Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Car Torque SA ("we", "us") operates the website cartorquesa.co.za, the Car Torque SA mobile applications, and the Car Torque SA YouTube channel. We are the "responsible party" for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). Contact: hello@cartorque.co.za.

2. What we collect

• Browsing: standard server logs (IP address, pages viewed, device type). No advertising trackers; no third-party analytics cookies.
• Selling a car: your name, contact details (phone, WhatsApp, email), and the vehicle information and photos you submit.
• Finance pre-approval applications: full name, South African ID number, contact details, employment details, income, expenses, and existing credit commitments. This is sensitive information — see section 3 for exactly how it is used.

3. Why we collect it and who we share it with

• Listing information is published on the marketplace so buyers can contact you — that is its purpose.
• Finance application information is collected for one purpose only: to submit your application to credit providers registered with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and/or their authorised finance intermediaries, with your explicit consent given at submission. Car Torque SA is not a credit provider and does not make credit decisions.
• Credit providers may perform credit bureau checks on you — you consent to this separately and explicitly when applying.
• We do not sell personal information to anyone.

4. Where it is stored and for how long

Data is stored in Google Cloud (Firebase) data centres with encryption in transit and at rest. Finance applications are retained for up to 12 months after the application is closed (to handle queries and meet record-keeping obligations), then deleted. Listing data is retained while the listing is active and for up to 12 months after it is sold or withdrawn.

5. Your rights (POPIA)

• You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information at any time by emailing hello@cartorque.co.za with the subject "Data request". We respond within a reasonable time and at most within 30 days.
• You may withdraw consent for a pending finance application at any time.
• You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): inforegulator.org.za / enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.

6. Mobile applications

The Car Torque SA Android and iOS apps collect the same information as the website and nothing more. The apps do not access your contacts, location, microphone, or camera roll (photo selection for listings uses the system picker, which shares only the photos you choose). If you enable new-stock notifications, an anonymous push token is stored to deliver them; disable notifications at any time in your device settings, and the token is removed.

7. Children

Our services are intended for users 18 and older (you must be a major to conclude a vehicle sale or credit agreement in South Africa). We do not knowingly collect information from children.

8. Changes

We will update this policy as the product evolves and change the date at the top. For material changes affecting finance-application data we will notify applicants by email.