Privacy Policy

ClawRent ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in connection with our property management platform and all associated services.

This Policy applies to all users of ClawRent, including property owners, tenants, maintenance workers, short-stay guests, and any other individuals who access or use our platform in any capacity.

This Privacy Policy is compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"), which governs the processing of personal information in the Republic of South Africa.

ClawRent is the responsible party (as defined under POPIA) for the personal information collected through this platform. For all privacy-related enquiries, you may contact us at:

• Platform: ClawRent
• Email: clawrentapp@gmail.com
• Jurisdiction: Republic of South Africa

We take our obligations as a responsible party under POPIA seriously and are committed to ensuring that your personal information is processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Account Information: Full name, email address, phone number, password (stored in hashed form), user role (Owner, Tenant, Worker), and profile picture
• Identity Verification: Government-issued ID documents, selfies, and other verification materials submitted during the ID verification process
• Property Information: Property address, description, photographs, monthly rent, lease terms, amenities, and property documents uploaded by Owners
• Lease & Tenancy Data: Signed lease agreements, tenancy start and end dates, rental amounts, and related correspondence
• Payment Information: Rent payment records, payment dates, amounts, payment methods, and transaction references. Full card details are never stored on our servers — this is handled exclusively by our payment processors.
• Maintenance Requests: Descriptions of maintenance issues, photographs, priority levels, and resolution notes
• Communications: Messages sent between users through the ClawRent internal messaging system
• Job Applications: Worker profiles, skills, experience, and applications submitted for maintenance jobs
• Subscription Data: Plan type, billing dates, and subscription status for users who purchase verified badge plans

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, time spent on the platform, click patterns, and navigation paths
• Device Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and screen resolution
• Log Data: Server logs including access times, error logs, and request details
• Session Data: Authentication tokens and session identifiers used to keep you logged in securely

3.3 Information from Third Parties

• Google OAuth: If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture from Google, subject to your Google privacy settings
• Payment Processors: Transaction confirmation data, payment status, and reference numbers from Paddle, PayPal, Flutterwave, Paystack, and Ozow

We collect your personal information through the following means:

• Direct input: When you register, complete your profile, list a property, submit a maintenance request, send a message, or make a payment
• Automatic collection: Through server logs, session cookies, and analytics tools when you interact with the Platform
• Third-party integrations: When you authorise Google sign-in or complete a payment through an external processor
• User interactions: When other users interact with your profile, listings, or applications, certain data is generated and associated with your account
• File uploads: When you upload documents, photographs, or other files to the Platform, including property images and identity documents

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

We will not use your personal information for any purpose other than those described above without your prior consent, unless required by law.

Under POPIA, we process your personal information on the following lawful grounds:

• Consent: Where you have explicitly consented to processing, such as during registration or when authorising Google sign-in
• Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to perform our contract with you — i.e., to provide the ClawRent platform and its features
• Legal obligation: Where we are required to process data to comply with South African law or regulatory requirements
• Legitimate interest: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving the platform, preventing fraud, and ensuring security, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights

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

7.1 Between Platform Users

Certain information is shared between users as a necessary function of the Platform — for example, a Tenant's name and contact details may be shared with their assigned Owner, and a Worker's profile may be visible to Owners browsing the job board. You consent to this sharing by using the Platform.

7.2 Service Providers

We share data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Platform, subject to strict confidentiality obligations:

• Cloudinary — cloud-based image and file storage
• Payment processors — Paddle, PayPal, Flutterwave, Paystack, Ozow — for processing payments
• Email service providers — for sending transactional and notification emails
• Hosting providers — Railway and associated infrastructure providers
• Google — for OAuth sign-in functionality

7.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information where required to do so by law, court order, subpoena, or governmental authority, or where we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, the safety of others, or to investigate fraud.

7.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of all or part of our business assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change and your continued use of the Platform will constitute consent.

7.5 Aggregated Data

We may share aggregated, anonymised, non-identifying data for research, analytics, or marketing purposes. This data cannot be used to identify any individual user.

ClawRent integrates with the following third-party services. Each operates under its own privacy policy, and we encourage you to review them:

ClawRent is not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party services. Your use of those services is governed by their respective privacy policies.

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. Specifically:

• Account data — retained for the duration of your account and for up to 3 years after account deletion, to comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes
• Payment records — retained for a minimum of 5 years as required by South African tax and financial legislation
• Lease agreements and tenancy records — retained for a minimum of 3 years after the tenancy ends
• Identity verification documents — retained for the duration of your account and deleted within 90 days of account deletion, unless required longer by law
• Communications and messages — retained for the duration of your account and up to 1 year after deletion
• Server and access logs — retained for up to 12 months for security and debugging purposes

When data is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymise it in accordance with industry best practices.

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using HTTPS/TLS protocols
• Secure password hashing using industry-standard algorithms (no plain-text passwords are stored)
• Access controls limiting employee access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular security reviews and vulnerability assessments
• Secure cloud hosting infrastructure provided by Railway
• Tokenised payment processing — full card details are never stored on our servers
• Session management controls to protect against session hijacking

As a data subject under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Right to Correction: You have the right to request that inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information be corrected
• Right to Deletion: You have the right to request that your personal information be deleted, subject to legal retention obligations
• Right to Restriction: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interest or direct marketing
• Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used format
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at clawrentapp@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may request proof of identity before processing your request.

To contact the Information Regulator of South Africa: inforeg@justice.gov.za | +27 (0)12 406 4818

12.1 What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the Platform function correctly and allow us to improve your experience.

12.2 Cookies We Use

• Essential cookies: Required for core Platform functionality, including keeping you logged in (session cookies). These cannot be disabled.
• Security cookies: Used to detect and prevent fraudulent activity and protect your account
• Preference cookies: Used to remember your settings and preferences on the Platform

12.3 Managing Cookies

You may configure your browser to refuse or delete cookies at any time. However, disabling essential cookies may prevent certain features of the Platform from functioning correctly. We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking across third-party websites.

ClawRent is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will take immediate steps to delete such information and terminate the account.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information to ClawRent, please contact us immediately at clawrentapp@gmail.com.

ClawRent is based in South Africa and processes data primarily within South Africa. However, some of our third-party service providers (including Cloudinary, Railway, and certain payment processors) may process data in jurisdictions outside of South Africa.

Where data is transferred internationally, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with POPIA Section 72, including contractual protections and ensuring the receiving country has adequate data protection standards.

By using ClawRent, you consent to the transfer of your data to these service providers in accordance with this Policy.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document
• Send a notification to your registered email address
• Display a prominent notice on the Platform

Your continued use of ClawRent after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:

• Email: clawrentapp@gmail.com
• Response time: We aim to respond within 30 days of receiving your request

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

• Website: justice.gov.za/inforeg
• Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za
• Tel: +27 (0)12 406 4818
• Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001