Privacy Policy

Essentialist (“we”, “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, and the rights you have under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

Who we are

Essentialist is a directory of beauty and wellness professionals operating in South Africa. For the purposes of POPIA we are the “responsible party” for the personal information described below.

What we collect

• Account details you give us when you register: name, email, phone number and password.
• Listing details if you are a professional: business name, services, pricing, location, photos, and social links.
• Usage data: pages visited, searches, saved favourites, and approximate location (only when you allow it, to power “near me” search).
• Device data: browser type and IP address, collected automatically.

How we use it

• To run the directory: show listings, power search and filters, and let you save favourites.
• To keep listings accurate and the index honest, including acting on reports and reviews.
• To contact you about your account, reviews, or a listing you submitted.
• We never sell your personal information, and money never buys a ranking.

Sharing

We share information only with service providers who help us operate (hosting, maps, payments), and only as needed. Public listing details are, by design, shown publicly. We may disclose information if required by law.

Cookies

We use a small number of cookies to keep you signed in and to understand how the site is used. You can manage these at any time. See our Cookie Policy for detail.

Your POPIA rights

Under POPIA you may:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you, and request a copy.
• Ask us to correct or delete information that is wrong or no longer needed.
• Object to processing, or withdraw consent you previously gave.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa).

Retention & security

We keep personal information only as long as needed to provide the service or to meet legal obligations, then delete it. We protect it with reasonable technical and organisational safeguards, though no system is perfectly secure.

Contact our Information Officer

For any privacy request, email our Information Officer and we will respond within a reasonable period.