PRIVACY POLICY – POPIA

CHARGE EV Charging App & Free Charging Voucher Programme

    1. INTRODUCTION

CHARGE (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share personal information when you:

    • use our mobile application
    • activate free charging vouchers
    • charge an electric vehicle at our stations
    • interact with participating EV dealerships
    • provide marketing or profiling information

By using our App or activating a voucher, you consent to the processing of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.

    1. RESPONSIBLE PARTY

Responsible Party:
Zero Carbon Charge (Pty) Ltd t/a CHARGE
Registration Number: 2022/232376/07
Address: 9A Wandel Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8000

Charge Information Officer
Email: [email protected]

    1. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

    • Information captured by dealerships

When a dealership issues a voucher:

    • Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
    • Buyer identity information (including ID number where applicable)
    • Vehicle make & model
    • Vehicle year of manufacture
    • Buyer age range
    • Buyer gender
    • Buyer postal code
    • Vehicle financed or cash purchase
    • Vehicle private or company-owned
    • Information provided by users

When activating vouchers or using the App:

    • Type of vehicle (BEV or PHEV)
    • Access to charging facilities (home, work, public)
    • Most used charging locations
    • Typical driving pattern
    • Long-distance travel frequency
    • Routes used most often
    • Importance of environmental impact
    • Charging station selection factors
    • Number of EVs owned
    • Solar installation at home
    • Automatically collected information

When using our charging services:

    • Charging session data
    • Location of charging station used
    • Energy consumption (kWh)
    • Voucher usage data
    • App usage analytics
    • Device information
    1. PURPOSE OF PROCESSING

We process personal information for the following purposes:

    • Voucher administration
    • issuing free charging vouchers
    • validating eligibility
    • preventing fraud
    • tracking voucher usage
    • Charging service delivery
    • enabling EV charging
    • managing user accounts
    • providing charging session information
    • Analytics and infrastructure planning
    • understanding EV driver behaviour
    • analysing charging demand
    • planning new charging locations
    • improving network performance
    • Profiling and insights

We may use collected information to create aggregated and anonymised EV driver profiles including:

    • charging behaviour
    • travel patterns
    • infrastructure demand
    • ownership trends
    • charging preferences

This profiling is used only for:

    • infrastructure planning
    • service optimisation
    • marketing insights
    • dealership insights (aggregated only)

No individual driver will be identifiable in shared insights.

    • Marketing and communications

We may use your information to:

    • communicate charging offers
    • notify you of new stations
    • provide service updates
    • share EV charging insights

You may opt out of marketing at any time.

    1. SHARING OF INFORMATION

We may share information with:

    • Participating dealerships

We may share:

    • aggregated analytics
    • anonymised driver insights
    • usage trends

We do NOT share:

    • ID numbers
    • VIN linked to individuals
    • identifiable personal information
    • Service providers

We may share information with:

    • app hosting providers
    • analytics providers
    • payment processors
    • IT service providers

These parties act as Operators under POPIA and process data only on our instructions.

    • Legal requirements

We may disclose information:

    • where required by law
    • to prevent fraud
    • to protect rights
    • to comply with regulators
    1. LAWFUL BASIS FOR PROCESSING

We process personal information on the following lawful bases:

    • your consent
    • performance of charging services
    • legitimate business interests
    • legal compliance

Where required by POPIA, we obtain explicit consent.

    1. UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS

Where we collect unique identifiers such as:

    • ID number
    • VIN

These are used solely for:

    • voucher validation
    • fraud prevention
    • analytics (anonymised)

Unique identifiers are stored securely and not shared in identifiable form.

    1. DATA RETENTION

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for:

    • voucher administration
    • charging services
    • analytics
    • legal compliance

Thereafter information is:

    • anonymised, or
    • securely deleted
    1. SECURITY SAFEGUARDS

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information including:

    • encryption
    • access control
    • restricted personnel access
    1. YOUR RIGHTS

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

    • request access to your personal information
    • request correction of your information
    • request deletion of your information
    • withdraw consent
    • object to processing
    • opt out of marketing
    • lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator

Requests may be sent to:

Email: [email protected]

    1. WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT

You may withdraw consent at any time.
Withdrawal will not affect processing already completed.

Withdrawal may limit:

    • voucher usage
    • charging services
    • app functionality
    1. COOKIES AND APP ANALYTICS

Our App may use analytics tools to:

    • improve performance
    • understand usage
    • optimise services

These analytics are anonymised where possible.

    1. CHILDREN

Our services are not directed at children.
We do not knowingly collect information from persons under 18.

    1. CHANGES TO POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
The latest version will be published on:

    • our website
    • our App
    1. INFORMATION REGULATOR

You may lodge a complaint with:

Information Regulator (South Africa)
Website: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg
Email: [email protected]

    1. CONTACT US

For privacy queries:

Email: [email protected]
Address: 12A Wandel Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001