Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

uptrideconnect is a digital transport booking platform operated by JM CYBER SPACE (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa (Registration No: 2021/398651/07), with its principal place of business at 80 Hanepoot Crescent, Louisvale Road, Upington, 8801, Northern Cape.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

For any privacy-related queries, contact us at: support@uptrideconnect.co.za or 073 865 7790.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

• Account information: Full name, email address, phone number, and role (passenger, driver, or taxi operator)
• Booking information: Route details, travel dates, number of passengers, luggage requirements, pickup and dropoff addresses
• Driver information: Driver status, WhatsApp number, taxi business association, driver photo (optional)
• Operator information: Business name, banking details (for payment processing), business phone and email
• Location data: GPS coordinates during active bookings (drivers only, for passenger safety)
• Device information: Push notification tokens for booking alerts (no device identifiers stored)
• Usage data: App error logs for platform improvement (no personal browsing data)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To create and manage your account on the platform
• To process and confirm transport bookings
• To assign drivers to bookings and communicate trip details
• To send booking confirmations and real-time push notifications
• To process payments and generate invoices (operator accounts)
• To generate revenue reports for taxi operators and the platform owner
• To verify and approve driver and operator accounts
• To track driver location during active bookings for passenger safety
• To respond to support requests and resolve disputes
• To improve platform performance and fix technical issues

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information on the following grounds under POPIA:

• Contractual necessity: Processing required to provide the booking service you have requested
• Legitimate interest: Platform security, fraud prevention, and service improvement
• Consent: Push notifications and optional features (you may withdraw consent at any time)
• Legal obligation: Where required by South African law

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored securely on Supabase infrastructure, hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure in accordance with industry security standards. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit using TLS/HTTPS.

We implement the following security measures:

• Row-level security policies ensuring users can only access their own data
• Authenticated access required for all personal data
• Role-based access control across all platform functions
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments

While we take all reasonable steps to protect your data, no system is completely secure. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by POPIA.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party. We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With your assigned driver: Your name and phone number are shared with your driver to facilitate pickup
• With your taxi operator: Booking details are visible to the operator managing your route
• With platform infrastructure providers: Supabase and AWS process data as our technical service providers, bound by their own privacy and security commitments
• With law enforcement: Where required by a valid court order or legal obligation under South African law

7. Push Notifications

With your consent, we send push notifications to your device for booking confirmations, driver assignments, and trip updates. You may withdraw this consent at any time through your device settings. Withdrawing notification consent does not affect your ability to use the platform — you can still view booking status by opening the app.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for the following periods:

• Account data: For as long as your account is active, plus 12 months after account deletion
• Booking records: 5 years from the date of the trip (for financial and legal compliance)
• Driver GPS location data: Deleted within 30 days of trip completion
• Error logs: 90 days

9. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: Request a copy of all personal information we hold about you
• Right to correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Right to deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data
• Right to object: Object to processing of your personal information
• Right to lodge a complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at www.justice.gov.za/inforeg

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@uptrideconnect.co.za. We will respond within 30 days.

10. Children's Privacy

uptrideconnect is not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify registered users of material changes via push notification or email. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent update.

12. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information:

• Email: support@uptrideconnect.co.za
• Phone: 073 865 7790
• Post: JM CYBER SPACE (Pty) Ltd, 80 Hanepoot Crescent, Louisvale Road, Upington, 8801