Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 August 2026

This policy explains what information PulseMyHobby collects across the website (pulsemyhobby.co.za), the web app (app.pulsemyhobby.co.za), the macOS/Windows desktop apps, and the iOS and Android mobile apps, and how it's used. PulseMyHobby is a South African product, and this policy is written with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) in mind.

Information we collect

We keep this to the minimum needed to run the product:

• Basic access logs. Our servers automatically record standard technical details for each request, such as IP address, browser/client type, requested path, and timestamp. This is normal server behaviour used for security and troubleshooting, and is not used to build a profile of you.
• Account information. When you create a PulseMyHobby account (on the web app, a desktop app, or the mobile app, it's the same account either way), we store your email address and a securely hashed password. We never store your password in plain text, and we never see it once it's hashed.
• Entitlement/access status. To run the 7-day free trial and paid access correctly, we store your trial start/end date and, once you've paid, your paid-access expiry date. This is checked on our server every time you sign in or search. It is never trusted from your device.
• Payment transaction records. When paid renewal is enabled, payments are handled by PayFast, a third-party payment processor. PulseMyHobby never receives, sees, or stores your card number or other card details. We keep a record of each transaction's reference, amount, currency, status, and timestamps, so we can confirm your access was correctly granted and for our own accounting and dispute-handling.
• Contact information you give us. If you email us, we receive whatever you include, such as your email address and message content, so we can reply.
• Classifieds listings and seller contact settings. If you post a Classifieds listing, we store the listing content and any photos you upload. If you choose to make yourself contactable on your listings, we store the WhatsApp number and/or email address you provide for that purpose, along with a record that you consented to share them. These are shown to other users only if you've turned that channel on, and never inferred or shown otherwise.

Classifieds

Classifieds listing content (title, description, category, price, condition, photos) is visible to other users once published, together with any WhatsApp number or email address you've chosen to share as a seller. Likes and views on a listing are tied to your account so we can prevent duplicate counting, but are shown to others only as an aggregate count, never as a list of who liked or viewed. If you report a listing, we store the report and the reason you gave so our team can review it.

Cookies and analytics

The marketing website uses Google Analytics 4 to understand page views and traffic (e.g. which pages are visited, roughly how many people, and where from), so we can improve the site. We haven't enabled advertising or remarketing features in it, and we don't use it to build a profile of you as an individual. The web app uses a small, strictly-necessary session cookie/token so you stay signed in, and does not use Google Analytics. If that changes, we'll update this policy first and describe what's used and why.

Projects, Watched products, Recent Searches, and preferences

Your Projects, Watched products, Recent Searches, and app preferences are stored on PulseMyHobby's servers, tied to your account, so they stay in sync across every device you sign into (web, desktop, or mobile). You can turn off remembering shops, filters, or recent searches at any time in Settings.

Links to hobby shops

PulseMyHobby links out to third-party hobby retailer websites. Once you leave a PulseMyHobby app or website, that retailer's own privacy policy applies. We don't control, and aren't responsible for, how those sites handle your information.

Data retention

Access logs are kept only as long as needed for security and troubleshooting purposes, then rotated out. Account and payment records are kept for as long as your account exists and as needed for accounting/legal record-keeping after that. Emails you send us are kept as long as needed to handle your enquiry and for our own record-keeping.

Security

Our website, web app, and API are all served over HTTPS. Passwords are stored using a salted one-way hash, never in plain text or in a reversible form. We take reasonable steps to protect any information sent to us, but no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

Your rights

Under POPIA, you can ask what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, subject to any legal requirement to keep it. You can delete your account yourself at any time from Settings in the web app, desktop app, or mobile app; this removes your personal data and anonymizes your account immediately. You can also make a request by contacting us using the details on our Contact page.

Changes to this policy

As PulseMyHobby grows, this policy will grow with it, particularly once accounts, licensing, or analytics are introduced. We'll update the date at the top of this page whenever it changes.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information can be sent through our Contact page.