Privacy Policy

1 Who We Are

5GBay ("we", "us", "our") operates the e-commerce website at 5gbay.com, selling 5G and 4G routers, modems, and accessories. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our Site or purchase from us.

For any privacy-related queries, contact us at support@5gbay.com.

2 Data We Collect

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Category	Examples	When Collected
Identity Data	First name, last name	Account registration, checkout
Contact Data	Email address, phone number	Registration, checkout, contact forms
Address Data	Shipping and billing address	Checkout, address book
Transaction Data	Order details, payment status, order history	Placing an order
Technical Data	IP address, browser type, device info, session data	Automatically on site visit
Usage Data	Pages visited, search queries, cart activity	Automatically during browsing
Communications Data	Support emails, enquiries	When you contact us

We do not collect or store payment card numbers. All payment processing is handled securely by PayFast.

3 How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To process and fulfil your orders — including payment processing, dispatch, and delivery tracking.
To manage your account — registration, login, saved addresses, and order history.
To communicate with you — order confirmations, shipping notifications, and responses to your enquiries.
To send transactional emails — including order status updates, shipping tracking, and receipts.
To improve our Site — analysing usage patterns to enhance user experience and product offerings.
To comply with legal obligations — record-keeping, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance.
To protect our Site and users — detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, or security threats.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties for their marketing purposes.

4 Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data under the following legal bases in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and applicable data protection laws:

Contract performance — Processing necessary to fulfil your order and deliver our services.
Legitimate interests — Improving our Site, preventing fraud, and communicating about products you have purchased.
Legal obligation — Compliance with applicable laws, tax regulations, and legal proceedings.
Consent — Where you have given explicit consent, such as subscribing to marketing communications. You may withdraw consent at any time.

5 Sharing Your Data

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties only to the extent necessary to provide our services:

Payment processors: PayFast processes payments on our behalf. Your payment data is subject to their privacy policy.
Shipping carriers: DHL, FedEx, UPS, local couriers, and other carriers receive your name and delivery address to fulfil shipments.
Email service providers: We use Hostinger SMTP to send transactional emails on our behalf.
Cloud infrastructure: Our database and hosting providers (including Aiven) store data securely on our behalf.
Legal authorities: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights.

All third-party service providers are contractually required to handle your data securely and only for the specified purpose.

6 Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Site and improve your experience. The types of cookies we use:

Essential cookies: Required for the Site to function, including your shopping cart session and login state. These cannot be disabled.
Authentication cookies: Secure, HttpOnly cookies that keep you logged in when you select "Remember Me".
Preference cookies: Remember your preferences to enhance your visit.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect Site functionality such as the shopping cart and checkout.

7 Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, and to comply with our legal obligations:

Account data: Retained for the life of your account, plus 2 years after account closure.
Order & transaction records: Retained for 5 years for tax and accounting compliance.
Email communications: Retained for up to 2 years.
Technical & usage data: Retained for up to 12 months.

You may request deletion of your data at any time (see Your Rights below), subject to our legal retention obligations.

8 Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures include:

SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our Site.
Bcrypt hashing for stored passwords — we never store passwords in plain text.
HttpOnly, Secure cookies for authentication tokens.
Encrypted database connections with SSL certificates.
Access controls limiting who can access your personal data.

While we take every reasonable precaution, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. If you suspect any unauthorised access to your account, please contact us immediately.

9 Your Rights

Under applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification — Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure — Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
Right to restrict processing — Request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability — Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to object — Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Right to withdraw consent — Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@5gbay.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

10 Children's Privacy

Our Site is not intended for children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 18, please contact us immediately and we will delete it promptly.

11 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we may notify registered users by email. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

12 Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

Email: support@5gbay.com
Website: 5gbay.com

We are committed to working with you to resolve any privacy concerns in a fair and timely manner.