Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how ABATHANDANAYO ("we", "us" or "our") collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you use our website, shop, consultation booking service or related services.

For purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), we act as the responsible party for personal information that we determine the purpose and means of processing.

Contact: info@abathandanayo.co.za | +27 (0) 72 593 6758 | Shop 23 Republic Place, Randburg, 2194.

Depending on how you use the Services, we may collect:

• Identity and contact information, such as your name, email address and telephone number.
• Account information, such as your user ID, login status and email-verification status.
• Order and transaction information, including products ordered, delivery details, order references and payment status.
• Consultation and appointment information, including the date, time, consultation type and platform selected.
• Information you voluntarily provide during a consultation or when requesting guidance.
• Technical information such as IP address, browser/device information, pages visited and security or diagnostic information.
• Communications and support information when you contact us.

We collect only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose. We will not ask you to provide sensitive information merely because it is interesting or convenient to us.

Information about a person's health may constitute special personal information under POPIA. Because consultations may involve health or wellness information, we treat such information with heightened care and process it only where a lawful basis under POPIA applies.

Where required, we will obtain your consent or rely on another lawful ground permitted by POPIA. You should not provide information about another person unless you are authorised to do so.

We do not sell your health information. We aim to limit access to such information to people and service providers who need it for the stated purpose and are permitted to receive it.

We may process personal information to:

• Create and manage customer accounts.
• Process and fulfil orders, payments, deliveries, returns and refunds.
• Schedule, administer and communicate about consultations.
• Respond to enquiries, customer-support requests and complaints.
• Send service messages such as order confirmations, booking confirmations and account/security notices.
• Maintain website functionality, security, fraud prevention and technical operations.
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations and protect our rights.
• Improve our products, services and website where permitted by law.
• Send marketing communications where we have a lawful basis and, where required, your consent.

We aim to process personal information in accordance with POPIA's conditions for lawful processing, including accountability, processing limitation, purpose specification, further-processing limitation, information quality, openness, security safeguards and data subject participation. We will seek to keep information relevant, reasonably accurate and no more extensive than necessary for the stated purpose.

We do not sell personal information. We may disclose information to carefully selected service providers where necessary to provide the Services, for example payment processors, hosting and technology providers, authentication providers, communications or consultation platforms, and delivery/courier providers.

We may also disclose information where required or permitted by law, to professional advisers, or where necessary to protect our rights, customers, systems or property. Where another party processes personal information on our behalf, we seek to require appropriate confidentiality and security measures consistent with applicable law.

Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers such as PayFast. Payment-card information may be collected directly by the relevant payment provider rather than stored by ABATHANDANAYO. The payment provider's own privacy policy and security controls will also apply to information it processes.

Our website may use cookies, local storage or similar technologies to maintain sessions, remember preferences, support authentication, protect the service and understand website usage. Some technologies are essential to the operation of the website.

Where non-essential cookies or similar technologies require consent under applicable law, we will request it through an appropriate mechanism. You can also control cookies through your browser settings, although disabling essential technologies may affect site functionality.

We may use your contact details for direct marketing only where permitted by applicable law. Where consent is required, we will obtain it. You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the available unsubscribe mechanism or by contacting us. Transactional and service communications may still be sent where necessary to provide a service you requested.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, to provide services, resolve disputes, maintain business and accounting records, enforce agreements, or comply with legal obligations. Retention periods may differ depending on the type of information and applicable legal requirements. When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete or de-identify it, subject to lawful retention requirements.

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or other unlawful processing. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If we become aware of a security compromise that triggers legal notification obligations, we will take the steps required by applicable law.

Some technology or service providers may process information outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer complies with section 72 of POPIA, including relying on an applicable statutory ground and appropriate protections where required.

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, you may have the right to request access to personal information we hold about you, request correction or deletion where appropriate, object to certain processing, withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, object to direct marketing, and request information about how your personal information is processed.

You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your personal information has been processed unlawfully or your rights have not been properly addressed.

To make a privacy request, contact us at info@abathandanayo.co.za. Please describe the request clearly and provide enough information for us to verify your identity and locate the relevant information.

We will respond within the period required by applicable law. We may need to request additional information to verify your identity before releasing or changing personal information.

Our Services are not directed at children unless expressly stated otherwise. We do not knowingly collect children's personal information in circumstances where POPIA prohibits the processing without the required consent or lawful basis. If you believe a child has provided personal information improperly, please contact us so that we can assess and take appropriate action.

Our website may contain links to or integrations with third-party services such as payment, messaging, video-conferencing or delivery platforms. Once you leave our website or interact directly with a third party, that party's own privacy policy may apply. We encourage you to review the relevant third-party privacy terms.

We may update this Privacy Policy when our processing practices, Services or legal obligations change. The latest version will be posted on this page with a revised date. We encourage you to review it periodically.