JobGround Privacy Policy

Last Updated: November 15, 2025

JobGround is the responsible party for the processing of personal information as contemplated in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA)

This Privacy Policy describes how JobGround (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information when you use our job platform and related services (collectively, the “Services”).

1. Information We Collect

We collect information directly from you when you register, create a profile, post a job, or use our platform.

• • (a) Information from Candidates (Job Seekers)

While JobGround does not require candidates to provide a full physical address, uploaded CVs are user-generated content and may contain additional personal information at the candidate’s discretion.

• • (b) Information from Employers & Recruiters

• • (c) Special Personal Information

In accordance with South African law, we may collect information regarding race or disability solely for the purpose of assisting Employers with their Employment Equity (EE) reporting and targets.

Where JobGround processes special personal information such as race, gender, or disability for Employment Equity purposes, such processing is done only with the explicit, voluntary consent of the data subject. Candidates may choose not to provide this information and may withdraw their consent at any time by updating their profile or contacting us. This data is used solely for transformation reporting and will not be used to unfairly discriminate against any candidate.

Gender and race information is optional and is processed only where voluntarily provided by the candidate.

2. How We Use Your Information

JobGround collects only the personal information reasonably necessary to provide its recruitment and job-matching services.

• • To Provide Services: To operate the JobGround platform, facilitate job matching between employers and candidates, and manage accounts.
  • Safety and Fraud Prevention: To verify the legitimacy of job postings (as noted in our FAQs) and candidate profiles, protecting our community from scams and illegal activity.
  • Communication:
    • To send job alerts, application status updates, application notification emails, and administrative notices.
    • Job alert emails are sent only to users who have actively opted in.
    • Users may manage or disable job alert notifications at any time through their account dashboard.
    • Employers receive email notifications when candidates apply for jobs, which may include candidate profile and application information necessary to facilitate the recruitment process.
  • Improvement: To analyze usage patterns, monitor the performance of job listings, and enhance the features and functionality of our Services.
  • Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms & Conditions, and respond to lawful requests from government authorities.
  • Direct Communication via Third Parties: If you provide a mobile number, you consent to being contacted by potential employers via WhatsApp or SMS. JobGround facilitates the initial connection, but once a conversation moves to WhatsApp, that data is subject to WhatsApp’s own privacy terms. Employers who contact candidates via WhatsApp or SMS act as independent responsible parties and are responsible for their own compliance with applicable data protection laws.
  • Employer business address information is used for account verification, invoicing, and fraud prevention purposes.

3. How We Share Your Information

We only share your information in the following ways:

• • With Potential Employers/Candidates: When a Candidate applies for a job, their profile and application details are shared with the Employer. When an Employer posts a job, the listing is shared publicly with Candidates.
  • Service Providers: We share necessary data with third-party vendors who perform functions on our behalf, such as payment processing, website hosting, data analytics, and security services. Some of your personal information may be stored or processed on servers located outside of South Africa. We ensure that these service providers are located in countries with adequate data protection laws or are bound by contracts that provide a similar level of protection to POPIA.
  • Legal Obligations: We may disclose your information if required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena or similar legal process.

4. Data Security and Retention

We implement technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

In the event of a data breach, JobGround will notify affected data subjects and the Information Regulator where required by law.

5. Your Data Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correct or Update inaccurate or incomplete information in your profile.
  • Request Deletion of your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions.
  • Opt-Out of receiving marketing communications from us.

PAIA Requests:

Our PAIA Manual, which outlines the procedure to request access to information held by JobGround in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, is available upon request by emailing info@jobground.co.za.

The Information Officer for JobGround has been registered with the Information Regulator of South Africa in accordance with POPIA.

If you believe that JobGround has infringed your rights under POPIA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

6. Technical Data Processing and Cookies

As a standard web-based platform, our website handles certain technical data automatically:

• • (6.1.) Cookies and Login
  • We use cookies to improve your experience. These cookies:
    • Store your login status and screen display preferences (lasting two days to one year). If you select “Remember Me,” your login persists for two weeks.
    • Are set temporarily on the login page to check browser compatibility (containing no personal data).

• • (6.2.) Comments (If Enabled)
  • When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, the visitor’s IP address, and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymized string (hash) from your email may be provided to the Gravatar service for displaying your profile picture.

• • (6.3.) Embedded Content and Third Parties
  • Articles or job listings on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, or social media feeds). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These external websites may collect data about you, use cookies, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content.

• • (6.4.) Data Retention and Deletion Requests
  • For registered users, we store the personal information provided in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
    • Comment Data: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely for automatic follow-up comment approval.
    • Deletion Requests: You can request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes (e.g., password reset IP logging).

7. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top.