Privacy & POPIA Policy

1. Who Is Responsible for Your Personal Information?

For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”), the responsible party for personal information processed through this website and WebCoZa’s business activities is:

WebCoZa determines why and how personal information is processed for the business activities described in this policy.

2. Personal Information We May Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with WebCoZa.

Information you provide directly

This may include:

• Your name and surname
• Business or organisation name
• Email address
• Telephone or mobile number
• Business location or service area
• Your existing website address
• Information about your domain
• Information about your business and services
• Website requirements and project objectives
• Messages and enquiries you send to us
• Information supplied during a customer relationship

Technical information

When you use the website, our hosting, security and website systems may automatically process technical information such as:

• IP address
• Browser and device information
• Date and time of requests
• Pages or resources requested
• Technical and security logs
• Information needed to detect abuse or protect the website

3. How We Collect Personal Information

WebCoZa may collect personal information when you:

• Submit the Free Website application form
• Submit a general contact or enquiry form
• Contact us by email, telephone or another agreed channel
• Become a WebCoZa customer
• Provide information needed to build or maintain a website
• Request hosting, email, maintenance, SEO or another service
• Interact with the WebCoZa website

We may also receive limited information from third parties where it is lawful and reasonably necessary for providing a service or administering a customer relationship.

4. Why We Process Personal Information

Personal information may be processed for purposes including:

• Responding to enquiries
• Reviewing Free Website applications
• Preparing quotations or proposals
• Communicating about website projects
• Providing hosting and professional email services
• Providing website maintenance and technical support
• Providing ecommerce, SEO or content services
• Administering customer accounts and relationships
• Processing billing and business records
• Maintaining website and information security
• Preventing spam, fraud or abuse
• Complying with applicable legal obligations
• Establishing, exercising or defending legal rights where necessary

We aim to collect information for specific and legitimate business purposes and not use it for an unrelated purpose without an appropriate basis.

5. Lawful Processing

Depending on the circumstances, WebCoZa may process personal information where:

• You have consented to the processing
• Processing is necessary to take steps requested by you before entering into an agreement
• Processing is necessary to perform an agreement with you
• Processing is required to comply with a legal obligation
• Processing is necessary to protect a legitimate interest permitted by POPIA

Where processing relies specifically on your consent, you may withdraw that consent, although this does not make earlier lawful processing invalid.

6. Website Forms

When you submit a form on the WebCoZa website, we use the information you provide for the purpose explained on or around that form.

Free Website application

Information submitted through the Free Website application is used to review your application, understand your business and website requirements, and contact you about the application and possible website project.

General enquiries

Information submitted through the Contact page is used to understand and respond to your enquiry.

Where a field is marked as required, we may be unable to properly process the enquiry or application if that information is not supplied.

7. Direct Marketing

Consent to process an enquiry or website application is not automatically treated as consent to receive unrelated promotional messages.

Where WebCoZa asks you to opt in to marketing, that choice will be presented separately where appropriate.

You may ask us to stop sending direct marketing communications at any time using the opt-out method provided or by contacting us.

8. Cookies and Technical Website Data

The WebCoZa website may use cookies and similar technical mechanisms that are necessary for website functionality, security, forms, administration or user preferences.

Web servers and security systems may also create logs containing technical information such as IP addresses and browser details.

If WebCoZa introduces additional analytics, advertising or marketing technologies that require additional notices or choices, this policy and the website’s cookie controls will be updated where appropriate.

9. Who We May Share Personal Information With

WebCoZa does not need to sell personal information in order to operate its business.

Personal information may, however, need to be processed by appropriate service providers or operators that help us provide and secure our services. These may include providers involved in:

• Website and server hosting
• Email services
• Domain registration and management
• Website forms
• Backups
• Website security
• Technical support
• Accounting or professional services

We may also disclose information where required by law, a lawful authority, court process or where reasonably necessary to protect legal rights.

Service providers processing personal information on our behalf should only process that information for authorised purposes and subject to appropriate confidentiality and security arrangements.

10. Processing Outside South Africa

Some technology, hosting, email, security or other service providers may process or store information outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred across borders, WebCoZa will seek to do so only where the transfer is permitted under applicable data protection requirements and appropriate safeguards or other lawful grounds are available.

11. Protecting Personal Information

WebCoZa takes reasonable technical and organisational steps intended to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration, destruction or unlawful processing.

Safeguards may include, where appropriate:

• Secure website connections using HTTPS
• Access controls
• Website and server security tools
• Software updates and maintenance
• Backups
• Restricted administrative access
• Security monitoring and logging

No internet-connected system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore review and improve safeguards where reasonably appropriate.

12. How Long We Keep Personal Information

WebCoZa keeps personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or for another lawful purpose.

Retention periods may depend on:

• The nature of the enquiry or service
• Whether you become a customer
• Contractual requirements
• Accounting and tax requirements
• Legal or regulatory obligations
• The need to establish or defend legal rights
• Security or fraud-prevention requirements

When information is no longer authorised or reasonably required to be retained, it should be deleted, destroyed or de-identified as appropriate.

13. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to POPIA and other applicable laws, you may have rights relating to your personal information, including the right to:

• Ask whether WebCoZa holds personal information about you
• Request access to your personal information
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion or destruction where permitted by law
• Object to certain processing where POPIA provides that right
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Object to or opt out of direct marketing where applicable
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator

We may need to verify your identity before giving access to personal information or making certain changes, so that somebody else cannot simply ask for your information in your name.

14. Security Compromises

If WebCoZa has reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will assess the incident and take the steps required by applicable law.

Where POPIA requires notification to the Information Regulator and affected data subjects, those notifications will be handled in accordance with the applicable requirements.

15. Links to Third-Party Websites

The WebCoZa website may contain links to external websites or services.

WebCoZa does not control the privacy practices of those independent third parties. You should review their privacy information when using their websites or services.

16. Changes to This Policy

WebCoZa may update this Privacy & POPIA Policy when our services, website, technology or legal obligations change.

The latest version will be published on this page with an updated revision date.

17. Privacy Questions or Requests

If you have a privacy question, want to exercise a privacy right or believe personal information held by WebCoZa is incorrect, contact:

18. Information Regulator

If you believe your rights under POPIA have been infringed, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa).