INTRODUCTION

When you use Remove It, you trust us with your personal data. We’re committed to keeping that trust. That starts with helping you understand our privacy practices.

This notice describes the personal data we collect, how it’s used and shared, and your choices regarding this data.

1. OVERVIEW

Scope:

This notice applies to users of Remove It’s services anywhere in the world, including users of Remove It’s apps, websites, features, or other services.

This notice describes how Remove It and its affiliates collect and use personal data. This notice applies to all users of our apps, websites, features, or other services anywhere in the world. This notice specifically applies to:

Clients: individuals who request or receive waste removal transportation services.

Drivers: individuals who provide waste removal transportation services to Clients individually or through partner waste removal transportation company

This notice also governs Remove It’s other collections of personal data in connection with its services. For example, we may collect the contact information of individuals who use accounts owned by Remove It for Business customers, personal data of those who start but do not complete applications to be drivers or delivery persons; or other personal data in connection with our mapping technology and features.

All those subject to this notice are referred to as “users” in this notice.

2. DATA CONTROLLER AND TRANSFER

Remove It is the data controller for the personal data collected in connection with use of Remove It’s services everywhere else.

4. DATA COLLECTIOON AND USES

THE DATA WE COLLECT:

Remove It collects personal data: 

  • Provided by users to Remove It, such as during account creation.
  • Created during use of our services, such as location, app usage, and device data.
  • From other sources, such as other users or account owners, business partners, vendors, insurance and financial solution providers, and governmental authorities.
The following personal data is collected by or on behalf of Remove It:
4.1. Data provided by users. This includes:

User profile: We collect data when users create or update their Remove It accounts. This may include their name, email, phone number, login name and password, address, profile picture, payment or banking information (including related payment verification information), driver’s license and other government identification documents (which may indicate document numbers as well as birth date, gender, and photo). This also includes vehicle or insurance information of drivers and delivery persons, emergency contact information, user settings, and evidence of health or fitness to provide services using Remove It mobile application.

Background check and identity verification (drivers). This may include information such as driver history or criminal record (where permitted by law), license status, known aliases and prior addresses, and right to work. This information may be collected by an authorized vendor on Remove It’s behalf.

Demographic data: We may collect demographic data about users, including through user surveys. In some countries, we may also receive demographic data about users from third parties.

User content: We collect the data submitted by users when they contact Remove It customer support, provide ratings or compliments for other users, restaurants or merchants, or otherwise contact Remove It. This may include feedback, photographs or other recordings collected by users, including audio or video recordings submitted by users in connection with customer support. This also includes metadata relating to the method you use to communicate with Remove It.

4.2. Data created during use of our services. This includes: 

Location data (riders and delivery recipients). We collect riders’ and delivery recipients’ precise or approximate location data to enable and enhance use of our apps, including to improve pick-ups.  Remove It collects this data when the Remove It application is running in the foreground (app open and on-screen) or background (app open but not on-screen) of their mobile device.

We collect such data from users’ mobile devices if they enable us to do so. (See “Choice and transparency” below for information on how riders and delivery recipients can enable location data collection). Remove It collects such data from the time a waste removal collection is requested until it is finished (and may indicate such collection via an icon or notification on your mobile device depending on your device’s operating system), and any time the app is running in the foreground (app open and on-screen) of their mobile device.

Clients and drivers may use the Remove It apps without enabling Remove It to collect precise location data from their mobile devices. However, this may affect features in the Remove It apps. For example, a user who has not enabled location data collection will have to manually enter their pick-up address. In addition, the location data collected from a driver during a trip will be linked to the client’s account, even if the client has not enabled location data to be collected from their device, including for purposes of receipt generation, customer support, fraud detection, insurance, and litigation. 

Transaction information: We collect transaction information related to the use of our services, including the type of services requested or provided, order details, date and time the service was provided, amount charged and payment method. Additionally, if someone uses your promotion code, we may associate your name with that person.

Usage data: We collect data about how users interact with our services. This includes data such as access dates and times, app features or pages viewed, app crashes and other system activity, and type of browser. We may also collect data regarding the third-party sites or services used before interacting with our services, which we use for marketing. (Please see “How We Use Data” below for more information on how we market our services to users).

In some cases, we collect this data through cookies, pixels, tags, and similar tracking technologies that create and maintain unique identifiers. To learn more about these technologies, please see our Cookie Notice. 

Device data: We may collect data about the devices used to access our services, including the hardware models, device IP address or other unique device identifiers, operating systems and versions, software, preferred languages, advertising identifiers, device motion data, and mobile network data.

Communications data: We enable users to communicate with each other and Remove It through Remove It’s mobile apps and websites. For example, we enable drivers and clients to send direct messages to each other (generally without disclosing their telephone numbers to each other). To provide this service, Remove It receives some data regarding the calls, texts, or other communications, including the date and time of the communications and the content of the communications. Remove It may also use this data for customer support services (including to resolve disputes between users), for safety and security purposes, to improve our services and features, and for analytics. 

4.3. Data from other sources. These include:
  • Remove It account owners who request services for or on behalf of other users, or who enable such users to request or receive services through their accounts.
  • Users or others providing information in connection with claims or disputes.
  • Remove It business partners through which users create or access their Remove It account, such as payment providers, social media services, or apps or websites.
  • Remove It business partners in connection with debit or credit cards issued by a financial institution in partnership with Remove It to the extent disclosed in the terms and conditions for the card.
  • Vendors who help us verify users’ identity, background information, and eligibility to work, or who screen users in connection with sanctions, anti-money laundering, or know-your-customer requirements. 
  • Partner waste removal transportation companies (for drivers or delivery persons who use our services through an account associated with such a company).
  • Publicly available sources.
  • Marketing service providers or data resellers whose data Remove It uses for marketing or research.
  • Law enforcement officials, public health officials, and other government authorities.
  • Remove It may combine the data collected from these sources with other data in its possession.

5. HOW WE USE PERSONAL DATA

Remove It uses personal data to enable reliable and convenient waste removal transportation services. We also use such data:
  • To enhance the safety and security of our users and services.
  • For customer support.  
  • For research and development.  
  • To enable communications between users. 
  • To send marketing and non-marketing communications to users.
  • In connection with legal proceedings.
  • Remove It does not sell or share user personal data with third parties for their direct marketing, except with users’ consent.
We use personal data we collect:
5.1. To provide our services. Remove It uses data to provide, personalise, maintain, and improve our services.

This includes using data to:
  • create/update accounts,
  • enable waste removal transportation and delivery services (such as using location data to facilitate a pick up), features that involve data sharing, and accessibility features to facilitate use of our services,
  • process payments,
  • track and share the progress of waste removal transportation services,
  • personalize users’ accounts. Please see the section of this notice titled “Choice and transparency” to learn how to object to this use of personal data,
  • perform necessary operations to maintain our services, including to troubleshoot software bugs and operational problems; to conduct data analysis, testing, and research; and to monitor and analyse usage and activity trends,
  • Remove It performs the above activities, including the collection and use of location data for purposes of these activities, on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users.
5.2. Safety and security. We use personal data to help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our services and users. This includes:
  • Using device, location, user profile, usage, and other data to prevent, detect, and combat fraud. This includes identifying fraudulent accounts or uses of our services, preventing use of our services by unauthorized drivers, verifying user identities in connection with certain payment methods, and preventing and combating unauthorized access to users’ accounts.
  • Using user ratings, reported incidents, and other feedback to encourage compliance with our Terms and Conditions and as grounds for deactivating users with low ratings or who otherwise violated such guidelines.
  • Sharing information regarding safety incidents or compliance with local regulations with third parties, including other companies who enable users to request or provide removal services, or intermediaries who collect and report such information for multiple companies, to prevent drivers who may pose a safety risk to the platform or its users from using Remove It’s or those other companies’ services. We may also share with third parties, including those affected by such incidents, whether the incidents result in account deactivation.
  • Using ratings, usage and other data to prevent matching of clients and drivers for whom there is higher risk of conflict (for instance, because one user previously gave the other a one-star rating).
  • Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users, and/or for purposes of the legitimate safety and security interests of Remove It or other parties, including users and members of the general public.
5.3. Customer support. Remove It uses the information we collect (which may include call recordings) to provide customer support, including to investigate and address user concerns and to monitor and improve our customer support responses and processes.

Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users.

5.4. Research and development. We may use personal data for testing, research, analysis, product development, and machine learning to improve the user experience. This helps us make our services more convenient and easy-to-use, enhance the safety and security of our services, and develop new services and features.

Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users in improving our existing services and features, or for purposes of Remove It’s legitimate interests developing new services and features.

5.5. Enabling communications between users. For example, a driver may message a client to confirm a pickup location, a client may contact a driver to provide information about the pickup location such as to bring ID if the location is located in a security estate.

Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users.

5.6. Marketing. Remove It may use personal data to market our services to our users. This includes sending users communications about Remove It services, features, promotions, sweepstakes, studies, surveys, news, updates, and events. We may do so through various methods, including email, text messages, push notifications, in app communications and ads, and ads on third party platforms. 

We may also inform users about products and services offered by Remove It partners. Although we inform users about products and services offered by Remove It partners, we do not sell users’ personal data to, or share it with, such partners or others for purposes of their own direct marketing or advertising, except with users’ consent.

We may use the data we collect, including in combination with advertising partners’ data, to personalise and improve the marketing communications (including ads) that we send on and off Remove It’s apps and websites, including based on user location, use of Remove It’s services, and user preferences and settings. For example, we share user data (such as hashed email address, usage information, and device or user identifiers) with Facebook and TikTok to personalize and improve our ads for Remove It’s services.

For information about how to opt out of certain marketing communications (including ads) from Remove It and its advertising partners, please see the section titled “Marketing choices.”

Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary for purposes of Remove It’s legitimate interests in informing users about Remove It services and features or those offered by Remove It partners, or on the basis of user consent. See the sections titled “Choice and transparency” and “Marketing choices” for information on your choices regarding Remove It’s use of your data for marketing.

5.7. Non-marketing communications. Remove It may use personal data to generate and provide users with receipts; inform them of changes to our terms, services, or policies; or send other communications that aren’t for the purpose of marketing the services or products of Remove It or its partners.  

Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users, or for purposes of Remove It’s and it’s users legitimate interests in informing users about events that may have an impact on how they can use Remove It services. 

5.8. Legal proceedings and requirements. We may use personal data to investigate or address claims or disputes relating to use of Remove It’s services, to satisfy requirements under applicable laws, regulations, or operating licenses or agreements, or pursuant to legal process or governmental request, including from law enforcement.

Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary for purposes of Remove It’s legitimate interests in investigating and responding to claims and disputes relating to use of Remove It’s services and features, and/or necessary for compliance with applicable legal requirements.   

5.9. Automated decision-making

We use personal data to make automated decisions relating to use of our services. This includes:

  • Matching available drivers and delivery persons to users requesting services. Users can be matched based on availability and proximity.
  • Flagging users who are identified as having engaged in fraud, unsafe activity, or other activities that may harm Remove It, its users, and others. In some cases, such as when a user is determined to have submitted fraudulent documents, such behaviour may result in automatic deactivation.
  • Using driver data (such as location and rating) and client data (such as ratings) to help avoid pairings of users that may result in increased risk of conflict.
  • Remove It performs the above activities on the grounds that they are necessary to fulfil our obligations to users under our Terms of Use or other agreements with users, or on the grounds that they are necessary for purposes of the legitimate interests of Remove It, its users and others.

6. COOKIES AND THIRD PARTY TECHNOLOGIES

Remove It and its partners use cookies and other identification technologies on our apps, websites, emails, and online ads for purposes described in this notice, and  Remove It’s Cookie Notice.

Cookies are small text files that are stored on browsers or devices by websites, apps, online media, and advertisements. Remove It uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as:

  • Authenticating users.
  • Remembering user preferences and settings.
  • Determining the popularity of content.
  • Delivering and measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
  • Analysing site traffic and trends, and generally understanding the online behaviours and interests of people who interact with our services.

We may also allow others to provide audience measurement and analytics services for us, to serve advertisements on our behalf across the Internet, and to track and report on the performance of those advertisements. These entities may use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, and other technologies to identify the devices used by visitors to our websites, as well as when they visit other online sites and services.

7. DATA SHARING AND DISCLOSURE

Some of Remove It’s services and features require that we share personal data with other users or at a user’s request. We may also share such data with our affiliates, subsidiaries, and partners, for legal reasons or in connection with claims or disputes.

Remove It may share personal data:
7.1. With other users

This includes sharing:

  • Drivers first name and pickup locations with drivers.
  • We also provide clients receipts containing of the waste removal transportation service.
7.2. With the general public 

Questions or comments from users submitted through public forums such as Remove It’s blogs and Remove It’s social media pages may be viewable by the public, including any personal data included in the questions or comments submitted by a user.

7.3. With Remove It service providers and business partners

Remove It provides personal data to vendors, consultants, marketing partners, research firms, and other service providers or business partners. These include:

  • Payment processors and facilitators.
  • Cloud storage providers.
  • Google, in connection with the use of Google Maps in Remove It’s apps (see Google’s privacy policy for information on their collection and use of data).
  • Social media companies, including Facebook, LinkedIn and TikTok, in connection with Remove It’s use of their tools in Remove It’s apps and websites (see Facebook’s, LinkedIn and TikTok’s privacy policies for information on their collection and use of data).
  • Marketing partners and marketing platform providers, including social media advertising services, advertising networks, third-party data providers, and other service providers to reach or better understand our users and measure advertising effectiveness.
  • Research partners, including those performing surveys or research projects in partnership with Remove It or on Remove It’s behalf.
  • Vendors that assist Remove It to enhance the safety and security of its apps.
  • Consultants, lawyers, accountants, and other professional service providers.
  • Insurance and financing partners.
7.4. For legal reasons or in the event of a dispute

Remove It may share users’ personal data if we believe it’s required by applicable law, regulation, operating license or agreement, legal process or governmental request, or where the disclosure is otherwise appropriate due to safety or similar concerns.

This includes sharing personal data with law enforcement officials, public health officials, other government authorities, or other third parties as necessary to enforce our Terms of Service, user agreements, or other policies; to protect Remove It’s rights or property or the rights, safety, or property of others; or in the event of a claim or dispute relating to the use of our services. In the event of a dispute relating to use of another person’s credit card, we may be required by law to share your personal data, including trip or order information, with the owner of that credit card.

This also includes sharing personal data with others in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, consolidation or restructuring, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by or into another company.

7.5. With consent

Remove It may share a user’s personal data other than as described in this notice if we notify the user and they consent to the sharing.

8. DATA RETENTION AND DELETION

Remove It retains user data for as long as necessary for the purposes described above.

Users may request deletion of their accounts at any time. Remove It may retain user data after a deletion request due to legal or regulatory requirements or for reasons stated in this policy.

Remove It retains user data for as long as necessary for the purposes described above. This means that we retain different categories of data for different periods of time depending on the type of data, the category of user to whom the data relates, and the purposes for which we collected the data.

Users may request deletion of their account at any time by emailing info@removeit.co.za

Following an account deletion request, Remove It deletes the user’s account and data, unless they must be retained due to legal or regulatory requirements, for purposes of safety, security, and fraud prevention, or because of an issue relating to the user’s account such as an outstanding credit or an unresolved claim or dispute. Because we are subject to legal and regulatory requirements relating to drivers, this generally means that we retain their account and data for a minimum of 5 years after a deletion request. For clients, their data is generally deleted within 90 days of a deletion request, except where retention is necessary for the above reasons.

9. CHOICE AND TRANSPARENCY

Remove It enables users to access and/or control data that Remove It collects, including through:

  • Privacy settings.
  • Device permissions.
  • In-app ratings pages.
  • Marketing choices.

Remove It also enables users to request access to or copies of their data, changes or updates to their accounts, or deletion of their accounts, or that Remove It restricts its processing of user personal data.

9.1. Privacy settings

Clients can set or update their preferences regarding location data collection and sharing.

Location data collection (Clients)

Clients can enable/disable Remove It to collect location data from their mobile devices through their device settings, which can be accessed via the Settings > Privacy > Location menu.

Notifications: account and trip updates

Remove It provides users with trip status notifications and updates related to activity on their account. These notifications are a necessary part of using the Remove It mobile application and cannot be disabled. However, users may choose the method by which they receive these notifications through the Settings > Privacy menu.

9.2. Device permissions

Most mobile device platforms (iOS, Android, etc.) have defined certain types of device data that apps cannot access without the device owner’s permission, and these platforms have different methods for how that permission can be obtained. Please check the available settings on your device or check with your provider.

9.3. In-app ratings pages

After every waste removal service, clients are able to rate the driver on a scale from 1 to 5 stars. Ratings are not shared with drivers and only used by Remove It to evaluate drivers and the service provided. Remove It will instil accountability which helps create a respectful service for everyone.

9.4. Marketing choices

Users may opt out of certain marketing communications (including ads) and use of their data for marketing in the following ways:

  • Ad settings: These settings enable users to choose whether their data is shared with Remove It’s advertising partners to deliver personalised ads, and/or to measure the effectiveness of such ads.
  • Marketing emails and messages: To opt out of receiving marketing emails from Remove It , please email info@removeit.co.za  Users may also opt out of receiving emails and other messages from Remove It by following the unsubscribe instructions in those messages. We may still send users who have opted out non-promotional communications, such as receipts for rides or information about their account.
9.5. User personal data requests

Remove It provides users with a variety of ways to learn about, control, and submit questions and comments about Remove It’s handling of their personal data.

Accessing data: Users can access data including their profile data and removal history through the Remove It mobile application.

Changing or updating data: Users can edit the name, phone number, email address and photo associated with their account through the Settings menu in Remove It’s apps.

Deleting data: Users may request deletion of their account at any time by emailing their request to info@removeit.co.za