Privacy policy

Last updated: 11 November 2026

Who we are

Heavy Equipment Africa (“we”) runs the online directory of heavy equipment dealers on this website. We are responsible for the personal data described here. Questions: info@heavyequipmentafrica.com.

What we collect

• When you contact a dealer: your name, email and/or phone number, country, type of enquiry, your message and the dealer you chose.
• When you sign up for updates: your email address, the site language and the page you signed up from.
• When you create an account: your name, email and password (stored in encrypted form by our sign-in provider; we never see it).
• When you ask to manage a listing: your job title, work email and anything you give us to verify the request.
• Dealer listings: business names, addresses and business phone numbers and emails, taken from public sources (mainly manufacturers’ published dealer networks) or supplied by dealers.
• Technical data: a session cookie while you are signed in, and technical logs (including IP addresses) kept by our hosting provider for security.
• Location: if you use “Dealers near me”, your browser shares your approximate location for that search only. We do not store it.

Equipment lists you check against the directory

You can choose an Excel, CSV or PDF file with a list of equipment, or type or paste the list, for example for a tender, and we will suggest dealers who can supply it. You do not need an account to do this.

Your file is read by your own web browser. It is not uploaded to our servers and we never receive or store a copy of it. To read PDF and Excel files, your browser downloads a free PDF reader (pdf.js) or spreadsheet reader (SheetJS) from cdnjs (Cloudflare); these readers work in your browser and do not send your file anywhere. A list you type or paste is read the same way.

To recognise makes and models, your browser sends us the model-like codes it finds in the list (short combinations of letters and numbers such as “PC200” or “320”), not the list itself, and we send back the matching models from our model database. We do not keep these codes.

To find matching dealers, your browser sends us only the equipment items it has picked out of the file (such as the type of machine, make, model, size, quantity, whether you want it new or used, and whether other makes are acceptable) together with the country you chose and, if you add one, your project location. We use these only to show you your results, including how far each dealer’s nearest branch is from your site. We do not keep them after your results are shown, we do not link them to you, and we do not share them with dealers or anyone else.

You can set the project location by typing a town, pasting coordinates or a map link, using your device’s location (your browser asks you first), or dropping a pin on a map. The maps are from OpenStreetMap: your browser loads the map images from the OpenStreetMap Foundation and the free Leaflet map library from cdnjs (Cloudflare). As you type a place name, your browser sends the letters typed so far to Photon, a free OpenStreetMap place search run by komoot, to suggest towns and villages; if you press Enter to search instead, the name and the country go to OpenStreetMap’s own place search (Nominatim). If you paste a short Google Maps link (maps.app.goo.gl), our server opens that link once to read the map point from it. These services receive your IP address, as any website you visit does, and are covered by their own privacy policies.

The results and any download are created in your browser. So that a reload does not lose your work, the checked list, the country, the project location and your buy or rent choice are saved in your browser’s own storage on your device for up to 30 days. They are not sent to us. “Start over” on the page deletes them, as does clearing your browser’s site data.

If you have accepted analytics cookies, Google Analytics records that a match was run, with the country, the number of items and dealers found, and whether a project location was used. It never receives what is on your list.

The country box may be filled in for you from your device’s time zone or language settings. This happens in your browser and nothing is sent to us.

Quote requests. If you choose to send a quote request to dealers from your results, the dealers you select receive your equipment list, your message and the contact details you enter, so that they can reply to you. Each dealer gets its own email and its reply goes straight to you. We also email you a copy. We keep a copy of the request, like any enquiry (see “How long we keep it”), and dealers who manage their listing can see it in their account. We send it only to the dealers you select. Your contact details are remembered in your browser’s own storage so you don’t have to type them again; your list is not.

Dealer alerts. If no dealer matches an item and you ask us to email you when one is listed, we keep your email address, the country and the equipment type or make of the items you chose (not the rest of your list). We email you once, when a matching dealer is listed, and every email has a link to stop alerts.

Emails are sent through Resend, our email provider, which processes them only on our behalf.

Why we use it

• To pass your enquiry to the dealer you chose so they can reply (based on your consent).
• To send you the updates you signed up for (based on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time).
• To run your account and check requests to manage a listing (to provide the service you asked for).
• To keep the directory accurate, prevent spam and abuse, and keep the site secure (our legitimate interests).
• To meet our legal obligations.

We do not sell your data or use it for advertising.

Who we share it with

• The dealer you contact, who receives your enquiry and contact details.
• Our technical providers: Supabase (database and sign-in, hosted in the European Union, in Ireland), Vercel (website hosting) and Resend (sending emails). They process data only on our behalf.
• Google Maps (Google), which shows the maps on dealer pages. When a map loads, Google receives your IP address and may set its own cookies, under Google’s privacy policy.
• Authorities, where the law requires it.

International transfers

Our data is stored in the European Union. Dealers may be based in other countries; by sending an enquiry you choose to pass your details to that dealer. Our providers use recognised contractual safeguards for transfers.

How long we keep it

• Enquiries sent to dealers, including quote requests from equipment lists: 24 months.
• Dealer alerts: until we have emailed you about a match or you stop the alerts, and in any case no longer than 24 months.
• Sign-ups for updates: until you unsubscribe; the address is then erased within 30 days.
• Accounts: until you delete them; the data is then erased within 30 days.
• Requests to manage a listing: 24 months after the decision.
• Technical logs: according to our hosting provider’s policy, usually a few weeks.

Dealer listings

Listings contain business contact details. If you represent a dealer and want a listing corrected or removed, use “Manage this listing” on its page or email info@heavyequipmentafrica.com.

Your rights

Depending on the law that applies to you, you can ask to see, correct, delete or move your data, object to some uses, and withdraw consent at any time. Email info@heavyequipmentafrica.com; we reply within 30 days.

You can also complain to the data protection authority in your country, for example the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Ghana’s Data Protection Commission, Kenya’s Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, South Africa’s Information Regulator, ARTCI in Côte d’Ivoire, the CDP in Senegal, or the relevant authority in the European Union or the United Kingdom.

Cookies

We only use cookies that are strictly necessary: to keep users signed in, and to remember the language you choose (the hea_lang cookie, kept for a year and set only when you pick a language). We do not use advertising cookies. To see which pages are used, we use Vercel Web Analytics, which works without cookies and does not let us identify visitors: we only see totals (page views, countries, device types).

If you accept in the cookie banner, we also use Google Analytics (Google Ireland Ltd), which sets cookies to measure how the site is used. If you decline, no Google Analytics cookies are set. You can change your mind by clearing this site’s data in your browser.

Children

This site is for business users and is not intended for anyone under 18.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit, access is restricted by security rules in the database, and only authorised administrators can read enquiries.

Changes

We may update this policy. The date at the top shows the latest version.