Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") governs your use of the Serobe platform located at www.serobe.co.za and all associated Platform Services. This AUP is incorporated by reference into our Terms of Service. By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to comply with this AUP. Violations may result in suspension, termination, or legal action.

1. Scope and Binding Nature

This AUP applies to all Customers, Authorized Users, and any residents or end-users accessing resident-facing features of the Platform. "You" refers to any of these parties as applicable. Your use of the Platform Services is also governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In the event of any conflict between this AUP and the Terms of Service regarding acceptable use matters, this AUP controls.

2. Acceptable Use

You may use the Platform Services solely for lawful residence management purposes, including:

  • Managing tenant and resident records, leases, and accommodation assignments;
  • Communicating with residents regarding residence-related matters;
  • Processing legitimate payments for accommodation, services, and related fees;
  • Generating reports and analytics for internal business purposes; and
  • Any other use explicitly authorised in your Order Form.

Each Authorized User must create and use their own login credentials (no credential sharing), maintain reasonable security hygiene, and promptly notify Serobe of any suspected credential compromise. You are responsible for all actions taken under your account.

3. Prohibited Content

You may not post, upload, transmit, or store any content that:

  • Infringes, misappropriates, or violates any third party's patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights, or rights of publicity or privacy;
  • Is fraudulent, false, misleading, or deceptive, including forged documents or falsified records;
  • Is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar, or offensive;
  • Promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment, or harm against any individual or group;
  • Is violent or threatening, or promotes violence or threatening actions;
  • Promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances; or
  • Violates any applicable law or regulation.

4. Prohibited Conduct

In addition to the prohibitions in our Terms of Service, you agree not to:

  • Use, display, mirror, or frame the Platform without Serobe's express written consent;
  • Access, probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Serobe system or network, or breach any security or authentication measures;
  • Avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or circumvent any technological protection measures;
  • Attempt to access or search the Platform through automated means (spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools) other than Serobe-provided agents or generally available web browsers;
  • Send unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, spam, chain letters, or other solicitations;
  • Use meta tags or hidden text utilising Serobe trademarks, logos, or product names without consent;
  • Forge TCP/IP headers or send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information;
  • Attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any Platform software;
  • Interfere with any user's access, including through viruses, overloading, flooding, spamming, or mail-bombing;
  • Collect or store personally identifiable information from other users without permission; or
  • Impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.

5. Fraud, Illegal Services, and Payment Abuse

The following activities are strictly prohibited and will result in immediate termination and potential legal action:

  • Fraudulent activity — including but not limited to identity fraud, falsified lease or tenant records, fake invoices, phishing attempts, social engineering of Authorized Users or residents, and misrepresentation of fees or charges;
  • Misuse of the platform for illegal services — using the Platform to facilitate money laundering, human or drug trafficking, unlicensed financial services, sale of illegal goods or services, or any activity contravening South African law or the laws of your jurisdiction;
  • Abuse of payment systems — including chargeback abuse, unauthorised use of payment cards or bank accounts, circumventing Serobe's authorised payment processor, duplicate or fraudulent refund claims, use of stolen payment instruments, collecting resident payments outside the Platform in violation of our Terms, or any act that triggers sanctions from payment schemes (Visa, Mastercard, PASA) or regulatory authorities.

6. Data Protection and POPIA Compliance

Authorised Users must only upload, process, or store personal data they are lawfully entitled to process. You must:

  • Practice data minimisation — only collect personal data necessary for the specific residence management purpose;
  • Honour data subject rights (access, correction, deletion, objection) under POPIA;
  • Obtain lawful consent or another valid legal basis before uploading special-category data (biometric data, health information, race, religion) and notify Serobe in writing;
  • Comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA), Consumer Protection Act (CPA), and all other applicable privacy laws;
  • Not use the Platform to process personal data in a manner that violates privacy rights or applicable data protection laws.

7. Residence-Specific Rules

Given the nature of residence management, the following additional rules apply:

  • You may not use the Platform to harass, discriminate against, or intimidate residents, staff, or other users;
  • CCTV, biometric, access control, and visitor data may only be collected, stored, and processed where you have a lawful basis and have provided appropriate notice;
  • Bulk SMS, email, or push notifications to residents must comply with POPIA direct marketing rules (Section 69), include clear opt-out mechanisms, and not be sent to individuals who have opted out;
  • Resident complaints and maintenance requests must be handled in good faith through the Platform's designated workflows;
  • You must not use Platform communication tools for purposes unrelated to residence management without resident consent.

8. System Integrity and Rate Limits

You may not:

  • Overload, flood, or stress-test the Platform infrastructure beyond reasonable usage patterns;
  • Make automated bulk API requests beyond documented rate limits without express written authorisation;
  • Integrate unauthorised third-party services or systems with the Platform;
  • Use the Platform in a manner that degrades performance for other users.

9. AI and Automated Decision-Making

You may not use Platform outputs or data to make solely-automated decisions that produce legal effects concerning residents or similarly significantly affect them without meaningful human review. You may not feed Customer Data into third-party AI services, machine learning platforms, or large language models in any manner that breaches confidentiality obligations or this AUP.

10. Reporting Abuse and Security Issues

To report violations of this AUP or security incidents:

Please include relevant details such as dates, user accounts, and description of the issue. Serobe will investigate all reports promptly and confidentially.

11. Enforcement

Serobe reserves the right to enforce this AUP at our sole discretion through a graduated response:

  1. Warning — written notice of violation with request to cure;
  2. Content removal — removal or disabling of prohibited content without notice;
  3. Suspension — temporary suspension of Platform access for repeated or serious violations;
  4. Termination — termination of your Order Form and all Platform access rights;
  5. Legal referral — referral to law enforcement or regulatory authorities for illegal conduct.

We are not obligated to monitor Platform use but reserve the right to do so to ensure compliance, protect our systems, or comply with legal obligations. We may remove or disable access to any content at any time without notice.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may modify this AUP at any time in our sole discretion. If we do so, we will post the modified AUP on our Site or notify you through other communications. Your continued use of the Platform after such notification indicates your agreement to be bound by the modified AUP.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Acceptable Use Policy, please contact Serobe at info@serobe.co.za.