1. Summary
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect about you, why we collect it, how we use it, and the choices you have. We follow the principles of data minimisation, purpose limitation, and transparency.
2. Information we collect
You give us:
- Account info — when you sign up: name, email, business name (if you list a business), and a password (which we only store hashed).
- Profile info — anything else you choose to add, like phone number, address, profile photo.
- Listing content — descriptions, photos, services, pricing tier you offer.
- Lead enquiries — when you contact a listed business through Businest, the message and any details you include.
- Reviews — anything you write in a review.
- Communications — emails or messages you send us.
We collect automatically:
- Usage data — pages visited, search terms, listings viewed, click events. Aggregated and used to improve the service.
- Device data — browser type, operating system, IP address, approximate location (country/city level).
- Cookies — small files that help the site function. See our Cookies Policy.
3. How we use information
- To provide, maintain, and improve Businest.
- To verify listings via EMY Africa's verification process.
- To deliver lead enquiries from buyers to the listed businesses they're contacting.
- To send you essential notifications about your account.
- To send marketing emails (only if you've opted in — you can unsubscribe at any time).
- To detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, or security incidents.
- To comply with legal obligations.
4. How we share information
We do not sell personal information. We share it only in these limited cases:
- With listed businesses — when you submit a lead or review, the recipient business sees your name, contact details, and message. That's the whole point.
- With service vendors — companies that help us run the service (e.g. hosting, email, analytics). They're bound by contracts to use your information only for our purposes.
- With EMY Africa — listing verification details are shared with EMY Africa solely for the verification process.
- For legal reasons — if required by law, court order, or to protect rights, property, or safety.
- In a business transfer — if Businest is acquired or merges, your information may transfer with the business; the privacy commitments will continue.
5. Data retention
We keep your information for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide the service. If you delete your account, we'll delete or anonymise your personal information within 90 days, unless we're required to keep it for legal reasons (such as financial records or to defend against legal claims).
6. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of these rights:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we have about you.
- Correction — ask us to fix incorrect or incomplete information.
- Deletion — ask us to delete your information (subject to legal retention obligations).
- Restriction — ask us to stop or limit processing in certain situations.
- Portability — request your information in a machine-readable format.
- Objection — object to processing for direct marketing.
- Complaint — lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@businest.africa. We'll respond within 30 days.
7. Security
We use industry-standard security measures including HTTPS, hashed passwords, encrypted database connections, and limited internal access. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable measures and notify you if we discover a breach affecting your data.
8. International transfers
Businest is hosted in the European Union (eu-west-2 London). If you're outside that region, your data is transferred there. We use standard contractual clauses where required to ensure appropriate protection.
9. Children
Businest is not intended for children under 16. We don't knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us their information, contact us and we'll delete it.
10. Changes
If we make material changes to this policy, we'll notify you by email or via a notice on the site at least 30 days before they take effect.
11. Contact
Privacy questions? Email privacy@businest.africa. Our data protection contact is the same address.