Privacy Policy - Dope Uncle

At Dope Uncle, we take your privacy as seriously as we take our “Lekker” gifts. This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from our store. We comply with the South African POPI Act and the EU GDPR to ensure your data is safe, no matter where in the world you are.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information under the following legal bases:

Contract: To fulfill your order and get your kit to your door.
Consent: When you sign up for our newsletter or accept marketing cookies.
Legal Obligation: For tax reporting (SARS) and age-verification compliance.
Legitimate Interests: To prevent fraud and improve our website experience.

Information We Collect

Order Information: When you make a purchase, we collect your name, billing address, shipping address, payment information (processed via secure third parties), email address, and phone number.
Age Verification: Because our kits may contain multipurpose knives, we may request your Date of Birth to ensure you are of legal age (18+ in SA) to purchase these items.
Device Information: We automatically collect data about your device, including your IP address, time zone, and how you interact with our site.

Digital Marketing, Analytics & Retargeting

We use a variety of digital marketing platforms to find our “Dope Uncles” and “Aunties” online. These services include Facebook (Meta), Google, LinkedIn, TikTok, and other third-party advertising networks.

Tracking Technologies: These platforms use Cookies, Pixels, and Tags. If you visit our site, you may see ads for our kits on your social media feeds later
GDPR Compliance: EU visitors will be presented with a Cookie Consent Banner. Tracking pixels will remain inactive until you click “Accept.”

Sharing Your Personal Information

We do not sell your data. We share it only with the essential partners needed to run our business:

Fulfillment: Couriers (e.g., The Courier Guy, DHL) and warehouse partners.
Payment: Secure gateways (e.g., PayFast, Yoco, Stripe). We never see or store your full credit card number.
Compliance: We may share information to comply with laws, respond to a subpoena, or protect our rights.

International Data Transfers

Dope Uncle is based in South Africa. If you are ordering from the EU or UK, your data will be transferred outside of Europe. We ensure all our service providers use “Standard Contractual Clauses” to maintain GDPR-level protection during these transfers.

Data Retention

When you place an order, we maintain your Order Information for our records (and for tax purposes) for a period of 7 years, after which it is securely deleted, unless you ask us to delete it sooner.

Your Rights

Regardless of your location, you have the right to:

Access the data we hold about you.
Correct or update your information.
Delete your data (the “Right to be Forgotten”).
Withdraw Consent for marketing at any time.
Lodge a Complaint with the SA Information Regulator or your local Data Protection Authority.

Age Restriction

Dope Uncle does not sell to children. In compliance with the South African Dangerous Weapons Act and international age-restricted sales laws, you must be 18 years or older to purchase any kit containing a knife or blade. By using this site, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your country of residence.