Privacy policy

Last updated: October 29, 2026

AELVAY operates this store and website, including all related information, content, features, tools, products and services, in order to provide you, the customer, with a curated shopping experience (the "Services"). AELVAY is powered by Shopify, which enables us to provide the Services to you. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information when you visit, use, or make a purchase or other transaction using the Services or otherwise communicate with us, in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"). If there is a conflict between our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy, this Privacy Policy controls with respect to the collection, processing, and disclosure of your personal information.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using and accessing any of the Services, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy and understand the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Who We Are

AELVAY is the "responsible party" (as defined under POPIA) for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy. You can contact us using the details at the end of this Privacy Policy.

Personal Information We Collect or Process

When we use the term "personal information," we are referring to information that identifies or can reasonably be linked to you or another person. We may collect or process the following categories of personal information, depending on how you interact with the Services and as permitted or required by applicable law:

  • Contact details including your name, address, billing address, shipping address, phone number, and email address.
  • Financial information including payment card information, financial account information, transaction details, form of payment, payment confirmation and other payment details.
  • Account information including your username, password, security questions, preferences and settings.
  • Transaction information including the items you view, put in your cart, add to your wishlist, or purchase, return, exchange or cancel and your past transactions.
  • Communications with us including the information you include in communications with us, for example, when sending a customer support inquiry.
  • Device information including information about your device, browser, or network connection, your IP address, and other unique identifiers.
  • Usage information including information regarding your interaction with the Services, including how and when you interact with or navigate the Services.

Personal Information Sources

We may collect personal information from the following sources:

  • Directly from you including when you create an account, visit or use the Services, communicate with us, or otherwise provide us with your personal information;
  • Automatically through the Services including from your device when you use our products or services or visit our websites, and through the use of cookies and similar technologies;
  • From our service providers including when we engage them to enable certain technology and when they collect or process your personal information on our behalf;
  • From our partners or other third parties.

How We Use Your Personal Information

Depending on how you interact with us or which of the Services you use, we may use personal information for the following purposes:

  • Provide, Tailor, and Improve the Services. We use your personal information to provide you with the Services, including to perform our contract with you, to process your payments, to fulfill your orders, to remember your preferences, to create and manage your account, to arrange for shipping, to facilitate returns and exchanges, to enable you to post reviews, and to create a customised shopping experience for you.
  • Marketing and Advertising. Where you have consented, or where otherwise permitted under POPIA, we use your personal information to send you marketing, advertising and promotional communications by email or other means.
  • Security and Fraud Prevention. We use your personal information to authenticate your account, provide a secure payment and shopping experience, and detect, investigate or take action regarding possible fraudulent, illegal or unsafe activity.
  • Communicating with You. We use your personal information to provide you with customer support and to maintain our business relationship with you.
  • Legal Reasons. We use your personal information to comply with applicable law, including POPIA, or to respond to valid legal process.

Our Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process your personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so under POPIA, including: where processing is necessary to perform our contract with you (for example, fulfilling an order); where you have given your consent; where we have a legitimate interest in doing so, such as preventing fraud or improving our Services, which is not overridden by your rights; or where we are required to by law.

How We Disclose Personal Information

In certain circumstances, we may disclose your personal information to third parties for legitimate purposes subject to this Privacy Policy, including:

  • With Shopify, vendors and other service providers who perform services on our behalf (e.g. IT management, payment processing, data analytics, customer support, cloud storage, fulfillment and shipping);
  • When you direct, request, or otherwise consent to our disclosure of certain information to third parties, such as to ship you products;
  • With our affiliates or otherwise within our corporate group;
  • In connection with a business transaction such as a merger, or to comply with any applicable legal obligations, enforce our policies, or protect the Services, our rights, and the rights of our users or others.

Relationship with Shopify

The Services are hosted by Shopify, which collects and processes personal information about your access to and use of the Services in order to provide and improve the Services for you. Information you submit to the Services will be transmitted to and shared with Shopify and its service providers, who may be located outside South Africa, in order to provide and improve the Services for you. To learn more about how Shopify uses your personal information, you can visit the Shopify Consumer Privacy Policy.

Third Party Websites and Links

The Services may provide links to websites or other online platforms operated by third parties. If you follow links to sites not affiliated or controlled by us, you should review their privacy and security policies. We do not guarantee and are not responsible for the privacy or security of such sites.

Direct Marketing

In line with POPIA, we will only send you direct marketing communications (such as promotional emails) where you have given your consent, or where you are an existing customer and we are marketing similar products or services to you, in which case you may opt out at any time. You may withdraw your consent or opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us using the details below. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional emails, such as those about your account or orders.

Children's Data

The Services are not intended to be used by children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information about children without the consent of a parent or legal guardian, as required under POPIA. If you are the parent or guardian of a child who has provided us with their personal information without your consent, please contact us so that it can be deleted.

Security and Retention of Your Information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to secure your personal information, in line with POPIA's security safeguard requirements. However, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee "perfect security." We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to maintain your account, provide the Services, comply with legal obligations, or resolve disputes.

Cross-Border Transfers of Your Information

Your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries outside South Africa, including by Shopify and other service providers who may be located internationally. Where we transfer your personal information outside South Africa, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives a level of protection consistent with POPIA, including through contractual safeguards with our service providers.

Your Rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

  • Request access to the personal information we hold about you;
  • Request that we correct or update inaccurate, incomplete or outdated personal information;
  • Request that we delete personal information we hold about you, where we are not required to retain it by law;
  • Object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes;
  • Withdraw any consent you have previously given, at any time; and
  • Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe we have not complied with POPIA.

You may exercise these rights, or ask any questions about this Privacy Policy, by contacting us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request, as permitted under POPIA.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about how we process your personal information, please contact us first using the details below so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint directly with South Africa's Information Regulator:

Website: inforegulator.org.za
Email: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including to reflect changes to our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will post the revised Privacy Policy on this website and update the "Last updated" date.

Contact

Should you have any questions about our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to exercise any of the rights available to you, please email us at support@aelvay.co.za