Privacy Policy

OffGrid Expeditions
Operated by DataSimplified (Pty) Ltd

Effective date: 5 November 2026
Last updated: 5 November 2026
Version: 1.0

1. Introduction

Welcome to OffGrid Expeditions ("OffGrid Expeditions", "OffGrid", "OGE", "we", "our" or "us").

OffGrid Expeditions is an online marketplace connecting travellers with independent African accommodation providers, safari operators, tour providers and activity operators.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, when we share it, how long we retain it and the rights available to you.

Our privacy practices are designed to address applicable requirements under:

• South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
• The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), where applicable.
• The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), where applicable.
• Other data protection legislation applicable to our activities.

This Privacy Policy applies to website visitors, registered travellers, operators, business representatives and other individuals interacting with OffGrid Expeditions.

2. Who Is Responsible for Your Information?

OffGrid Expeditions is owned and operated by:

Legal entity: DataSimplified (Pty) Ltd
Registration number: 2016/476148/07
Trading name: OffGrid Expeditions
Registered address: 44 Fuchsia Street, Durbanville, 7550, South Africa
Country: South Africa
Privacy contact: info@datasimplified.co.za
Website: https://offgridexpeditions.com

Registered Information Officer: Michael Hamilton
Designation: Managing Director

DataSimplified (Pty) Ltd is generally responsible for determining how and why personal information is processed through the OffGrid Expeditions platform.

Where the EU GDPR or UK GDPR applies, DataSimplified generally acts as the data controller for processing activities it determines.

Independent travel operators may act as separate responsible parties or data controllers when processing traveller information for their own services.

OffGrid Expeditions operates under DataSimplified's corporate privacy framework.

For information about DataSimplified's general corporate privacy practices, please refer to the DataSimplified Privacy Policy.

3. Personal Information We Collect

Depending on how you use OffGrid Expeditions, we may collect the following information.

3.1 Account Information

When you register, we may collect:

• Full name and email address.
• Account credentials, including securely processed passwords.
• Country and contact information, where provided.
• Account preferences and registration details.
• Email verification and account security records.
• Account activity and authentication records.

Passwords are processed using the platform's authentication system and are not intended to be stored in readable form.

3.2 Traveller Information

When you register as a traveller or request information or a quotation, we may collect:

• Name and contact details.
• Travel dates and preferred destinations.
• Number of travellers, including adults and children.
• Accommodation and activity preferences.
• Travel requirements, questions and special requests.
• Messages exchanged with operators through the platform.
• Quotations and responses associated with your enquiries.
• Relevant enquiry and communication history.

These categories apply where the relevant enquiry and quotation functionality is available.

Please avoid submitting unnecessary sensitive personal information, including passport numbers, payment card details or medical information, in general enquiry messages.

Where information relating to health, accessibility or other sensitive matters is genuinely necessary, we will apply appropriate additional safeguards and lawful processing requirements.

3.3 Operator Information

When you register or represent an accommodation, safari, tour or activity business, we may collect:

• Personal and business contact details.
• Business name, address and registration information.
• Business representative and authorised-user information.
• Verification and supporting documents.
• Operator profile details.
• Marketplace listings and associated content.
• Photographs, descriptions and other uploaded material.
• Enquiry responses and quotation correspondence, where applicable.
• Records of submitted applications, approvals and moderation decisions.
• Account permissions and business membership information.

Some business information and approved listing content may be published on the marketplace.

Verification documents and other confidential information are not intended for public display.

3.4 Technical and Usage Information

When you access our website, we may process:

• IP address.
• Browser and device information.
• Security and authentication logs.
• Pages requested and website interactions.
• Cookie preferences and consent records.
• Diagnostic information required to maintain and secure our services.

Where optional analytics services are enabled, additional usage information may be collected in accordance with applicable consent requirements and your privacy preferences.

4. How We Use Personal Information

We process personal information for the following purposes:

Providing our services: To create accounts, authenticate users, manage operator profiles, publish approved listings and facilitate traveller enquiries.

Connecting travellers and operators: To forward quotation requests to the relevant operator, communicate responses and maintain enquiry records where the quotation functionality is available.

Operator verification: To assess business applications, review supporting information and manage marketplace participation.

Account security: To prevent unauthorised access, abuse, fraud and suspicious activity.

Communications: To send account confirmations, password resets, security notifications, operator approval messages, enquiry updates and other service-related communications.

Website improvement: Where permitted, to understand how visitors use our platform and improve usability, reliability and performance.

Legal compliance: To satisfy applicable legal obligations, respond to lawful requests and protect legitimate rights and interests.

Marketing: To send promotional communications where we have an appropriate legal basis and comply with applicable marketing-consent requirements.

We aim to process only the information reasonably necessary for these purposes.

5. Legal Grounds for Processing

Where the EU GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on an appropriate legal basis for each processing activity.

These may include:

Contractual necessity: To provide accounts, operator services and quotation-request functionality, including taking steps requested before entering into a contract.

Legitimate interests: To operate and protect the platform, prevent fraud, improve service reliability and manage appropriate business administration, where those interests are not overridden by individual rights.

Legal obligations: Where processing is required by applicable law.

Consent: For optional analytics, marketing cookies and other activities where consent is legally required.

Where POPIA applies, we process information in accordance with the grounds and conditions permitted under that legislation.

You may withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. Withdrawal does not invalidate processing lawfully undertaken before withdrawal.

If information necessary to provide a requested service is not supplied, we may be unable to complete registration, process an operator application or facilitate an enquiry.

6. Sharing Information With Safari and Travel Operators

A central purpose of OffGrid Expeditions is to connect travellers with independent service providers.

When you submit an enquiry, information relevant to that enquiry is shared with the operator you have selected.

This may include your contact details, travel preferences, dates, group composition and messages.

Operators use that information to prepare quotations, answer questions and communicate with you.

Independent operators are responsible for handling personal information appropriately when providing their own services.

Once an operator independently handles a reservation, payment or related travel service, that operator may be responsible for additional personal information processing under its own privacy practices.

We encourage travellers to review the privacy terms of operators with whom they transact.

OffGrid Expeditions is an introduction and quotation marketplace.

We do not directly provide the accommodation, tours or activities listed by independent operators.

We do not process traveller payments or manage confirmed travel reservations through the marketplace.

Reservations, payments, cancellations and refunds are handled directly between travellers and the relevant independent operators.

7. Third-Party Service Providers

We use external technology providers to operate and support our services.

These include, where applicable:

Twilio SendGrid

Used for transactional email delivery, including:

• Account verification.
• Password recovery.
• Security notifications.
• Operator onboarding and approval notifications.
• Enquiry and quotation notifications, where available.

SendGrid may process recipient email addresses, relevant email content and delivery information.

Cloudflare

Used for website infrastructure, traffic protection, security and bot-prevention services, including Cloudflare Turnstile.

Cloudflare may process technical information required to provide these services.

Google Analytics 4

May be used for optional website analytics when configured and enabled.

Analytics processing is subject to applicable consent requirements and visitor privacy preferences.

Microsoft Clarity

May be used for optional website usability analytics, including interaction insights and session recordings, when configured and enabled.

Where Clarity is used, appropriate consent controls and safeguards will apply to reduce the risk of collecting sensitive information.

Hosting and Infrastructure Providers

Used for operating the application, storing information, security, maintenance, backups and technical support.

Authorised Technology Contractors

Authorised personnel or contractors may access relevant systems and information where necessary to maintain, support or secure the platform, subject to appropriate access restrictions and confidentiality obligations.

We share information with service providers only where reasonably necessary for their services and seek to apply appropriate contractual, organisational and technical protections.

We do not sell personal information as a standalone commercial product.

Our service providers and processing arrangements may change. We will update this Policy where material changes affect how personal information is processed.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses essential cookies and similar technologies for functionality such as authentication, security and maintaining user sessions.

Optional analytics and marketing technologies, where enabled, are controlled through our cookie consent system.

Visitors can accept, reject or change their optional cookie preferences through the cookie banner and Cookie Settings function.

Rejecting optional cookies does not prevent you from using essential website functionality.

Where optional tracking consent is withdrawn, we will stop further optional tracking in accordance with the applicable consent controls and take reasonable steps to remove relevant first-party tracking cookies where appropriate.

Further details are provided in our Cookie Policy.

9. International Transfers of Personal Information

OffGrid Expeditions operates from South Africa and connects users and independent operators in different countries.

Personal information may be processed or accessed in countries other than your country of residence, including:

• Through our technology and communications providers.
• Through hosting and operational infrastructure.
• When a traveller contacts an operator based in another country.
• Through authorised support and technical service providers.

Where applicable data protection legislation requires safeguards for international transfers, we will use an appropriate lawful transfer mechanism and protective measures.

These may include recognised contractual safeguards, applicable adequacy arrangements or another lawful transfer mechanism.

Information about relevant international transfer arrangements and safeguards may be requested using the contact details in this Policy.

10. How Long We Keep Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to applicable legal obligations and legitimate retention needs.

Retention periods may differ for:

• Active and inactive user accounts.
• Operator and business records.
• Verification documentation.
• Travel enquiries and quotation correspondence.
• Security and audit logs.
• Email delivery records.
• Cookie consent records.
• Privacy and information-access requests.
• Legal disputes or regulatory matters.

When information is no longer required, we will delete, anonymise or otherwise handle it in accordance with our retention policies and applicable law.

Certain records may need to be retained after an account is closed, including where legal obligations, unresolved disputes or the rights of other platform users justify continued retention.

We maintain administrative processes for reviewing retention requirements and handling appropriate deletion or anonymisation of personal information.

11. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on the law applicable to your information, you may have rights to:

• Request access to your personal information.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion of personal information.
• Object to certain processing activities.
• Request restriction of processing.
• Receive relevant personal information in a portable, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent where consent is the legal basis.
• Challenge certain automated decisions, where applicable.
• Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limitations or exemptions.

We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request to prevent unauthorised disclosure or deletion.

You can submit a privacy request through our Privacy & Data Requests page.

Alternatively, contact us at info@datasimplified.co.za.

We will respond within applicable statutory timeframes. Where GDPR applies, the usual response period is one month, subject to legally permitted extensions.

12. Information Officer and Access to Information (PAIA)

OffGrid Expeditions is owned and operated by DataSimplified (Pty) Ltd (Registration No. 2016/476148/07), a South African company registered with the Information Regulator.

Registered Information Officer: Michael Hamilton
Designation: Managing Director
Email: info@datasimplified.co.za

DataSimplified maintains a company-wide PAIA Manual describing the categories of records held by the company, including OffGrid Expeditions, and the procedures for requesting access to information under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

View the DataSimplified PAIA Manual

13. Information Security

We apply reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the information we process.

These include, where applicable:

• Secure authentication and access controls.
• Encrypted communications.
• Restricted access to sensitive business and verification documents.
• Application and infrastructure security measures.
• Activity monitoring and audit records.
• Backup and recovery measures.
• Procedures for responding to suspected security incidents.
• Appropriate permissions for employees and authorised contractors.

No internet-based service can guarantee absolute security.

If a personal information security compromise occurs, we will investigate and provide notifications where required by applicable law.

14. Marketing Communications

Service-related communications, including account confirmations, password resets, operator notifications and quotation notifications, are separate from promotional marketing.

Where we offer newsletters or promotional emails, we will comply with applicable consent and direct-marketing requirements.

You can unsubscribe from promotional emails using the unsubscribe mechanism provided or by contacting us.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent necessary communications relating to your account or active enquiries.

15. Children's Information

OffGrid Expeditions is not intended for independent account registration by children.

Travel enquiries may include limited information about children travelling with adults, such as the number of children and their ages, where relevant to preparing an accurate quotation.

We seek to limit the collection of children's information to what is necessary and apply additional protections where required.

16. Automated Processing

We may use automated technical systems for security, fraud prevention, notifications and operational processing.

We do not intend to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects on individuals without complying with applicable safeguards.

Where automated decision-making practices materially change, we will provide relevant additional information.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Policy to reflect changes in legislation, our services, technology providers or personal information practices.

The latest version will be available on our website and will display its effective date.

Where legally required or otherwise appropriate, we will provide additional notice of material changes.

18. Contact and Complaints

For privacy questions, requests or concerns, contact:

OffGrid Expeditions
Operated by DataSimplified (Pty) Ltd
Registration number: 2016/476148/07

Information Officer: Michael Hamilton
Designation: Managing Director
Email: info@datasimplified.co.za
Address: 44 Fuchsia Street, Durbanville, 7550, South Africa
Website: https://offgridexpeditions.com

You may also have the right to contact the data protection authority responsible for your jurisdiction.

South Africa: Information Regulator

United Kingdom: Information Commissioner's Office

European Union: The relevant supervisory authority in the applicable EU member state.

We encourage you to contact us directly so that we can investigate and attempt to resolve your concern.