Data Protection / Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 15 September 2026

1. Who we are – the Responsible Party

South African Conversations (Pty) Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is the Responsible Party as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
Registration No: 2018/605841/07
CIPC Registered Office: 303 Harrow Towers, Muller Street, Yeoville, Johannesburg, 2198, Gauteng, South Africa
Operational Postal Address: Postnet Suite 72, Private Bag X7, Muizenberg, 7945, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Phone: 021 300 0547
Email: talk.to.us [at] southafricanconversations [dot] co.za
Website: www.southafricanconversations.co.za
Information Officer: Theresa Muller – talk.to.us [at] southafricanconversations [dot] co.za

2. What this policy covers

This policy sets out how we use and protect personal information you provide when using www.southafricanconversations.co.za, signing up for newsletters, submitting stories/names/photos via forms, or communicating with us. By using our site you acknowledge the practices described here. Where consent is required, we will ask for it.

3. What personal information we collect

Automatically when you browse: Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, device information, cookies, approximate geographical location, and site usage information such as date, time, duration and pages visited (via Google Analytics).
Directly when you interact with us: name, surname, email address, delivery address – where relevant – phone number, organisation/NPO, location, story content, photographs, audio/video you submit, newsletter preferences, and any information contained in messages you send us.
Note: the automatic IP-address collection above relates to general website browsing (via Google Analytics and Akismet – see section 4). When you submit one of our own forms directly – for example, to join a Community Conversation, apply for an opportunity, or contact us – our forms are configured not to store your IP address.
We do not intentionally collect special personal information (race, health, etc.) unless you voluntarily include it in a story submission. If you do, we will only publish it with your explicit consent.

4. Cookies and analytics

We use cookies – small files placed on your device – to remember preferences, measure which sections are used, optimise performance and improve usability. A cookie does not give us access to your computer.
We use Google Analytics. Google may process your IP address and site usage in the United States. See Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
We use Akismet, a spam-filtering service provided by Automattic, to help protect our website from spam comments and form submissions. When you submit a comment or form on our website, your IP address, name, email address and message content may be sent to Akismet for analysis. Akismet may retain this information for 30 days or longer depending on the nature of the data. We do not store any personally identifiable information collected by Akismet on our own servers. See Akismet’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/
You can block cookies in your browser settings, but parts of the site may not work properly. We only set non-essential cookies if you accept our cookie banner.

5. How and why we use your information (purpose and legal basis)

To respond to enquiries, communicate with you and provide customer support – legitimate interest / consent / contract.
To send newsletters and updates you signed up for – consent (you can unsubscribe at any time via the unsubscribe link).
To process orders for payment and delivery – performance of a contract.
To receive, review, curate and publish stories, names and photos you submit, with your permission – consent.
To provide access to income-generating opportunities via our initiatives – legitimate interest and consent.
To improve our website and services, and ensure security – legitimate interest.
To comply with legal obligations (e.g. tax, company law, POPIA, PAIA) – legal obligation.

6. When do we share information?

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.
We may share relevant information with trusted service providers acting as Operators under POPIA who help us operate our website and business, for example:
- Payment processing platforms
- Courier and delivery companies
- Website hosting and maintenance providers
- Email newsletter service providers
- Google as analytics provider
- Professional advisors (legal, accounting) where necessary
- Where required by law, subpoena, or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims
All Operators are bound by confidentiality and POPIA obligations and may not use your information for any other purpose.

7. International transfers

We may use service providers and applications based outside South Africa for email and website-related functions and storage, including Google Analytics and Google Workspace. We only use reputable providers who are contractually required to protect personal information to at least the same standard as POPIA.

8. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications – for example social media platforms, payment processors, or partner NPOs. Clicking on those links may allow third parties to collect or share information about you. We do not control these third-party sites and are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit via a link on our site.

9. How long we keep your information, opting out, and requesting deletion

Contact form enquiries: up to 3 years after last communication.
Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe.
Story submissions and photos: until the material is published, when it is archived and from where it may be re-published; or until you withdraw consent.
Website analytics logs: 14 months
Subscription, magazine, book or merchandise orders: up to 7 years as required by tax law.
Initiative participant sign-ups: for the duration of the initiative and thereafter until you request your information to be removed.
We securely delete or de-identify information when no longer required.
Opting out: if you simply stop participating in an initiative, unsubscribe, or ask us to stop contacting you, this is not automatically a request to delete your information. We will retain it for the periods set out above and then delete or de-identify it, unless you make an explicit deletion request as described below.
Requesting deletion: you may ask us, in writing, to delete or destroy the personal information we hold about you, under section 24 of POPIA. Once we have verified your identity, we will action a deletion request within 30 days. Where we are legally required to keep certain records for longer – for example, financial or tax records, which South African law requires us to keep for several years – we will not delete those specific records immediately, but we will restrict access to them and tell you what we are retaining and why.

10. Security

We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure and alteration.
While we strive to protect your information, no internet transmission is ever completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Security compromises

If we have reasonable grounds to believe that your personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will notify the Information Regulator and you, as required by section 22 of POPIA, as soon as reasonably possible after discovering the compromise – unless a public body responsible for the prevention, detection or investigation of offences asks us to delay notification. We will take reasonable steps to identify and address the cause of any such incident.

12. Children’s personal information

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 without consent of a competent person (parent/guardian). If you submit a story involving a child, you are required to submit signed permission from the parent/guardian for us to publish name/photo/story.

13. Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to be notified, to access, correct, delete, object to processing, and to lodge a complaint. To exercise these rights contact our Information Officer.

14. How to complain

Please contact us first. If you are not satisfied you have the right to complain to the Information Regulator: Information Regulator, JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001. Or write to: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za / www.inforegulator.org.za

15. Changes to this policy