Terms of Use

Last updated: 1 October 2026

1. Nature of service

Naartjie is a neighbourhood marketplace that connects buyers and sellers within the same community. Naartjie operates as a venue only. It is NOT a party to any transaction between users, does not own, store, inspect, or sell any listed items, and does not hold funds on behalf of any party.

Naartjie currently does not process payments. All payment arrangements are made directly between buyer and seller. Naartjie accepts no responsibility for payment disputes, non-delivery, or fraudulent payment methods.

If you trade in second-hand goods as a business, you are responsible for any registration required under the Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009. Naartjie does not verify or hold such registrations.

2. Eligibility

You must be 18 years or older to create and use a Naartjie account. Naartjie is intended for adults only and is not directed at anyone under 18. We do not knowingly permit under-18s to use the service and will restrict or remove any account we reasonably believe belongs to a minor. If you become aware of an underage user, please report the account.

3. Accounts and login

You can log in with your email address and a password, with a one-time login link sent to your email, or with Google. You are responsible for keeping your password and your email account secure. You may not share your account with any other person. You must provide accurate information when registering.

You may delete your account at any time in Settings → Account. Naartjie may suspend or terminate your account if you breach these Terms.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to use Naartjie to (see also our Community Guidelines):

• Post listings for prohibited or illegal items (see below).
• Harass, threaten, defame, or discriminate against other users.
• Share an intimate image of someone without their consent. Doing so ends your account immediately.
• Post false, misleading, or deceptive listings.
• Post photos or text you don't have the right to use (see section 7).
• Scrape, crawl, or extract data from Naartjie without written consent.
• Introduce malware, spam, or unsolicited commercial messages.
• Create multiple accounts to evade a suspension.
• Impersonate another person or entity.
• Violate any applicable South African law or regulation.

5. Reports and moderation of chats

When someone reports a chat, a Naartjie moderator can read the messages in that conversation, together with the listing or post it relates to. We do this to decide whether our rules were broken and, where necessary, to report suspected crimes. We do not otherwise monitor or read your private chats, and we never use their contents for advertising.

A copy of the reported messages is kept with the report for five years so that repeat behaviour can be traced and so we can answer lawful requests from the authorities. We will not tell the other person that a report was made about them.

By creating an account you consent to this reading of reported conversations, as required by section 6 of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA).

6. Prohibited items

The following categories of items may not be listed on Naartjie:

• Firearms, ammunition, or weapons.
• Illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia.
• Counterfeit, pirated, or trademark-infringing goods.
• Stolen property.
• Vehicles, trailers, boats and property — for example cars, bakkies and motorbikes, or homes, rooms and land for sale or rent. Parts and accessories are fine.
• Live animals where the sale is unlawful under applicable law.
• Alcohol sold without the required licence.
• Human body parts or organs.
• Pornographic material.
• Any item whose sale is prohibited under South African law.

The full list, including items that need a licence, is on Prohibited & restricted items. Naartjie reserves the right to remove any listing at its sole discretion and to report suspected illegal activity to the relevant authorities.

7. User content and intellectual property

You keep ownership of what you post on Naartjie (listings, photos, messages and community posts). By posting it, you grant Naartjie a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to reproduce, publish, adapt, resize, transmit in a diffusion service and store that content, for these purposes: operating the platform, moderation, dealing with legal disputes, and making your listings visible in search.

The licence lasts for as long as we keep the content under the retention periods in our Privacy Policy. It is sublicensable because delivering photos, making thumbnails and appearing in search all run through other companies.

You warrant that your content does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party and that you have the right to grant the above licence. Use your own photos — photos taken from shops or other listings can be removed.

Three confirmed copyright infringements lead to suspension. Each confirmed infringement counts as a strike on your account.

8. Notices about content — copyright, defamation and illegal content

If you believe something on Naartjie infringes your copyright, defames you or is otherwise illegal, email legal@naartjie.co.za. You don't need a Naartjie account to do this.

Please include:

• who you are and how we can contact you;
• the link (URL) to the content;
• the right you rely on — for example, that you own the copyright in the photo, or why the statement about you is false and harmful;
• a statement that you are making the notice in good faith and that the information in it is accurate.

What happens next:

• Child sexual abuse material, intimate images shared without consent, incitement to violence and threats: We take it down within 24 hours, holidays included, and then decide.
• Copyright and defamation: We decide within 3 working days. Clear cases are taken down straight away; unclear ones may need legal advice first.
• When we take content down, we hide it and tell the person who posted it.

Counter-notice. If your content was taken down and you believe that was a mistake, reply to our notice or email legal@naartjie.co.za explaining why. We review a counter-notice within 5 working days.

If someone has shared an intimate image of you without your consent, email legal@naartjie.co.za even if you don't have an account — it is handled on the 24-hour track above. Courts, the police and regulators can send formal requests to the same address. We keep a permanent record of every notice and what we did about it.

9. Ratings and reviews

Users may leave ratings and written feedback after a transaction. Ratings must be honest and based on genuine experience. Naartjie may remove reviews that violate these Terms but does not verify the accuracy of reviews.

10. Safety and in-person meetups

Naartjie strongly recommends that you meet in a safe, public place (such as a shopping centre or police station parking lot) when completing in-person transactions. Always bring a friend. Naartjie is not liable for any harm, loss, theft, or injury arising from interactions or meetups between users arranged through the platform.

11. Third-party advertising

Naartjie may show advertising. If it does, Google AdSense may display personalised or non-personalised advertisements within feeds and listing pages. Naartjie does not control the content of these ads. Google's privacy and cookie policies govern how advertising data is used. See our Cookie & Ads Notice for more detail.

12. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

Naartjie is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable South African law, including the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (“CPA”). Nothing in these Terms limits rights you may have under the CPA or any other mandatory consumer-protection legislation.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Naartjie's total liability to you for any claim arising from your use of the platform shall not exceed ZAR 500. Naartjie is not liable for indirect, consequential, or special damages.

13. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Naartjie and its operator from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of these Terms, your listings, or your interactions with other users, to the extent permitted by South African law.

14. Suspension and termination

Naartjie may suspend or permanently terminate your account and access to the platform at any time if you breach these Terms or if we are required to do so by law. We will provide notice where reasonably practicable. Sharing an intimate image of someone without their consent ends your account immediately.

If you think we got it wrong, appeal in the app from Appeals within 30 days of our notice. If you can't sign in, email appeals@naartjie.co.za.

15. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in Cape Town, South Africa, without prejudice to your rights under the CPA to refer disputes to the National Consumer Commission or other relevant body.

16. Pricing and features

Core features of Naartjie — including creating an account, browsing listings, posting items for sale, and using the community feed — are currently provided free of charge. Naartjie reserves the right to introduce fees, change existing fees, or modify, limit, or discontinue any feature at any time. Where a change introduces a fee or materially reduces a feature available to existing users, Naartjie will provide at least 30 days' advance notice by email and/or an in-app notice before the change takes effect. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised pricing or feature set.

17. Changes to these Terms

Naartjie may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified to registered users by email and/or an in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of Naartjie after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

18. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at support@naartjie.co.za. Notices about content go to legal@naartjie.co.za (section 8).

Related: Privacy Policy · PAIA Manual · Community Guidelines · Prohibited items