Legal
Privacy Policy.
What we collect, why, and the choices you have.
Last updated: 14 November 2026
EarthSense-Geospatial Incorporated (“EarthSense-Geospatial”, “we”, “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website and our map application, why we collect it, how we protect it and the rights you have. We process personal information in line with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and, where it applies to you, the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
1. Who is responsible for your information
EarthSense-Geospatial Incorporated, 192 Bram Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg, 2194, South Africa, is the responsible party. Questions or requests about your personal information can be sent to our Information Officer at earthsensegeo@gmail.com or +27 73 650 2176.
2. What we collect and why
| Where | Information | Purpose and basis |
|---|---|---|
| Request a Quote form | Name, email, phone number, company, the services you select, site address or map pin, project details and any files you attach | To reply to your request and prepare a quotation (your consent, and steps taken at your request before entering into a contract) |
| Email, phone and WhatsApp | Whatever you choose to send us | To answer you and provide our services |
| Map app account | Full name, email address, phone number, company or organisation, job title, industry, what you will use the app for, province and city, professional registration number (if you are a surveyor), whether you asked for a surveyor account, and a securely hashed password | To confirm that your email address is real (we send a 6-character code), to review and approve your account, to verify your professional status before surveyor features are enabled, to run the app, and, because you tick a consent box when you register, to contact you about EarthSense-Geospatial’s services (your consent; contract / legitimate interest) |
| Sign-in and security records | Time of your last sign-in, a one-way fingerprint of your browser, failed-sign-in counts, and the one-device session marker | To keep your account on one device at a time, lock it after repeated wrong passwords and warn you by email when it is signed in from a new device (legitimate interest; security) |
| Acceptance of the terms of use | Your account, the date and time, the version of the terms, and your network address and browser details at the moment you accepted | To keep proof that you accepted the terms of use and disclaimer (legitimate interest; legal claims) |
| Our follow-up notes | Our own notes about your enquiry or account, a follow-up status and a follow-up date | To manage client relationships and follow up on business opportunities (legitimate interest; your consent to be contacted) |
| Beacon field reports (verified surveyor accounts) | Report details, notes, photos and the name and organisation of the reporting surveyor | To maintain the geodetic control network information (legitimate interest) |
| Server logs | IP address, browser type, pages requested and time | Security, preventing abuse and keeping the site running (legitimate interest). Logs are kept for a limited period only. |
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising or profiling.
3. Cookies and browser storage
This website does not use advertising, analytics or tracking cookies. We use only what is strictly necessary:
- A session cookie when you sign in to the map app, to keep you signed in. It is deleted when you sign out or it expires.
- Browser storage (localStorage / sessionStorage) to remember preferences such as your map settings, download format and that you have seen our cookie notice. This stays on your device and is not sent to us.
Some features load content from the providers listed below, which may set their own strictly necessary cookies or receive your IP address when they deliver that content.
4. Service providers and third parties
We share information only as needed to run the website and our services:
- Mapbox – the maps on this website, and address suggestions on the quote form (the address you type is sent to Mapbox to find it).
- Esri / ArcGIS Online – base maps and address search in the map app.
- Chief Surveyor-General (CSG) and TrigNet (CD: NGI) – public cadastral and GNSS data that the map app retrieves on your behalf.
- Image and code delivery networks (for example cdnjs and Unsplash) that deliver some images, icons and scripts.
- Amazon Web Services – hosts the website and the map app (Stockholm, Sweden) and holds the server’s daily backups.
- Google (Gmail) – delivers the emails we send you, such as verification codes, approval notices and security alerts.
- Our other email and hosting providers, who process data for us under confidentiality obligations.
- Authorities, where the law requires us to.
Some of these providers process information outside South Africa. When that happens we rely on providers that are bound by agreements or laws giving your information a level of protection comparable to POPIA.
5. How long we keep it
Quote requests and related correspondence are kept for as long as needed to respond and, if we work together, for the period required by law and professional survey record-keeping rules. Map app accounts are kept until you ask us to close them. A sign-up that is never confirmed with the emailed code is discarded within minutes. Daily server backups are kept for a limited period and are overwritten as newer ones are made. Server logs are kept for a short period for security purposes.
6. How we protect it
We use encryption in transit (HTTPS); passwords stored only as salted one-way hashes; encryption at rest of the personal information held in the map app and quote requests (names, email addresses, phone numbers, company and job details, location details, our notes, and attached files), with the key kept separately from the data; temporary account lock-out after repeated wrong passwords; email alerts for sign-ins from a new device; access controls that limit quote requests and account data to authorised staff; and regular software updates. No system is perfectly secure, so please avoid sending highly sensitive information through the website.
7. Your rights
You may ask us to confirm whether we hold your personal information and to see it, to correct or delete it, to object to its processing, or to withdraw your consent at any time (this does not affect processing done before). To use these rights, contact our Information Officer at the details above; we will respond within a reasonable time.
If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa), or with your local data protection authority if you are in the EU or UK.
8. Children
Our services are intended for businesses and adults. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 18.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed.