Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

TenderForce ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable South African legislation.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information when you visit our website at www.tenderforce.co.za or use our services. By using our website, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Contact information: Name, email address, company name, and phone number when you complete a contact form or subscribe to alerts.
• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, and browser/device information collected via Google Analytics and similar analytics tools.
• Cookies: Small text files stored on your device for functionality and analytics purposes. See Section 6 for details.
• Communication data: Messages and enquiries you send to us via our contact form.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and provide customer support
• To send you tender alerts and newsletters you have subscribed to
• To improve our website content, tools, and user experience
• To display relevant advertising through Google AdSense
• To comply with legal obligations under South African law
• To prevent fraud and maintain the security of our platform

4. Legal Basis for Processing (POPIA)

Under POPIA, we process your personal information on the following lawful grounds: (a) your consent, where you have provided it; (b) the performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps at your request; (c) our legitimate interests in operating and improving our platform, provided these do not override your rights; and (d) compliance with a legal obligation.

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with:

• Service providers: Third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website (e.g., Formspree for form processing, Vercel for hosting). These parties are contractually obligated to protect your information.
• Google: We use Google Analytics and Google AdSense. Google may collect and process data in accordance with their Privacy Policy and GDPR/POPIA obligations.
• Legal authorities: Where required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and the safety of users.

6. Cookies and Advertising

We use cookies to improve your experience, analyse site traffic, and serve relevant advertising. Types of cookies we use:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function correctly. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: Google Analytics cookies that help us understand how visitors use our site. Anonymised data only.
• Advertising cookies:Google AdSense uses cookies to display relevant ads based on your browsing history. You can opt out via Google's Ad Settings.

You can control cookies through our cookie consent banner and your browser settings. Rejecting non-essential cookies will not affect your ability to use our core content.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Object to the processing of your personal information
• Withdraw consent at any time (for consent-based processing)
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@tenderforce.co.za.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by South African law. Contact form submissions are retained for 2 years. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. Analytics data is retained for 26 months as per Google Analytics standard settings.

9. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Our website is served over HTTPS. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of our website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

For any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact our Information Officer at: