknet Services. You can, for example, order products from third-party vendors through our stores. We also provide services or sell product lines in collaboration with third-party companies, such as co-branded credit cards. When a third party is involved in your transactions, you will be able to tell, and we will share customer personal information related to those transactions with that third party.
• Third party service providers: To carry out tasks on our behalf, we hire other businesses and people. Examples include delivering mail and emails, processing payments, analysing data, assisting with marketing, providing search results and links (including sponsored listings and links), transmitting content, determining and managing credit risk, and fulfilling orders for goods and services. These outside service providers have access to the personal data required to carry out their duties, but they are not permitted to use it for other purposes. They also have to process the personal data in a way that is compliant with this Privacy Notice and any applicable data protection laws.
• Business transfers: We might sell or acquire other companies or services as we expand our business. Customer information is typically one of the business assets transferred in such transactions, but it is still governed by any prior Privacy Notices (unless, of course, the customer consents otherwise). Additionally, customer information will undoubtedly be one of the transferred assets in the unlikely event that Areknet Group or a significant portion of its assets are acquired.
• Protection of Areknet and others: We release accounts and other personal information when we believe it is necessary to comply with the law, enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements, or protect Areknet, our users, or others' rights, property, or safety. This includes exchanging information with other businesses and organisations to combat fraud and reduce credit risk.
• Other than as stated above, you will be notified when personal information about you may be shared with third parties, and you will have the option not to share the information.

6. How Secure is Information About Me?

We design our systems with your security and privacy in mind.

• We use encryption protocols and software to ensure the security of your personal information during transmission.
• When it comes to credit card data, we adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
• We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards in connection with the collection, storage and disclosure of personal customer information. Our security procedures mean that we may ask you to verify your identity before we disclose personal information to you.
• Our devices offer security features to protect them against unauthorised access and loss of data. You can control these features and configure them based on your needs. 
• You should take precautions to prevent unauthorised access to your password and to your computers, mobile devices, and software. For your Areknet account, we advise creating a special password that you do not use for any other online accounts. When you're finished using a shared computer, remember to sign off.

7. What About Advertising?

• Third-party advertisers and links to other websites: Third-party advertising and links to other websites and apps may be included in Areknet Services. When you interact with third-party advertising partners' content, advertising, and services, they may collect information about you.
• Use of third-party advertising services: We provide information to ad companies so they can serve you more useful and relevant Areknet ads and measure their effectiveness. When we do this, we never share your name or any other information that directly identifies you. Instead, we employ an advertising identifier such as a cookie, a device identifier, or a code derived from the application of irreversible cryptography to other data such as an email address. For example, if you have previously downloaded one of our apps, we will share your advertising identifier and event data so that you are not served an ad to download the app again. This information is also used by some ad companies to serve you relevant ads from other advertisers.

8. What Information Can I Access?

You can access your information, including your name, address, payment options, profile information and purchase history in the "Your Account" section of the website. 

9. What Choices Do I Have?

If you have any questions or concerns about how we collect and process your personal information, please contact our Customer Service. Many of our Areknet Services also include settings that allow you to control how your information is used.

• You can choose not to provide certain information, as described above, but you may be unable to use many Areknet Services as a result.
• Certain information on pages such as those mentioned in Section 8 can be added or updated. When you update information, we usually keep a copy of the previous version for our records.
• If you do not want to receive e-mail or other communications from us, please adjust your Customer Communication Preferences. If you do not want to receive in-app notifications from us, please adjust your notification settings in the app or on your device.
• Most browsers and devices have a Help feature that will tell you how to prevent your browser or device from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies entirely. Because cookies enable you to use some essential Areknet Services features, we recommend that you leave them enabled. If you block or otherwise reject our cookies, for example, you will be unable to add items to your Shopping Basket, proceed to Checkout, or use any Areknet Services that require you to Sign in.
• If you want to browse our websites without linking browsing activity to your account, you may do so by logging out of your account and disabling cookies on your browser.
• When you give us permission to use your personal information for a specific purpose, you can withdraw your permission at any time, and we will stop using your data for that purpose in the future.
• You can also opt out of certain other types of data processing by updating your settings on the relevant Areknet website or application. If you have any questions about changing your device permissions on third-party devices, we recommend contacting your mobile service provider or the device manufacturer, as different devices may have different permission settings.
• If you are a seller, you can add or update certain information in the Admin Panel, update your account information by accessing your Seller Account Information, and adjust the email or other communications you receive from us by updating your Notification Preferences.

Furthermore, you have the right, subject to applicable law, to request access to, correct, and delete your personal data, as well as data portability. You may also object to our processing of your personal data or request that it be restricted in certain circumstances. Please contact Customer Service if you want to do any of these things. 

10. Are Children Allowed to Use Areknet Services?

Areknet does not sell any products to children. Adults can buy children's products from us. If you are under the age of 18, you may only use Areknet Services with the involvement of a parent or guardian.

11. How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information?

We keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the relevant purposes described in this Privacy Notice, as may be required by law, such as for tax and accounting purposes, or as otherwise communicated to you. For example, we save your transaction history so that you can review previous purchases (and repeat orders if desired) and see which addresses you have shipped orders to, as well as to improve the relevancy of the products and content we recommend.

12. EU General Data Protection Regulation and UK Data Protection Laws - Legal Basis

The EU GDPR and UK data protection laws require a legal basis for our use of personal information. Our basis varies depending on the specific purpose for which we use personal information. We use:

• Contract performance occurs when we provide you with goods or services or communicate with you about them. This includes using your personal information to accept and process orders, deliver products and services, and process payments.
• When we improve Areknet services (including when we use your video or camera input to improve services), detect and prevent fraud and abuse to protect the security of our customers, ourselves, or others, and when we provide you with interest-based advertising, we are acting in our legitimate business interests and the interests of our customers.
• When we ask for your permission to process your personal information for a specific purpose that we communicate to you, we will ask for your consent. You may withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information for a specific purpose at any time, and we will stop processing your data for that purpose.
• When we use your personal information to comply with laws, we are fulfilling a legal obligation. For example, we collect seller location and bank account information for identity verification purposes.
• These and other legal bases vary depending on the purpose for which we use personal information.

13. Contacts, Notices & Revisions

If you have any concerns about privacy at Areknet or want to contact one of our data controllers, please Customer Service with a thorough description and we will try to resolve the issue for you. Further, the data protection officer for the above mentioned data controllers can be contacted at admin@areknet.co.za. 

Our business is constantly changing, and so will our Privacy Notice. You should visit our website frequently to see the most recent updates. Unless otherwise stated, our current Privacy Notice applies to all information we have on file for you and your account. We stand by our promises, however, and will never materially change our policies and practises to make them less protective of previously collected customer information without the consent of affected customers.

14. Examples of Information Collected

Information You Give Us When You Use Areknet Services

You provide information to us when you:

• search for products or services in our stores;
• place an order through Areknet Services;
• download, stream, view, or use content on a device, or through a service or application on a device;
• provide information in Your Account (and you might have more than one if you have used more than one e-mail address or mobile number when shopping with us);
• upload your contacts;
• provide information in your Seller Account;
• offer your products or services on or through Areknet Services;
• communicate with us by phone, e-mail, or otherwise;
• complete a questionnaire, a support ticket, or a contest entry form;
• Participate in community features, provide and rate Customer Reviews;
• specify a Special Occasion Reminder; or
• employ Product Availability Alerts, such as Available to Order Notifications.

As a result of those actions, you might supply us with such information as: your name; address and phone number; payment information; your age; your location information; your IP address; people, addresses and phone numbers listed in your Addresses ; e-mail addresses of your friends and other people; content of reviews and e-mails to us; personal description and photograph in Your Profile; images and video collected or stored in connection with Areknet Services, information and documents regarding identity and standing; corporate and financial information; credit history information; and device log files and configurations, if you choose to automatically synchronise them with your other Areknet devices.

Automatic Information

Examples of the information we collect and analyse include:

• the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet;
• login; e-mail address; password;
• the location of your device or computer;
• device metrics such as when a device is in use, application usage, connectivity data, and any errors or event failures;
• Areknet Service metrics (e.g., the occurrences of technical errors, your interactions with service features and content, your settings preferences and backup information, location of your device running an application, information about uploaded images and files (e.g., file name, dates, times and location of your images));
• purchase and content use history, which we sometimes aggregate with similar information from other customers to create features such as Best Sellers;
• the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our website (including date and time); cookie number; products and/ or content you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs),
• phone numbers used to call our customer service number; and
• images or videos when you shop in our stores using Areknet Services.

In order to gather browsing, usage, or other technical data for the purpose of preventing fraud, we may also use device identifiers, cookies, and other technologies on devices, applications, and our website pages.

Information You Can Access

Examples of information you can access through Areknet Services include:

• status of recent orders (including subscriptions);
• your complete order history;
• personally identifiable information (including name, e-mail, password, communications and personalised advertising preferences and address book);
• payment settings (including payment card information and gift voucher, gift card and cheque balances);
• e-mail notification settings (including Product Availability Alerts, Deliveries, Special Occasion Reminders, and newsletters);
• recommendations and the products you recently viewed that are the basis for recommendations (including Recommended for You and Improve Your Recommendations);
• shopping lists and gift registries;
• your content, devices, services, and related settings, and communications and interest-based advertising preferences;
• content that you recently viewed;
• Your Profile (including your product Reviews, Recommendations, Reminders and personal profile).
• If you are a seller, you can access your account and other information, and adjust your communications preferences, by updating your account in the Admin Panel.

15. Changes to our Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page, and/or update the Privacy Policy modification date below.

This policy was last modified on 01.11.2022