01Who we are
Designet is a website design and development business based in Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa. In this policy, "Designet", "we", "us" and "our" refer to Designet, and "you" refers to anyone who visits our website or contacts us.
We are the responsible party for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Our contact details are at the end of this policy.
02What information we collect
Information you give us. When you use the contact form on our website, call us, email us or message us on WhatsApp, we receive the details you choose to share. This is usually your name, email address, mobile number, the service you're interested in and information about your business or project.
Information from clients. When you become a client, we also keep the information we need to deliver your project, such as your business details, website content, invoices and payment records, and login details for systems you ask us to work on.
Technical information. Like almost every website, our hosting provider automatically records basic technical details when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the date and time. These logs are used to keep the website secure and running.
Website statistics. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use our website, such as which pages are visited, how long people stay, roughly where they are and what device they use. This helps us improve the site. Google Analytics doesn't tell us who you are.
03How our contact form works
Our contact form does not store your details on our website. When you press Send message, the form opens WhatsApp with your message already filled in, and you choose whether to send it. If you send it, your message is delivered to us through WhatsApp, a service run by WhatsApp LLC (part of Meta), and is handled under WhatsApp's own privacy policy as well as this one.
04Our website chat assistant
Our website has an AI chat assistant that answers questions about Designet. When you use it:
- your messages are sent to OpenAI, an AI provider based in the United States, to generate the replies. We send only your messages and information from our own website, and OpenAI does not use data sent through its business API to train its models by default;
- we store the conversation on our web server so the assistant can follow it, and email a transcript to Designet once the chat has been quiet for a while, so we can follow up;
- if you tap Email transcript and give your email address, we also send you a copy;
- your browser keeps the chat and a random chat ID in its temporary session storage so the conversation carries on as you move between pages. It's cleared when you close the tab or start a new chat, and isn't used for tracking or advertising.
Please don't share sensitive information in the chat, such as ID numbers, banking details or passwords. AI answers can contain mistakes, so contact us to confirm anything important. Stored conversations are deleted from our web server within 30 days of being emailed to us.
06How we use your information
- To reply to your enquiry and arrange consultations or appointments.
- To quote for, plan, build, host and support your website or other services.
- To send invoices, take payments and keep the financial records the law requires.
- To keep our website and systems secure.
- To tell you about our services, but only if you're a client or have agreed to hear from us. You can opt out at any time.
We process your information because you've consented, because we need it to provide a service you asked for, because the law requires it, or because we have a legitimate business interest that doesn't override your rights.
08How long we keep it
We keep enquiries for as long as we're in conversation and for a reasonable time afterwards in case you come back to us. Client records are kept for as long as you're a client, and financial records for as long as tax law requires, usually five years. After that, we delete or anonymise the information.
09How we protect it
We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to keep your information safe, including secure (HTTPS) connections, password-protected accounts, limited access and keeping our systems updated. No method of sending or storing information is completely secure, but if a breach ever affects your information, we'll let you and the Information Regulator know as POPIA requires.
10Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy of it;
- ask us to correct or update information that is wrong or out of date;
- ask us to delete information we no longer have a lawful reason to keep;
- object to us using your information, including for marketing; and
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything we did before you withdrew it.
To use any of these rights, contact us using the details below. If you're not happy with how we've handled your information, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.
11Children
Our services are aimed at businesses. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian.
12Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add new features to our website. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.
13Contact us
For any questions about this policy or your personal information, contact our Information Officer: