PRIVACY
POLICY.
This policy explains how Friing Digital (Pty) Ltd collects, uses and protects your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and applicable South African data protection law.
1. Introduction
Friing Digital (Pty) Ltd ("Friing", "we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and all applicable South African data protection legislation.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect your personal information when you use the Friing platform available at friing.co ("the Platform"), including our marketplace, rate calculator, quote system and all related services.
By using the Platform you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the Platform.
Our Information Officer can be contacted at: nick@friing.co.za
2. Who We Are
Friing Digital (Pty) Ltd is a South African company operating a creative marketplace platform that connects photographers, videographers, directors, content creators and other creative professionals ("Creatives") with brands and agencies ("Brands").
We are the Responsible Party as defined under POPIA and are responsible for ensuring that your personal information is processed lawfully and in accordance with this policy.
Contact email: nick@friing.co.za
3. Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal information:
When you register on the Platform, we collect your full name, email address, password (stored in encrypted form) and the type of account you create (Creative or Brand).
Creatives may provide additional information including: city and location, phone number, date of birth, creative category and niches, portfolio photos and videos, hourly and day rates, availability, languages spoken, Instagram and social media handles, bio and business description, brand collaborations, and gear and equipment details.
When quote requests are submitted through the Platform, we collect client name, email address, company name, message content, location details, deliverable selections and pricing.
We automatically collect certain information when you use the Platform, including IP address, browser type and version, device type, pages visited and time spent, referring URLs, and general geographic location based on IP.
Any messages or communications sent through the Platform or to our support team are retained.
If you apply for beta access, we collect your name and email address.
4. Lawful Basis for Processing
Under POPIA, we process your personal information on the following lawful grounds:
Contractual necessity — processing required to provide the services you have signed up for, including maintaining your profile, processing quote requests, and operating the marketplace.
Legitimate interests — processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, including improving the Platform, preventing fraud, and ensuring platform security, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
Consent — where you have given us specific consent to process your information for a particular purpose, such as receiving marketing communications. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Legal obligation — where processing is required to comply with a legal obligation applicable to us.
We will only process your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, or for compatible purposes as permitted by POPIA.
5. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
Platform operation — to create and maintain your account, display your profile on the marketplace, process quote requests, and provide all core Platform functionality.
Communications — to send transactional emails including account confirmation, quote notifications, and platform updates. We use Resend (resend.com) as our email delivery provider and Loops.so for marketing communications.
Platform improvement — to analyse usage patterns, fix bugs, and improve the user experience. We use Vercel Analytics for this purpose.
Security and fraud prevention — to detect, investigate and prevent fraudulent or unauthorised activity on the Platform.
Legal compliance — to comply with applicable South African laws and regulations.
Marketing — with your consent, to send you promotional communications about Friing's products and services. You may opt out at any time.
We will not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects without your consent.
7. Data Storage and Security
Your personal information is stored securely on Supabase infrastructure located in the EU-West-1 (Ireland) region. Supabase is SOC 2 Type II certified and implements industry-standard security measures.
We implement the following security measures to protect your information: - All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS/SSL - Passwords are stored using industry-standard hashing - Database access is controlled using Row Level Security (RLS) policies - API routes that handle sensitive operations use server-side service role keys - Access to administrative functions is restricted to authorised personnel only
While we take reasonable precautions to protect your personal information, no transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security and encourage you to use a strong, unique password for your account.
In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in harm to you, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.
8. Retention of Information
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.
Account data — retained for the duration of your account and for a period of 3 years after account deletion, unless a longer retention period is required by law.
Quote request data — retained for 3 years from the date of the request to support any contractual disputes.
Waitlist data — retained until the waitlist is no longer active or you request removal.
Marketing data — retained until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent.
When personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it in accordance with our data retention procedures.
You may request deletion of your account and associated personal information at any time by contacting nick@friing.co.za. We will process deletion requests within 30 days, subject to any legal obligations to retain certain information.
9. Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:
Right to access — you have the right to request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and to request a copy of that information.
Right to correction — you have the right to request correction of inaccurate, incomplete or outdated personal information we hold about you. Most profile information can be updated directly through your account settings.
Right to deletion — you have the right to request deletion of your personal information where there is no lawful reason for us to continue processing it.
Right to object — you have the right to object to the processing of your personal information on grounds of legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
Right to lodge a complaint — you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have processed your personal information unlawfully.
Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za Tel: 010 023 5200
To exercise any of your rights, please contact our Information Officer at nick@friing.co.za. We will respond to all requests within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
11. Third-Party Links
The Platform may contain links to third-party websites, including social media platforms and external resources. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites and we are not responsible for their privacy practices.
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit through links on our Platform.
Creator profiles may include links to external portfolios, social media accounts and Calendly booking pages. These are operated by third parties under their own privacy policies.
12. Children's Privacy
The Platform is not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us at nick@friing.co.za and we will delete that information promptly.
13. Cross-Border Transfers
Your personal information may be processed outside of South Africa by our third-party service providers (including Supabase in Ireland, Vercel in the United States, Resend and Loops.so).
Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as required by POPIA section 72, including that the recipient country provides an adequate level of protection or that appropriate contractual protections are in place.
By using the Platform, you consent to these transfers where necessary for the provision of our services.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology or legal requirements. We will notify you of material changes by posting a notice on the Platform or by sending an email to the address associated with your account.
The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last revised. Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
15. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:
Information Officer: Nicholas Johnburn Email: nick@friing.co.za Website: friing.co
We will respond to all privacy-related queries within 10 business days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforeg@justice.gov.za.
Questions about your data?
Our Information Officer is available to help with any privacy-related queries, access requests or complaints.