Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Gazole (Pty) Ltd ("Gazole", "we", "us", "our") is a private company registered in South Africa. We operate the Gazole Fleet platform, a web-based fleet and fuel management solution for South African businesses.

Under POPIA, Gazole acts as both a Responsible Party (when we collect and process personal information about our own clients and website visitors) and an Operator (when we process personal information on behalf of our business clients in relation to their employees and drivers).

Our Information Officer, responsible for overseeing compliance with POPIA, can be contacted at: support@gazole.co.za.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Account registration: full name, company name, business email address, phone number, physical business address.
• Demo and contact forms: name, email address, phone number, and any message you submit.
• Payment information: billing name, billing address, VAT number. Note: we do not store full card numbers — payment transactions are processed by our PCI-DSS compliant payment processor.
• Support communications: any personal information you include when contacting our support team.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Usage data: pages visited, features used, time spent, actions taken within the platform, error logs.
• Device and browser information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution.
• Cookies and similar technologies: session tokens, preference cookies, and analytics identifiers (see Section 10).

2.3 Customer data you upload (Operator processing)

When you use the Gazole Fleet platform, you may upload personal information about third parties, including your employees and drivers. This may include:

• Names, identity numbers, employee numbers;
• Driver's licence numbers and expiry dates;
• Contact details;
• Vehicle usage records, fuel transactions, and route data;
• Driver behaviour scores and incident records.

You are the Responsible Party for this data. We process it only on your instruction to provide the Service.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

We will not use your personal information for any purpose incompatible with those listed above without your prior consent.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under POPIA, we process your personal information on the following lawful grounds:

• Contract performance: Processing necessary to perform the Subscription agreement with you or to take steps at your request before entering into such agreement.
• Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, including improving the Service, preventing fraud, and managing our business relationships, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation: Processing necessary to comply with a legal obligation, including tax legislation and the Companies Act.
• Consent: Where we rely on consent (e.g., for marketing emails), you may withdraw consent at any time by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any marketing email or by contacting us at support@gazole.co.za.

5. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information with:

• Service providers and operators: Third-party vendors who assist us in operating the platform, processing payments, sending emails, and providing infrastructure, acting on our written instructions and bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Fuel card providers: Where you have enabled fuel card integration, we share necessary transaction data with the relevant provider to enable matching and reconciliation.
• Professional advisors: Lawyers, accountants, and auditors where necessary for our legal and compliance obligations.
• Law enforcement and regulatory authorities: Where required by law, court order, or legal process.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, your information may be transferred to the acquirer, subject to the same privacy protections.

Any third party with whom we share personal information is required to protect it in accordance with POPIA and our data processing agreements.

6. International Transfers

6.1 We store Customer Data on servers located within the Republic of South Africa by default.

6.2 Some of our third-party service providers (such as email delivery and analytics services) may be located outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including contractual protections equivalent to POPIA requirements, in accordance with section 72 of POPIA.

6.3 We will inform you of any change to our data hosting location that materially affects your data residency.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal obligations:

• Active account data: Retained for the duration of your Subscription.
• Post-termination data: Customer Data is retained for 30 days after termination or trial expiry, then permanently deleted unless you request deletion sooner.
• Financial records: Billing information and invoices are retained for 5 years to comply with South African tax legislation.
• Support records: Communications with our support team are retained for 3 years.
• Marketing data: Retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
• Website analytics: Retained in anonymised form for up to 26 months.

You may request deletion of your personal information at any time, subject to our legal retention obligations.

8. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

• Right to access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to our legal obligations.
• Right to object: You may object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
• Right to data portability: You may request your personal information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to lodge a complaint: You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa (see Section 15).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@gazole.co.za. We will respond within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.

9. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS (Transport Layer Security);
• Encryption of sensitive data at rest;
• Role-based access controls limiting employee access to personal information;
• Regular security assessments and penetration testing;
• Incident response procedures and breach notification protocols;
• Staff training on data protection and information security.

Despite these measures, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. If you suspect a security issue with your account, please contact us immediately at support@gazole.co.za.

10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website and platform use cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

Types of cookies we use:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the platform to function, including authentication and security cookies. These cannot be disabled.
• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences such as language settings and dashboard configuration.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how users interact with the platform so we can improve it. We use anonymised analytics data.
• Marketing cookies: Used only with your consent to deliver relevant marketing content.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect your experience of the platform.

11. Children's Privacy

The Service is intended for use by businesses and individuals aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us at support@gazole.co.za and we will delete it promptly.

12. Third-Party Links

Our website and platform may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the law, or our Service. We will notify you of material changes by email or via a prominent notice on the platform at least 14 days before changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. How to Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:

We aim to respond to all privacy-related requests within 30 calendar days.

15. Complaints to the Information Regulator

If you believe that Gazole has violated your rights under POPIA and you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa: