Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Hagalu is an independent automotive research, buyer enquiry and car buying guidance platform serving South Africa and African markets. When this policy refers to "Hagalu," "we," "us" or "our," it means the Hagalu platform and its operators. When it refers to "you" or "user," it means any person accessing hagalu.com or any Hagalu-operated subdomain.

For privacy enquiries, contact us at: support@hagalu.com

2. Legal Framework — POPIA Compliance

Hagalu operates primarily in South Africa and processes data in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA, Act No. 4 of 2013), which came into full effect on 1 July 2021. POPIA establishes eight conditions for lawful processing of personal information:

1. Accountability: Hagalu, as responsible party, takes accountability for processing activities.
2. Processing limitation: We collect only what is necessary for specified purposes.
3. Purpose specification: All data is collected for a specific, explicitly defined purpose and not retained beyond that purpose.
4. Further processing limitation: Data is not processed for purposes incompatible with the original collection purpose.
5. Information quality: We take reasonable steps to ensure data is complete, accurate and kept up to date.
6. Openness: This policy documents our processing activities transparently.
7. Security safeguards: Appropriate technical and organisational measures are applied to protect personal information.
8. Data subject participation: Users have rights to access, correct and object to processing of their personal information.

Where Hagalu serves users in the European Union or United Kingdom, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR also apply. Our practices are designed to satisfy both POPIA and GDPR requirements concurrently.

3. What Data We Collect and Why

3.1 Anonymised Usage Analytics

Hagalu collects aggregated, anonymised data about how users interact with the platform. This includes:

• Pages viewed and navigation paths
• Device type (mobile, tablet, desktop) and operating system
• Browser type and version
• Approximate geographic location (country and province level — not precise location)
• Referring website or search engine
• Session duration and scroll depth on content pages

This data is used to understand which content is most useful to South African and African car buyers, to improve site navigation and to ensure technical compatibility across devices. No personally identifiable information is collected through analytics by default.

3.2 EMI Calculator and Finance Tool Interactions

Hagalu provides EMI estimation tools and finance guidance frameworks. When you use these tools, the following applies:

• All calculations are performed locally in your browser. Values you enter (purchase price, deposit, term, interest rate) are not transmitted to Hagalu servers.
• We do not store, log or share any financial figures you input into our calculators.
• No personally identifiable financial information is collected through these tools.
• These tools are educational estimators — they do not constitute a credit application or financial advice.

3.3 Vehicle Comparison and Research Session Data

When you use comparison tools or save vehicle research sessions, we may use browser local storage (not cookies) to retain your vehicle selections between pages. This data:

• Remains on your device and is not transmitted to Hagalu servers.
• Is cleared when you clear your browser data or use private browsing.
• Is never shared with third parties.

3.4 Contact, Buyer Enquiry and Quote-Support Forms

If you contact Hagalu via an enquiry form, buyer lead form, modal form or email, we may collect your name, phone number, email address, city, vehicle interest, enquiry source and any message you provide. This data is:

• Used to respond to your specific enquiry, provide quote support, arrange buying assistance or follow up on the vehicle interest you submitted.
• Not added to any marketing list without your explicit consent.
• Retained for a maximum of 24 months after the enquiry is resolved, then deleted.
• Never sold or shared with third-party marketers.

If you ask Hagalu to help with quote support or buying assistance, we may need to discuss your enquiry internally or with an appropriate buying support contact. We do not share personally identifiable enquiry details with manufacturers, dealerships, finance institutions or insurance providers without your consent or a clear instruction connected to your request.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Hagalu uses cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

You can control cookie behaviour through your browser settings. Disabling analytics or advertising cookies does not affect your ability to access vehicle data, specifications or finance guides on Hagalu.

South African users: POPIA does not mandate a specific cookie consent banner format, but we operate on a notice-and-opt-out basis for non-essential cookies, consistent with POPIA's transparency requirements.

5. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing

Hagalu integrates with third-party services for analytics and advertising. These services operate under their own privacy policies:

• Google Analytics: Aggregated traffic and behaviour analytics. Google processes this data under its own privacy policy. IP anonymisation is enabled. Data is not used to identify individual users.
• Google AdSense / advertising networks: Display advertising may be served by Google or other certified advertising networks. These parties may use their own cookies to serve relevant ads. They do not receive your vehicle research data, financial inputs or contact information.
• Content Delivery Networks (CDN): Static assets (images, stylesheets) may be served via CDN providers. These providers log access requests (IP address, timestamp, resource requested) for security and performance purposes under their own data handling policies.

We do not sell personal information to any third party under any circumstances. We do not share personally identifiable information with vehicle manufacturers, dealerships, finance institutions or insurance companies without your explicit consent or a clear instruction connected to a buyer enquiry you submitted.

6. Finance and Insurance Partner References

Hagalu's finance and insurance content may reference South African financial service providers including WesBank, MFC, Absa Vehicle Finance, Standard Bank, Bidvest Bank, Santam, OUTsurance, King Price, Hollard and others. These references are editorial and educational only.

When we reference or link to these providers:

• No personal data is passed to these providers from our site.
• We do not receive referral fees that influence which providers are mentioned.
• Clicking a link to an external provider takes you to their site, which operates under their own privacy policy.
• These providers are regulated by the FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority) and operate under their own POPIA compliance frameworks.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding personal information Hagalu holds about you:

• Right of access: Request a description of the personal information we hold about you (Section 23, POPIA).
• Right to correction or deletion: Request that inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive or outdated personal information be corrected or deleted (Section 24, POPIA).
• Right to object: Object to processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds (Section 11(3), POPIA).
• Right to complain: Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your rights under POPIA have been violated. The Regulator's website is www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@hagalu.com with your request. We will respond within the timeframes prescribed by POPIA.

8. Data Security

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

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit.
• Access controls limiting which personnel can access user-submitted data.
• Regular review of third-party service providers' data handling practices.
• Incident response procedures to detect, contain and notify affected parties in the event of a data breach, consistent with POPIA Section 22 requirements.

In the event of a material data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA within the prescribed timeframe.

9. Children's Privacy

Hagalu does not knowingly collect personal information from persons under the age of 18. Vehicle finance and purchasing decisions are adult matters, and our content is directed at adult car buyers. If you believe a minor has submitted personal information to Hagalu, please contact us at support@hagalu.com for prompt deletion.

10. Changes to This Policy

This privacy policy is reviewed at least annually and updated when our data practices change, when new services are introduced or when applicable law changes. Material changes will be noted on this page with an updated date stamp. Continued use of Hagalu after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

For questions about this policy or your privacy rights: support@hagalu.com