Legal

Privacy policy

What personal information we collect, why, and who sees it

Last updated: 25 October 2026

Food Truck Finder (foodtruckfinder.co.za) is a free online directory of food trucks and caterers in South Africa. This policy explains what personal information we collect, what we do with it and who we share it with, as the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) requires. Food Truck Finder is the responsible party for the information described here.

In short: you can use the site without an account. We collect what you type into our forms and, only if you accept them, site statistics cookies. A booking request goes straight to the truck you chose; we don't handle the booking. We don't sell personal information.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us

Booking requests: your name, email address, phone number, event type, date and time, number of guests, location and message, when you use Request Booking on a truck's page.
Messages: your name, email address, phone number (optional) and message, when you use our contact form.
Listing requests: your name, email address, phone number, truck name, town and any notes, when you use the List your truck form.
Problem reports: your name, email address, description and any screenshot you attach, when you use the Report a problem form.
Deals sign-up: your email address, province and, if you add it, WhatsApp number, when you sign up for food truck deals in the box that pops up on the site. We also note the page you signed up on and the wording you agreed to.

Information about the trucks we list

Listings are about businesses: the business name, area, phone number, email address, WhatsApp number, social media links, menu and photos. We gather these from the business's own public pages (its website, social media and Google listing), or the owner sends them to us. Where a listing includes a person's name or a personal phone number, it came from one of those places. If you own a listed truck and want something changed or removed, send us a message.

Information collected automatically

Our hosting provider logs basic technical details of each visit, such as IP address, browser and the page requested, to keep the site running and secure.
Only if you accept site statistics cookies: Google Analytics records which pages you visit, how you found the site, your type of device and your approximate location worked out from your IP address. Microsoft Clarity records how you use our pages (clicks, scrolling and mouse movement) so we can see where they are hard to use.
See our cookie policy for the details.

We don't ask the public to create accounts, we don't take payments and we don't read your device's location.

2. How we use your information

Send your booking request by email to the truck you chose and, if you choose WhatsApp, open a ready-written message for you to send from your own phone
Email you a copy of your booking request
Reply to your messages, listing requests and problem reports
Add, correct or remove listings
Send you food truck deals and news by email, and on WhatsApp if you gave us your number, if you signed up for them
See how the site is used so we can improve it, if you accepted site statistics cookies
Keep the site secure and prevent misuse
Meet our legal obligations

We don't decide whether a truck takes your booking, and we don't follow up booking requests.

3. Legal basis (POPIA)

We process your information because of:

Your request: when you send a booking request, message, listing request or problem report, we use your details to do what you asked
Consent: for site statistics cookies, and for deals by email or WhatsApp if you sign up. You can withdraw it at any time
Legitimate interest: running a public directory of businesses from details they publish themselves, and keeping the site secure
Legal obligation: where the law requires us to keep or hand over information

4. Who receives your information

We don't sell or trade personal information. It goes only to:

The food truck you contact: your name, contact details, event details and message when you send a booking request. The truck gets it in its own email inbox and replies to you directly. What happens after that is between you and the truck, and the truck handles your details under its own terms.
Truck owners with an account: a few owners still have accounts from an earlier version of the site. If you send a booking request to one of their trucks, they can also see it there.
WhatsApp: only if you choose to send your booking request by WhatsApp. The message goes from your own WhatsApp account, under WhatsApp's terms.
Authorities: if the law or a court order requires it.

And to the service providers that run parts of the site for us:

Supabase: stores the directory and the forms you send us, and handles sign-in for site admins
Vercel: hosts the website
Resend: delivers our emails, including booking requests to trucks
Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics: site statistics, only if you accept them
Microsoft Clarity: site statistics, only if you accept them
Google Maps Platform: address look-up in the tools we use to edit listings

These providers process information for us under their own data protection terms and privacy policies.

5. Keeping it safe

Information is sent over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection and stored with Supabase, which encrypts it at rest. Only our admin can see the messages, listing requests and problem reports you send us. No system is completely secure, so we can't promise information will never be exposed. If your personal information is compromised, we will tell you and the Information Regulator, as POPIA requires.

6. How long we keep it

Booking requests: we keep a copy for up to 24 months, then delete it. The truck keeps its own copy under its own rules.
Messages, listing requests and problem reports: up to 24 months after we've dealt with them.
Listing details: while the truck is listed. If an owner asks us to remove a listing, we take it down within 30 days.
Deals sign-ups: until you unsubscribe. To stop deals, reply to any deals message or send us a message, and we delete your details.
Site statistics: kept by Google and Microsoft within the retention limits of those services.
Owner accounts from the earlier version of the site: kept while they are in use, and deleted if the owner asks.
Records of any past payments: 5 years, as South African tax law requires.

7. Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Correct information that is wrong or incomplete
Delete your information (unless the law requires us to keep it)
Object to us using your information, including for direct marketing
Withdraw consent at any time, for example by unsubscribing or changing your cookie choice under "Manage cookies" at the bottom of any page
Complain to the Information Regulator if you think we have not respected your rights

To use any of these rights, send us a message. We will reply within 30 days.

8. Information sent outside South Africa

Some of our service providers (Supabase, Vercel, Resend, Google and Microsoft) store or process information outside South Africa. We rely on their data protection terms, which give protection comparable to POPIA, as section 72 of POPIA requires.

9. Children

Food Truck Finder is meant for adults arranging food for events. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 18. If you think a child has sent us their details, let us know and we will delete them.