Privacy Policy
Draft for legal review. This text is a plain-English draft and is not yet in force. Items in [square brackets] still need to be filled in.
This policy explains what personal information Tengisa collects, why, who can see it, and the choices you have. We follow Zimbabwe's Cyber and Data Protection Act [Chapter 12:07]. Please read it with our Terms of Use.
1. Who we are
Tengisa is run by [Company name], [physical address], which is responsible for your information. Our data protection officer is [name], email [privacy@tengisa.co.zw].
2. What we collect
- Account details: your email address, name, city or town, whether you sell as a private person or a business, and your business name if you have one.
- WhatsApp number (optional): if you add it. We keep it private and will ask you to verify it later.
- Location (optional): only if you choose to share it, either from your phone or by picking your suburb. We round it to about 1 km before saving it. We never store your exact address.
- Ads and photos: what you post. We remove hidden location data (GPS) from photo files.
- Messages and reviews: chats with other users, and reviews you write or receive.
- Favourites: ads you save.
- Security information: your internet address (IP address), the type of device and browser you log in from, and when you last used Tengisa. We use this to keep accounts safe and to stop spam.
3. Why we use it
- To create and run your account, and to log you in with email codes.
- To show your ads and let buyers and sellers talk.
- To show ads closest to you first, if you turned location on.
- To check ads, photos and reports for scams, banned items and contact details. Some checks are automated and use artificial intelligence (AI) that runs on Cloudflare's computers; the AI looks at ad photos only. A person at Tengisa makes the final decision when an ad is rejected or an account is limited.
- Your chats are private. Tengisa staff can read a chat only after one of the two people reports it, or when our safety checks flag it (for example, repeated requests to pay a deposit first). Every time staff open a chat, it is recorded.
- To prevent fraud and abuse, and to meet our legal duties.
- To send emails you need, such as login codes and important account notices. We will only send marketing emails if you agree to them.
We do not sell your personal information.
4. What other people can see
- Public: your first name and the first letter of your surname (or your business name), the area of your ads, your rating and reviews, and when you joined Tengisa.
- Never public: your email address, your WhatsApp or phone number, and your location.
5. Companies that help us
We use trusted service providers to run Tengisa. They may only use your information to provide their service to us:
- Cloudflare: hosting, database, photo storage and AI checks;
- Resend: sending emails such as login codes.
These providers may store or process information outside Zimbabwe. When that happens, we make sure the information is protected as the Cyber and Data Protection Act requires. [To confirm with legal adviser.]
We may also share information with the police or other authorities when the law requires it, or to protect someone from serious harm.
6. Cookies and storage on your phone
We use one essential cookie to keep you logged in, for up to 90 days on each device. Your browser also stores your data saver setting, favourites and approximate location on your phone so pages load faster. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.
7. How long we keep it
- Your account information: until you delete your account.
- Login codes: they expire after 10 minutes, and we only ever store them in a scrambled (hashed) form.
- Logins on a device: 90 days, or until you log out.
- After you delete your account, we remove your name, email, WhatsApp number, location and favourites straight away. Reviews you wrote stay on the seller's profile without your name. We may keep limited records for up to [period] where the law requires it or to deal with fraud reports.
8. Keeping it safe
Information is encrypted when it travels between your phone and Tengisa. Login codes and login keys are stored in scrambled (hashed) form, and access to our systems is limited to people who need it.
9. Your rights
You can ask to see the information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, or object to how we use it. You can change your details, turn location off and delete your account yourself in your profile settings. For anything else, contact us at [privacy@tengisa.co.zw]. If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Data Protection Authority, which is the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
10. Children
Tengisa is not for anyone under 18. If we learn that a child has made an account, we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
If we make important changes, we will tell you by email or on the site before they take effect.
12. Contact us
[Company name], [physical address]. Email: [privacy@tengisa.co.zw].