Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 2026

Gig Engineer (Pty) Ltd is committed to maintaining robust privacy protections for its users. This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect, use, and safeguard the information you provide to us, and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our Service.

By accessing our Website or Service, you accept this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use (accessible at gigengineer.io), and you consent to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Definitions

"Website" or "Platform" refers to the website and platform operated and maintained by Gig Engineer, accessible at gigengineer.io.

"Service" refers to the Gig Engineer platform services accessible via the Website, enabling connections between Buyers and Sellers for engineering engagements.

"Buyer" means a User that purchases services from Sellers or identifies a Seller through the Gig Engineer Website.

"Seller", "Independent Professional" or "Engineer" means a User that offers and provides services through the Website.

"User" or "You" means an individual who visits or uses the Website or Service. A User may be both a Buyer and a Seller.

"Personal Information" means information that identifies or is reasonably identifiable to a specific individual, as defined under POPIA.

"Non-Personal Information" means information that cannot be used to personally identify you, such as anonymous usage data and aggregate statistics.

"POPIA" means the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (South Africa).

"Information Regulator" means the Information Regulator of South Africa, the supervisory authority established under POPIA.

"Information Officer" means the designated responsible party for data protection compliance at Gig Engineer, as required under POPIA.

"Payment Service Provider" means any third-party payment processor appointed by Gig Engineer from time to time to facilitate milestone payment processing on the platform.

"EU GDPR" means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation), as applicable in Ireland and other European Union member states.

"UK GDPR" means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

"We", "Us", "Our" or "Gig Engineer" refers to Gig Engineer (Pty) Ltd.

I. Information We Collect

We collect "Non-Personal Information" and "Personal Information." The categories of Personal Information we collect, along with the lawful basis for processing each category, are set out below.

1. Information Collected via Technology

To activate the Service you do not need to submit any Personal Information other than your email address. To use the Service thereafter, you may need to submit further Personal Information, which may include personal contact information such as your phone number.

We track information provided to us by your browser or by our software application when you view or use the Service, such as the website you came from (known as the referring URL), the type of browser you use, the device from which you connected to the Service, the time and date of access, and other information that does not personally identify you. We track this information using cookies, or small text files which include an anonymous unique identifier.

Lawful basis: Legitimate interest (platform security, service improvement, and fraud prevention).

Cookies may be used to collect:

1. Your general location.
2. The pages you visit.
3. Events such as form submissions.
4. Session state to maintain your login.

Cookie categories: We use (a) strictly necessary session cookies required for platform operation; (b) analytics cookies to understand how users interact with the Service; and (c) functionality cookies to remember user preferences. You may manage or withdraw consent for non-essential cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the availability of certain features.

2. Information You Provide by Registering for an Account

To become a user of the Service you will need to create a personal profile by registering with the Service and entering your email address and a password. By registering, you authorise us to collect, store and use your email address in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

User Profiles: Users may create a profile consisting of information about themselves and, where applicable, their company, including Personal Information, photographs, examples of work, skills, pay rates, earnings information, and feedback. The information in your Profile may be publicly visible to other users of the Service. You may edit certain information in your Profile via your account settings. If you believe an unauthorised profile has been created on your behalf, please contact us at: info@gigengineer.io.

Lawful basis: Contractual necessity (to provide and manage the Service).

3. Payment and Financial Information

Milestone payments on the platform are processed by our appointed Payment Service Provider. When you make or receive a payment, the Payment Service Provider collects and processes the financial information necessary to complete the transaction (including banking details and payment card information where applicable).

Gig Engineer retains transaction records (amounts, dates, milestone references, and payment status) for accounting, compliance, and audit purposes. We do not store full payment card numbers or banking credentials on our own systems.

Lawful basis: Contractual necessity and legal obligation (financial record-keeping and regulatory compliance).

4. Children's Privacy

The Site and the Service are not directed to anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect or solicit information from anyone under the age of 18, or allow anyone under the age of 18 to sign up for our Service. In the event that we learn that we have gathered personal information from anyone under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian, we will delete that information as soon as possible. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us at: info@gigengineer.io.

II. How We Use and Share Information

Personal Information

Except as otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell, trade, rent or otherwise share your Personal Information with third parties for marketing purposes without your consent.

We share Personal Information with vendors performing services on our behalf (including our Payment Service Provider and email infrastructure providers). Those vendors use your Personal Information only at our direction and in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection agreements.

We use Personal Information to:

1. communicate with you in response to questions and support requests;
2. solicit feedback and inform you of relevant platform updates;
3. facilitate the matching of Buyers and Sellers;
4. process and record milestone payments;
5. provide technical support and maintain platform security.

We may share Personal Information with outside parties if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to meet any applicable legal process or enforceable governmental request; to enforce applicable Terms of Use; to address fraud, security or technical concerns; or to protect against harm to the rights, property, or safety of our users or the public as required or permitted by law.

Non-Personal Information

We use Non-Personal Information to improve the Service and customize the user experience. We may aggregate Non-Personal Information to track trends and analyse use patterns on the Website. We do not share Non-Personal Information with advertisers.

Business Transactions

In the event we undergo a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your Personal Information may be among the assets transferred. You acknowledge and consent that such transfers may occur and are permitted by this Privacy Policy, and that any acquirer of our assets may continue to process your Personal Information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

III. Data Retention

We retain Personal Information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, and to resolve disputes or enforce our agreements. The following retention periods apply:

Where Personal Information is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so it can no longer be attributed to you.

IV. How We Protect Information

We implement security measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access. Your account is protected by your account password and we urge you to take steps to keep your personal information safe by not disclosing your password and by logging out of your account after each use. We further protect your information from potential security breaches by implementing technological security measures including encryption and secure socket layer technology.

However, these measures do not guarantee that your information will not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by breach of such secure server software. By using our Service, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to assume these risks.

V. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, Gig Engineer will:

1. notify the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible after becoming aware of the breach, and no later than within 72 hours where feasible;
2. notify affected users directly if the breach is likely to result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms, providing details of the nature of the breach, the likely consequences, and the measures taken or proposed to address it.

We maintain internal procedures for detecting, investigating, and responding to suspected personal information breaches.

VI. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Gig Engineer's platform infrastructure is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), with servers located in London, United Kingdom. As a result, your Personal Information may be transferred to and processed in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Both the United Kingdom and Ireland (as a member of the European Union) maintain data protection legislation that provides protections that are substantially equivalent to those under POPIA, including the UK GDPR and EU GDPR respectively. We transfer Personal Information to these jurisdictions only where appropriate safeguards are in place, including contractual arrangements with our infrastructure providers that require them to process personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law.

By using our Service, you acknowledge and consent to this transfer. If you wish to withdraw your consent, you acknowledge that we may be unable to continue providing you with access to the Service.

VII. Your Rights Regarding Your Personal Information

Under POPIA, you have the following rights in relation to your Personal Information:

1. Right to be informed: You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your Personal Information, as set out in this Privacy Policy.
2. Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the Personal Information we hold about you.
3. Right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete Personal Information we hold about you.
4. Right to deletion: You have the right to request that we delete your Personal Information where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing, subject to our legal obligations.
5. Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your Personal Information where we are relying on legitimate interests as the lawful basis for processing.
6. Right to opt out of marketing: You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions in any promotional email, or by contacting us directly.

To exercise any of the above rights, please contact our Information Officer at the details provided in Section X. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

VIII. Links to Other Websites

As part of the Service, we may provide links to or compatibility with other websites or applications. We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by those websites or the information or content they contain. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by us through the Website and the Service. We encourage our users to read the privacy statements of other websites before proceeding to use them.

IX. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

Gig Engineer (Pty) Ltd reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use at any time. We will notify you of significant changes to our Privacy Policy by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your account or by placing a prominent notice on our site. Significant changes will go into effect 30 days following such notification. Non-material changes or clarifications will take effect immediately. You should periodically check the Website and this Privacy Policy page for updates.

X. Information Officer and Contact

Gig Engineer (Pty) Ltd has designated the following individual as the responsible Information Officer for data protection purposes under POPIA:

If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy or believe that your personal information has been processed in a manner inconsistent with POPIA, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa: