Privacy Policy

At UrbanSense™, we recognize and respect the importance of protecting the privacy of our customers.

This privacy policy describes how UrbanSense (“we”, “our” or “us”) collects and processes personal information about you through www.urbansenseglobal.com and of our other websites, mobile app and other applications that link to this policy; how we use and protect this information and your rights in relation to this information.

This privacy policy applies to all personal information we collect or process about you. Personal information is information, or a combination of pieces of information, that could reasonably allow you to be identified.

Personal information we collect

We collect personal information about you from a variety of sources, including from you directly e.g. when you contact us or sign up for an account, information we generate about you in the course of our relationship with you e.g. data collected from cookies and other similar technologies which is described in our cookies policy and information we collect about you from other sources, including commercially available sources, such as public databases (where permitted by law).

We may be required by law to collect certain personal information about you or as a consequence of any contractual relationship we have with you. Failure to provide this information may prevent or delay the fulfillment of these obligations.

Information we collect directly from all users

The categories of information that we may collect directly from you include the following:

  • Personal details e.g. name;
  • Contact details e.g. phone number, email address, postal address or mobile number;
  • Account details e.g. username and password;
  • Communications e.g. when you participate in message boards or forums, participate in polls or surveys, write a review or contact us with a question, comment or request;
  • Job details e.g. what work you need carrying out on a property;
  • Questions e.g. When you post on Ask a Service Provider;
  • Current location using GPS and store City where a service provider or customer is based.

Information we collect directly from Service Providers

The categories of information that we may collect directly from you include the following:

  • Personal details e.g. date of birth
  • ID documents e.g. ID document/card or drivers license or passport
  • Proof of ability e.g. skill based questionnaires, member body registration, tradesmen qualifications, evidence of work done etc.
  • Payment details;
  • City or loaction where they are based.

Information we collect about your use of the Services

The following are examples of the other categories of information that we may collect:

  • Technical information collected from your computer or mobile device e.g. your IP address, browser type, operating system;
  • Information about your usage of our Websites and Apps e.g. the pages you visit when using the Services, the search terms you enter on the Services, how often you use the Services, and the pages you access before and after accessing the Services;
  • Information that we generate as a result of your use of the Services e.g. our understanding of your interests as a result of your use of the Services and whether you are a regular or occasional user of the Services;
  • Recordings of calls you have with our customer service agents.
  • Location information of the user when they request a service on the application in order to be connected to the closest avalable service partner, this information is not shared with any one else except for purposes of connecting the parties to each other.

Information we collect from other sources

The following are examples of the categories of information we may collect from other sources:

  • Personal details e.g. name;
  • Business details e.g. Trading name, legal name, directors;
  • Contact details e.g. phone number, email address, postal address or mobile number;
  • Details about advertising preferences e.g. products purchased, interaction with advertisements online;
  • Publically available background information e.g. bad press or reviews on other sites about Service Providers applying to join or existing Service Providers;
  • Unsolicited complaints from 3rd parties about Service Providers;
  • Technical information about the delivery of emails, SMS and push notifications
  • Location service uses a Google Maps API to locate the exact GPS of the user for purposes of using or connecting to our service partners on the app. The information is only utilised when the user activates the live location for the app to track while using the app.

How we use your personal information and the basis on which we use it

We may use your personal information for the following purposes:

Identification and authentication

We use your identification information, e.g. username and password, to verify your identity when you access and use our Services and to ensure the security of your personal information. This is so we can comply with our contractual obligations to you.

Operating our Services

We process your personal information to provide the Services you have requested. This is so we can comply with our contractual obligations to you.

Improving our Services

We analyze information about how you use our Services to provide an improved experience for the users of all our Services, including product testing, site analytics, call recordings and surveys. It is in our legitimate business interests to use the information provided to us for this purpose, so we can understand any issues with our Services and improve them.

Preventing Fraud

We analyze the information to detect fraudulent activity including but not limited to creating new accounts for banned users and posting fake feedback. It is in our legitimate business interests to use the information provided to us for this purpose, so we can keep the service safe for all of our users.

Communicating with you

We may use your personal information when we communicate with you, for example, if we are providing information about changes to our terms and conditions or if you contact us with questions. It is in the legitimate interests that we are able to provide you with appropriate responses and provide you with notice about our Services.

Marketing

We may use your personal information to create a profile about you, place you into marketing segments in order to better understand your preferences and to personalize the marketing messages we send to you. It is in our legitimate interest to provide you with more relevant and interesting advertising messages. Where necessary, we will obtain your consent before sending such marketing messages.

We take advantage of Regulation of the Protection of Personal Information Act which allows us to offer an opt-out instead of an opt-in for our newsletters.

Location Services 

We collect information about your location when you use our services app, this helps us  connect you to a closest service partner at the time of service request, search results for services near you, and filter services based on your general location.

Your location can be determined with varying degrees of accuracy by Google Maps API:

  • GPS and other sensor data from your device
  • IP address
  • Information about things near your device, such as Wi-Fi access points, cell towers, and Bluetooth-enabled devices

The types of location data we collect and how long we store depends on your device and account settings. e.g., you can turn your device’s location on or off using the device’s settings app.. 

Exercising our rights

We may use your personal information to exercise our legal rights where it is necessary to do so, for example, to detect, prevent and respond to fraud claims, intellectual property infringement claims or violations of law or our Terms and Conditions.

Complying with our obligations

We may process your personal information to, for example, carry out fraud prevention checks or comply with other legal or regulatory requirements, where this is explicitly required by law.

Customizing your experience

When you use our platform, we may use your personal information to improve your experience of our platform, such as by providing interactive or personalized elements on our platform and providing you with content based on your interests;

Anonymized data

We may anonymize your personal information in such a way that you may not reasonably be re-identified by us or any other company, and we may use this anonymized information for any other purpose.

How and when we Share Your Personal Information

We may share your personal information with third parties under the following circumstances:

When you post a job

Your username will be shown publicly on your job page as well as to Service Providers people who may be suitable for your job. The approximate location of the job, job title, description, and photos will also be displayed but these elements are usually not deemed to be personal information.

When there is a dispute between a Customer and Service Provider

In the event of a dispute, we will share the Service Provider’s details with the Customer on demand and, at our absolute discretion, we may share other relevant information where we are legally permitted.

Search engines

Every Service provider account has a public profile page which is displayed in search results to help generate interest from potential customers. The information we display on this page includes but is not limited to username, company name, trading name, working area, reviews, company information, previous jobs, photographs and other information that you may provide us with. These elements are usually not deemed to be personal information.

Service providers and business partners

We may share your personal information with our service providers and business partners that perform marketing services and other business operations for us for the purposes set forth above. For example, we may partner with companies to process secure payments, fulfill orders, optimize services, serve online behavioral advertising, send newsletters and marketing messages, send a support email, communicate via messaging services, and analyze information.

These service providers and business partners may include advertising agencies and fraud prevention agencies which will use your personal information only in the ways described in this policy.

Group companies

UrbanSense is owned by VINTAGE Capital Proprietary Limited, and we work closely with other businesses and companies that fall under the VINTAGE Capital Proprietary Limited. We may share certain information about your usage of the site with VINTAGE Capital Proprietary Limited and other VINTAGE Capital Proprietary Limited Group companies for security, optimization of products and services, and internal reporting. We do this for the purposes set out above.

Where required by law

We may share your personal information with law enforcement agencies, courts, other government authorities or other third parties where we believe necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, or otherwise to protect our rights or the rights of any third party.

In the context of a transaction

We may share your personal information with potential transaction partners, service providers, advisors, and other third parties in connection with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a corporate transaction in which we are acquired by or merged with another company or we sell or transfer all or a portion of our assets or business. Should such a sale or transfer occur, we will use reasonable efforts to obligate the entity to which we transfer your personal information to use it in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy.

Your rights over your personal information

You have certain rights regarding the personal information we hold about you, subject to local law. These may include the rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to our use of, or receive a portable copy in a usable electronic format of your personal information. You also may have a right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection or privacy regulator.

We encourage you to contact us at the contact information set forth below to update or correct your information if it changes or if the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate. Where you have provided your consent to any use of your personal information, you can withdraw this consent at any time.

Please note that we may require additional information from you in order to honor your requests.

If you would like to discuss or exercise any rights you may have under law, please contact us at the contact information set forth below.

Information Security and Storage

We implement physical, technical, and organizational security measures designed to safeguard the personal information we process through our platform. These measures are aimed at providing on-going integrity and confidentiality for your personal information. We evaluate and update these measures on a regular basis. However, no information system can be 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information.

We retain your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you. When deciding how long to keep your personal information after our relationship with you has ended, we take into account our legal obligations e.g. Tax legislation requires us to hold information for a minimum of 7 years. We may also retain records to investigate or defend against potential legal claims. We will also retain information on all Service Providers to help us prevent fraudulent activity e.g. trying to try to open multiple accounts.

International Data Transfer

Your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in a country that is not regarded as providing the same level of protection for personal information as the laws of your home country, and may be available to the government of those countries under a lawful order made in those countries.

We have put in place appropriate safeguards (such as contractual commitments) in accordance with applicable legal requirements to provide adequate protection for your personal information. For more information on the appropriate safeguards in place and to obtain a copy of such safeguards, please contact us at the contact information set forth below.

Contact Us

UrbanSense is the controller responsible for the personal information we collect and process.

If you have questions or concerns regarding the way in which your personal information has been used, please contact our Support center:

support@urbansense.co.za

UrbanSense App : Support
D101, 1st Floor, Northview Shopping  Centre
Cnr Malibongwe & Olivienhout Avenue
Northwold

Randburg
South Africa
2115

We are committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution of any complaint or concern about privacy. If you believe that we have not been able to assist with your complaint or concern, you may have the right to make a complaint to the data protection authority of your country of residence.

Changes to the Policy

We may modify or update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make any revisions that materially change the ways in which we process your personal information, we will notify you of these changes before applying them to that personal information.

You may also be interested in reading our Cookie Policy.