Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Welcome to Minnaar Money. This page explains, in plain language, what information this website collects, why we collect it, who helps us look after it, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. We keep things simple: we collect only what we need, we do not sell your information, and we do not use advertising trackers.

The short version

We count visits so we can see how people explore Minnaar Money and the Minnaar Art Library. This uses an anonymous, random code in your browser, never your name or email address, and you can switch it off on this page.
If you write to us, join the newsletter, or use the Trading Post, we keep what you give us so we can reply, send you updates, or connect you with a trader.
A few trusted companies, mainly Google and Resend, help us run the site and send email. We do not sell or rent your information, and we do not show advertising.
You can ask to see, correct, or delete what we hold about you at any time.

Who we are

Minnaar Money (minnaarmoney.com), including the Minnaar Art Library and the Trading Post, is run by Steven Minnaar. To reach us about anything in this policy, use our Contact page and mention “privacy”.

What we collect, and why

When you visit the website

When you open a page, your browser sends us a small record so we can count visits: the address of the page, the date and time, the website you came from (if any), whether you are on a phone or a computer, and a random number that lasts only while that browser tab is open. This tells us which pages people find useful and how our audience is growing.

If your settings allow it, we also keep an anonymous visitor ID: a random code made in your browser, kept only in your browser, and sent only to our own visit statistics. It lets us count how many different browsers visit, and how many come back. It does not contain your name, email address, location, or anything about your device, and we never connect it to your newsletter subscription, your messages, or any account. It is replaced after 13 months, and we remove it from our records after 25 months, keeping only totals. A browser is not a person: if you visit from a phone and a laptop, we see two.

Visits by our own team, and by search engines and other automated programs (crawlers), are marked and kept out of the figures we use to understand our audience.

Where you are matters. In most European countries we ask first, and make no visitor ID until you say yes. In the United Kingdom, France, the United States and elsewhere we make the ID unless you tell us not to, because simple, first-party visit statistics are allowed there when people are told and can easily say no. Either way, the choices are below.

Technical logs from our hosting

Our website runs on Google’s Firebase and Cloud services in the United States. Like every website, the servers automatically log technical details of each request, including your internet (IP) address, your browser type, and the page requested, to keep the site secure and working. We keep these logs for about 30 days and do not use them to identify visitors.

Contact form

If you use our Contact form we collect your name, email address, and message. We use them to read and answer you. The message is saved in our private admin area and emailed to us through our email provider, Resend. We keep messages for as long as we need them to reply and keep a record, and delete them when you ask.

If you join the Minnaar Money Weekly Update we collect your email address. We first email you a link to confirm; you are added to the list only if you press the button on the confirmation page. Your address is then kept with our email provider, Resend, so we can send our updates, and every email has an unsubscribe link. A signup you never confirm does not join the list; the unconfirmed request stays in our private records until we remove it.

Trading Post

Messaging a trader. When you use “Message the poster” on a listing, your name, email address, and message are emailed to the person who posted it (or to us, for listings we post). We do not keep the message. The trader sees your email address so they can reply.
Asking to become a trader. We collect your name, email address, and a note, and review them. Approved traders sign in with an email address and a password; sign-in is handled by Google’s Firebase Authentication.
Listings. A listing’s title, description, photos, trader name, and, for local listings, the area (city and ZIP code) are shown publicly. Listings stop being shown after 180 days unless renewed.
ZIP code lookups. When a trader enters a ZIP code, their browser sends just that ZIP code to a free public lookup service, zippopotam.us, to find the city.

Keeping the site safe

To stop spam and abuse, our servers keep small counters of how many messages or signups come from the same email address or connection. These hold scrambled one-way codes and counts, not readable addresses.

Cookies and similar technologies

These are small notes a website keeps in your browser. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. This is what we do use:

What	Why	How long
Light or dark theme	Remembers the look you picked	Until you clear your browser data
Tab number	A random number that lets us count visits to different pages within one tab	Until you close the tab
Page position	Returns you to where you were when you press back	Until you close the tab
Anonymous visitor ID	Counts how many different browsers visit and return, for our own statistics	Up to 13 months, then replaced
Your privacy choices	Remembers the choices you make on this page	Until you clear your browser data
Sign-in (traders and our team)	Keeps you signed in	Trader sign-in until you sign out; our team’s sign-in cookie up to 7 days

Some pages show videos from YouTube or Vimeo. Those companies may set their own cookies when the video loads or plays. We do not control them; please see their own policies.

Who we share information with

We use a few service providers to run the site. They handle information only to do that job for us:

Google (Firebase and Google Cloud) hosts the website, stores our database, photos, and trader sign-in accounts, and keeps the server logs described above.
Resend sends our email (messages from the Contact form, newsletter confirmations and updates, and messages to traders) and holds the newsletter list.
YouTube and Vimeo supply videos shown on some pages.
zippopotam.us looks up the city for a ZIP code, as described under the Trading Post.

We do not sell or rent your information, and we do not share it for advertising. We may disclose information if the law requires it or to protect people’s safety or our legal rights.

How long we keep information

Anonymous visitor ID: in your browser, up to 13 months. In our statistics, 25 months, after which it is removed and only totals and plain page counts remain.
Page counts without an ID (page, date, phone or computer): kept so we can see long-term growth.
Server logs: about 30 days.
Contact messages: until we no longer need them, or you ask us to delete them.
Newsletter address: until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove it.
Trader requests and accounts: while the account is active, and until you ask us to delete them. Listings stop being shown after 180 days.

Your choices

Switch off counting. The switch below stops us recording your visits at all, and deletes your visitor ID.
Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends this signal, we always treat it as a request not to use a visitor ID.
Do Not Track. This older browser setting has no legal force, but we honour it by default too. If you would rather allow a visitor ID, you can say so below, because that is a choice about this site.
Europe. In most European countries we ask before making a visitor ID, and make none until you agree.
Newsletter. Every email has an unsubscribe link.

Whichever you choose, we may still count that a page was opened, without an ID, unless you have switched counting off.

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Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask us to tell you what we hold about you, correct it, delete it, give you a copy, or limit or object to how we use it. If you live in California or another US state with a privacy law, you have similar rights; we do not sell or share personal information for advertising, and we will not treat you differently for using your rights. To make a request, use our Contact page and say “privacy request”. We may ask you to confirm it is you, for example by replying from the email address you used. We aim to reply within 30 days. Because a visitor ID is anonymous, we can only find the statistics tied to it if you give us your visitor code (shown above, under “Show my visitor code”). If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom and are not happy with our answer, you can complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

This website is meant for adults. It is not aimed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you think a child has sent us information, please tell us and we will delete it.

Where information is stored

Our systems are in the United States. If you visit from another country, your information is processed in the United States.

Keeping information secure

We use reputable providers and sensible safeguards, such as encrypted connections and restricted administrator access. No system is perfectly secure, but we take care of what you share with us.

Changes to this policy

We may update this page from time to time. The date at the top shows when it last changed. If a change is significant, we will say so on this page.