Who we are
AVInside operates the website at https://www.avinside.co.za, a South African online marketplace and content platform for HiFi, home theatre and home automation enthusiasts. For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”), we are the responsible party for personal information processed through this website.
For any privacy-related queries or requests, contact us at [info@avinside.co.za].
What personal information we collect
Account registration. To place adverts, you must create a user account. We collect the details you provide during registration, including your name, email address and username. Accounts are approved by the AVInside team before activation.
Adverts. When you place an advert, we collect and publish the content you submit: item descriptions, photographs, price, location, and any contact details you choose to include.
Adverts are publicly visible. Anything you include in an advert — including your name, suburb or contact information — can be seen by anyone on the internet. Please only include information you are comfortable making public.
Photographs. If you upload images, be aware that photographs may contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors can download images from the website and extract any embedded data. We recommend removing location data before uploading.
Messages. When you contact a seller through an advert’s message form, or contact us through the site, we collect your name, email address, subject and message, which are forwarded to the recipient.
Comments. If you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comment form together with your IP address and browser user agent string to assist with spam detection. Approved comments and their metadata are publicly visible.
Technical data. Like most websites, we automatically collect limited technical information such as IP addresses and browser details for security, spam prevention and site operation.
Why we process your information
We process personal information to:
- operate the marketplace, including approving user accounts and publishing adverts;
- enable buyers and sellers to contact one another;
- detect and prevent spam, fraud and misuse of the platform;
- respond to enquiries and feedback; and
- comply with legal obligations.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for third-party marketing.
Cookies
If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies for convenience; these last one year. When you log in, we set cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last two days (two weeks if you select “Remember Me”) and screen option cookies last one year; logging out removes login cookies. If you visit the login page, a temporary cookie checks whether your browser accepts cookies and is discarded when you close your browser.
Third parties and cross-border transfers
We use a limited number of third-party services to operate the site:
- Gravatar (Automattic). An anonymised hash of your email address may be provided to the Gravatar service to check whether you have a profile picture. Automattic’s privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.
- Spam detection. Visitor comments and messages may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
- Hosting. The website is hosted by a third-party hosting provider that processes data on our behalf.
Some of these providers store or process data outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we rely on the providers being subject to laws or binding agreements that provide an adequate level of protection, as contemplated by section 72 of POPIA.
Embedded content. Pages may include embedded content (for example, videos) from other websites, which behaves as if you had visited that website directly. Those websites may collect data about you, use cookies, and track your interaction with the embedded content.
How long we keep your information
- Adverts remain published until you remove them, mark them as sold, or request their removal, after which they are deleted within a reasonable period.
- Accounts are retained while active. You may request deletion of your account at any time.
- Comments and their metadata are retained so that follow-up comments can be recognised and approved automatically.
- Messages and enquiries are retained only as long as reasonably necessary.
We may retain limited information beyond these periods where required for administrative, legal or security purposes.
Your rights under POPIA
You have the right to:
- request access to the personal information we hold about you, including an exported copy;
- request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
- request deletion of your personal information, subject to information we are obliged to keep;
- object to processing in certain circumstances; and
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa (https://inforegulator.org.za; complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za).
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [privacy@avinside.co.za]. Registered users can also view and edit their own profile information at any time (usernames cannot be changed).
Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access and misuse. However, no internet transmission or storage system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your account password confidential. If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
Please also exercise caution when transacting with other users. AVInside approves user accounts but does not vet users, and is not a party to any transaction concluded through the marketplace.
Children
This website is intended for users aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be published on this page with its date of last update. Continued use of the website after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact
AVInside
Email: [info@avinside.co.za] Website: https://www.avinside.co.za
Last updated: 31 July 2026