Privacy Policy

This policy was updated 20 March 2024.

Read this policy carefully before browsing this website or using any of the services. Your continued use of this website indicates that you have both read and agree to the terms of this privacy policy. You cannot use this website if you do not accept this privacy policy. All sections of this policy are applicable to all website users (members and guests) unless the section expressly states otherwise.

1. Introduction

1. 1.1 Respecting and protecting your privacy and Personal Information is important to Us. The purpose of this Privacy Statement outlines how We collect, use, store, transfer, update and destroy/delete your personal information and data in a responsible manner.
2. 1.2 This Privacy Policy is to be read as if specifically incorporated into the Terms of Service, located at the URL as per item 2 of the above Table.
3. 1.3 Unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary, any term in this Privacy Policy will bear the same meaning as defined in any of our Terms and Conditions, Terms of Registration, or Conditions of Use, as applicable and appearing on this site.

2. Privacy Policy

1. 2.1 For the purposes of this section, Personal Information will be understood in accordance with the definition provided in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“the Act”). We also subscribe to the principles for electronically collecting personal information outlined in the Act, and the further legislation referred to therein. We endeavour to ensure the quality, accuracy and confidentiality of Personal Information in our possession.
2. 2.2 In adopting this Privacy Policy, we wish to balance our legitimate business interests and your reasonable expectation of privacy. Accordingly, and because the security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, we will take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access to, or disclosure of your Personal Information. However, since no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure it is impossible to guarantee that your Personal Information shall be 100% secure.
3. 2.3 If applicable, the following website functions might require the collection of data and personal information:
   1. 2.3.1 Registering an account with us. Users may be asked to provide the information as listed at item 3 of the above Table (Personal Information) when registering your account with us (if applicable), and when making use of the Website.
   2. 2.3.2 Filling in a contact form. Users may be asked to provide the information as listed at item 3 of the above Table (Personal Information) when filling in the contact form.
   3. 2.3.3 Leaving comments. When visitors leave comments on this site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
   4. 2.3.4 Gravatar usage. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
   5. 2.3.5 Shopping online with us. When setting up an account with us, we will need certain details from you in order for you to complete purchases through the online shop. We will store your name, address, phone number and order details so we can fulfil your order. Payments are made securely either through PayFast (South African payment gateway) or PayPal (International Payment gateway) and we do not store any of that information.
4. 2.4 We will attempt to limit the types of Personal Information we process to only that to which you consent to (for example, in the context of online registration, contact forms, newsletters, message boards, surveys, polls, professional announcements, SMS, MMS and other mobile services), but, to the extent necessary, your agreement to these this Privacy Policy constitutes your consent as contemplated in section 69 of the Act.
5. 2.5 If applicable, any and all payment information provided through the Website will be captured. Further, we shall retain such payment information on behalf of its users. This website does not capture payment information.
6. 2.6 We will not collect, use or disclose sensitive information (such as information about racial or ethnic origins or political or religious beliefs, where relevant) except with your specific consent or in the circumstances permitted by law.
7. 2.7 By agreeing to the terms contained in this Privacy Policy, you consent to the use of your Personal Information in relation to:
   1. 2.7.1 The provision and performance of the services;
   2. 2.7.2 Informing you of changes made to our website;
   3. 2.7.3 The provision of marketing related services to you by us (if applicable, and unless You have opted not to receive such information);
   4. 2.7.4 Responding to any queries or requests you may have (to contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication);
   5. 2.7.5 Developing a more direct and substantial relationship with users for the purposes described in this clause;
   6. 2.7.6 Developing an online user profile. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user;
   7. 2.7.7 Understanding general user trends and patterns so that we can develop and support existing and ongoing marketing strategies;
   8. 2.7.8 For security, administrative and legal purposes; and
   9. 2.7.9 The creation and development of market data profiles which may provide insight into market norms, practices and trends to help us improve our offering to you. Such information will be compiled and retained in aggregated form, but shall not be used in any way which may comprise the identity of a user.
8. 2.8 Although absolute security cannot be guaranteed on the internet, we have in place up-to-date, reasonable technical and organisational security measures to protect your Personal Information against accidental or intentional manipulation, loss, misuse, destruction or against unauthorised disclosure or access to the information we process online.
9. 2.9 While we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any Personal Information you provide us, we will continue to maintain and improve these security measures over time in line with legal and technological developments.
10. 2.10 We store your Personal Information directly, or alternatively, store your Personal Information on, and transfer your Personal Information to, a central database. If the location of the central database is located in a country that does not have substantially similar laws which provide for the protection of Personal Information, we will take the necessary steps to ensure that your Personal Information is adequately protected in that jurisdiction.
11. 2.11 Your information will not be stored for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in these Terms or as required by applicable legislation.
12. 2.12 The Personal Information we collect from users shall only be accessed by our employees, representatives and consultants on a need-to-know basis, and subject to reasonable confidentiality obligations binding such persons.
13. 2.13 We may share non-personally identifiable information, such as aggregated information, statistics and trends, with other companies, organisations and persons, including our publishers, marketers and social media consultants.
14. 2.14 We shall have the right, but shall not be obliged, to monitor or examine any information and materials including any website link that you publish or submit to us for publishing on the Site. You shall be solely responsible for the contents of all material published by yourself.
15. 2.15 We constantly review our systems and data to ensure the best possible service to our users. We do not accept any users, or representatives of users, under 18 years of age or who otherwise does not have the relevant capacity to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If You are a parent or guardian and are aware that your child/charge has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. We will take steps to remove that information from Our servers.
16. 2.16 Unless otherwise agreed, we will not sell, share, or rent your Personal Information to any third party or use your e-mail address for unsolicited mail. Any emails sent by us will only be in connection with the provision of our services and/or the marketing thereof.
17. 2.17 You have the right to delete or request that We assist in deleting the Personal Data that We have collected about You. You may also contact Us to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that You have provided to Us. Please note, however, that We may need to retain certain information when we have a legal obligation or lawful basis to do so.

3. Log Files

1. 3.1 When you visit the Website, even if you do not create an account, we may collect information, such as your IP address, the name of your ISP (Internet Service Provider), your browser, the website from which you visit us, the pages on our website that you visit and in what sequence, the date and length of your visit, and other information concerning your computer’s operating system, language settings, and broad demographic information. This information is aggregated and anonymous data and does not identify you specifically. However, you acknowledge that this data may be able to be used to identify you if it is aggregated with other Personal Information that you supply to us. This information is not shared with third parties and is used only be used internally by us on a need-to-know basis. Any individually identifiable information related to this data will never be used in any way different to that stated above, without your explicit permission.

4. Cookies

1. 4.1 We use cookies. A cookie is a small piece of information stored on your computer or smart phone by the web browser. The two types of cookies used on the Website are described below:
   1. 4.1.1 “Session cookies”: These are used to maintain a so-called ‘session state’ and only lasts for the duration of your use of the Website. A session cookie expires when you close your browser, or if you have not visited the server for a certain period of time. Session cookies are required for the Platform to function optimally, but are not used in any way to identify you personally.
   2. 4.1.2 “Double Click Cookies” Third party vendors with whom we contract may use cookies to serve a user ads based on a user’s prior visits to the Website. Users may, however, opt out of receiving these ads by visiting the web page located at the URL as per item 2 of the above Table.
   3. 4.1.3 “Permanent cookies”: These cookies permanently store a unique code on your computer or smart device hard drive in order to identify you as an individual user. No Personal Information is stored in permanent cookies. You can view permanent cookies by looking in the cookies directory of your browser installation. These permanent cookies are not required for the Website to work, but may enhance your browsing experience.
2. 4.2 In some special cases we also use cookies provided by trusted third parties:
   1. 4.2.1 Google Analytics is a trusted analytics solution used to provide data for us to understand how visitors use the website and help us find way to improve user experience. Analytics cookies track how long visitors spend on the site and the pages that they visit so we can continue to produce engaging content. No Personally Identifiable Information is sent to Google Analytics. For more information on Google Analytics cookies, see the official Google Analytics page. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245
   2. 4.2.2 Social media share and follow buttons on this site allow you to connect with your social network in various ways. For these to work, social media platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and any others you choose to engage with through the social share function, will set cookies through this site which may be used to enhance your profile on their site or contribute to the data they hold for various purposes outlined in their respective privacy policies. We suggest that you check their privacy policies.
3. 4.3 You can prevent the setting of cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser (see your browser Help for how to do this). Disabling cookies will affect the functionality of the website as disabling cookies, will disable functionality related to the disabled cookie.

5. Links from the Website

1. 5.1 We, and the services available through the Website, may contain links to other Third Party Websites, including (without limitation) social media platforms, payment gateways, appointment scheduling and/or live chat platforms (“Third Party Websites”). If you select a link to any Third Party Website, you may be subject to such Third Party Website’s terms and conditions and/or other policies, which are not under the control, nor responsibility, of us.
2. 5.2 Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website. We advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.
3. 5.3 Hyperlinks to Third Party Websites are provided “as is”, and we do not necessarily agree with, edit or sponsor the content on Third Party Websites.
4. 5.4 We do not monitor or review the content of any Third Party Website. Opinions expressed or material appearing on such websites are not necessarily shared or endorsed by us and we should not be regarded as the publisher of such opinions or material. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices, or content, of other websites, either.
5. 5.5 Users should evaluate the security and trustworthiness of any Third Party Website before disclosing any personal information to them. We do not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage in whatever manner, howsoever caused, resulting from your disclosure to third parties of personal information.

6. Application of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 Of 2002 (“ECT Act”)

1. 6.1 Data Messages (as defined in the ECT Act) will be deemed to have been received by us if and when we respond to the Data Messages.
2. 6.2 Data Messages sent by us to a user will be deemed to have been received by such user in terms of the provisions specified in section 23(b) of the ECT Act.
3. 6.3 Users acknowledge that electronic signatures, encryption and/or authentication are not required for valid electronic communications between users and us.
4. 6.4 Information to be provided in terms of section 43(1) of the ECT Act:
   1. 6.4.1 Users warrant that Data Messages sent to us from any electronic device, used by such user, from time to time or owned by such user, were sent and or authorised by such user, personally.
   2. 6.4.2 This Website is owned and operated by us, and our details are as recorded at item 1 of the above Table.
5. 6.5 Address for service of legal documents: as recorded at item 1 of the above Table.
6. 6.6 Contact Number: as recorded at item 1 of the above Table.
7. 6.7 Website URL: as recorded at item 2 of the above Table.
8. 6.8 Email address: as recorded at item 1 of the above Table.

7. Amendments to this policy

1. 7.1 We reserve the right to change this policy from time to time by updating our website respectively. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

8. Complaints to the Regulator

1. 8.1 If you believe your personal information has been used in a way that violates this privacy policy, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator, but we encourage you to first contact us to resolve the complaint. You can contact us at the email address recorded in item 1 of the above Table. You can contact the Information Regulator at POPIACompliants@inforegulator.org.za.

9. Contact Us

1. 9.1 If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at the email address recorded in item 1 of the above Table.