Gear Africa Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Gear Africa collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information when you use our rider app, driver app, admin dashboard, website, support channels, and related services.

Gear Africa is a ride-hailing and transport technology platform that connects riders, drivers, partners, and administrators. This policy applies to riders, drivers, vehicle owners, partners, website visitors, support users, and any other person who interacts with Gear Africa.

By using Gear Africa, you acknowledge that your personal information will be handled as described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information we collect

We collect information you provide directly, information generated when you use the service, information from your device, and information from trusted third parties where needed to operate, secure, and improve Gear Africa.

• Account details such as name, phone number, email address, profile photo, password or authentication details, preferred language, and user role.
• Rider information such as pickup and drop-off locations, saved places, ride history, ratings, reviews, cancellation records, support requests, and communication preferences.
• Driver and partner information such as driver profile details, vehicle details, licence information, identity documents, verification documents, availability status, trip history, earnings records, payout details, and performance metrics.
• Location information such as GPS location, approximate location, live trip location, route data, pickup points, drop-off points, and location timestamps.
• Payment and transaction information such as fare amounts, payment status, refunds, credits, promotions, payout records, transaction references, and payment method metadata.
• Device and technical information such as device type, operating system, app version, IP address, identifiers, browser type, crash logs, diagnostics, and usage events.
• Communications such as support messages, complaints, safety reports, call or chat metadata, emails, push notification preferences, and feedback.
• Website information such as cookie data, analytics data, pages viewed, referral links, and interactions with public policy or marketing pages.

3. Sensitive information and verification data

Some information collected from drivers, partners, or users may be sensitive or require extra care, including identity documents, driver licences, vehicle documents, insurance information, profile images, background or eligibility checks, safety reports, and precise location data.

We use this information only where needed for verification, safety, legal compliance, fraud prevention, platform trust, dispute resolution, or service operation.

4. How we use information

Gear Africa uses personal information to provide, maintain, secure, personalize, and improve the platform.

• Create, verify, authenticate, and manage rider, driver, partner, support, and admin accounts.
• Match riders with drivers and enable ride requests, driver acceptance, route management, trip tracking, and trip completion.
• Calculate fares, process payments, issue refunds, manage credits, process driver payouts, and keep transaction records.
• Show trip progress, estimated arrival times, route information, nearby drivers, and live location updates.
• Verify driver identity, vehicle details, documents, eligibility, and compliance with platform requirements.
• Provide customer support, investigate complaints, resolve disputes, respond to safety incidents, and enforce platform rules.
• Send service messages, security alerts, trip updates, payment notices, policy updates, support replies, and other important communications.
• Prevent fraud, abuse, duplicate accounts, unauthorized access, payment misuse, unsafe conduct, and violations of our terms.
• Monitor platform performance, fix bugs, analyze usage, improve reliability, develop new features, and maintain service quality.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, insurance, law enforcement, and safety obligations.

5. Location information

Location information is central to the Gear Africa service. We use location data to match riders and drivers, display nearby drivers, estimate arrival times, calculate routes and fares, track active trips, support safety features, prevent fraud, and resolve disputes.

Drivers may need to share location information while online, available, accepting trips, travelling to pickup points, and completing trips. Riders may need to share location information to set pickup points, view trip progress, and use safety or support features.

You can manage location permissions through your device settings. Some features may not work properly if location permissions are disabled.

6. Payments, payouts, and transactions

We collect and process payment-related information to complete fares, refunds, promotions, driver earnings, partner settlements, and financial records.

Payment information may be handled by third-party payment processors. Gear Africa may receive transaction references, payment status, card or wallet metadata, payout status, or other limited information needed to confirm and manage payments.

We do not intend to store full card numbers or sensitive payment credentials unless expressly stated and protected according to applicable payment security standards.

7. How we share information

We share personal information only where reasonably necessary to operate the service, complete a transaction, protect users, comply with law, or support legitimate business operations.

• With riders and drivers to arrange trips, confirm pickup and drop-off details, enable communication, display trip progress, and support ratings or trip records.
• With payment processors, banks, mobile money providers, payout providers, and fraud prevention providers to process payments, refunds, credits, and driver payouts.
• With cloud hosting, storage, database, analytics, crash reporting, messaging, email, push notification, authentication, and security providers that help us run the platform.
• With map, routing, geocoding, and location service providers to support navigation, route estimates, distance calculations, and trip tracking.
• With identity verification, document review, background check, insurance, fleet, or compliance partners where needed for driver or partner onboarding and safety.
• With support staff, admins, contractors, and professional advisers who need access to provide support, operate the service, investigate incidents, or advise Gear Africa.
• With regulators, courts, law enforcement, government authorities, insurers, or other parties where required by law, legal process, safety needs, or valid requests.
• With another company in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, or transfer of all or part of our business, subject to appropriate safeguards.

8. Cookies and similar technologies

Our website and online services may use cookies, local storage, pixels, analytics tools, and similar technologies to keep the site functional, remember preferences, understand usage, measure performance, protect against abuse, and improve our services.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect website functionality.

9. Communications and notifications

We may send you service-related communications such as login alerts, trip updates, driver or rider messages, payment notices, safety alerts, support responses, policy updates, and account notifications.

Where permitted by law, we may also send promotional messages, offers, or product updates. You can opt out of marketing communications where an opt-out option is available, but you may still receive important service or safety messages.

10. Data retention

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including service operation, account management, safety, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, legal compliance, accounting, tax, insurance, and recordkeeping.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information, user role, legal requirements, active disputes, security needs, and operational requirements.

When information is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymize, or securely archive it where reasonably possible and legally appropriate.

11. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

These safeguards may include authentication controls, access restrictions, encryption where appropriate, monitoring, secure storage, audit logs, rate limiting, and internal security procedures.

No system is completely secure. You are responsible for keeping your login details confidential and telling us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

12. International transfers

Gear Africa may use service providers, infrastructure, or support teams located in countries other than your own. This means personal information may be transferred to, stored in, or accessed from other countries.

When we transfer personal information internationally, we will take steps required by applicable data protection laws to protect that information, including using appropriate contractual, technical, and organizational safeguards where required.

13. Your rights and choices

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights over your personal information. These rights may include the right to be informed, access your information, correct inaccurate information, request deletion, object to or restrict certain processing, withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, and request information about how your data is used.

You can update some account information directly in the app when available. You may also contact Gear Africa support to make a privacy request.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a privacy request. Some requests may be limited where we need to keep information for safety, fraud prevention, legal compliance, dispute resolution, tax, accounting, or legitimate business reasons.

14. Driver and partner data

If you use Gear Africa as a driver, vehicle owner, fleet partner, or service provider, we may process additional information needed to onboard you, verify your eligibility, manage trips, calculate earnings, process payouts, review performance, resolve incidents, and comply with legal or platform requirements.

This may include identity documents, driver licence details, vehicle registration details, insurance records, inspection documents, profile photos, location while online, trip acceptance records, cancellation records, rider feedback, earnings, payout information, and support or safety reports.

15. Children's privacy

Gear Africa is not intended for children who are not legally able to use the service or enter into a binding agreement. We do not knowingly create accounts for children where this is prohibited by law.

If we learn that a child has provided personal information in violation of this policy or applicable law, we may delete the information or restrict the account.

16. Legal compliance and safety disclosures

We may access, preserve, use, or disclose information where we reasonably believe it is necessary to comply with law, respond to legal process, enforce our terms, collect unpaid amounts, investigate fraud or security issues, protect the rights and safety of users or the public, or respond to emergencies.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we may notify you through the app, website, email, or other reasonable means.

Your continued use of Gear Africa after an updated policy becomes effective means you acknowledge the updated policy.

18. Contact

If you have questions, complaints, or requests about this Privacy Policy or how Gear Africa handles personal information, contact the Gear Africa support team through the app or website support channels.

If required by applicable law, Gear Africa may provide additional contact details for its data protection officer, privacy contact, local representative, or data controller registration information.