🔒 Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 2026

This policy complies with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of the Republic of South Africa.

1. Introduction

Software Services ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

2. Responsible Party

For the purposes of POPIA, the responsible party (data controller) is:
Software Services
Republic of South Africa
Contact: Via our Support Ticket system

3. Personal Information We Collect

We collect the following personal information:

Data When Collected Purpose
Full name Purchase, support ticket Order processing, communication
Email address Purchase, support ticket, license lookup Deliver license key, order confirmation, support replies
Machine ID & machine name License activation Enforce activation limits per license
IP address Website visit, API requests Security, fraud prevention
Payment reference PayFast transaction Link payment to order (we do NOT store card details)

4. How We Collect Information

  • Directly from you — when you make a purchase, submit a support ticket, or activate a license.
  • From PayFast — transaction confirmation details (payment ID, status, amount).
  • Automatically — IP address and browser information via standard web server logs.

5. Legal Basis for Processing (POPIA Section 11)

We process your personal information based on:

  • Contract performance — to fulfil your purchase order and deliver your license key.
  • Legitimate interest — to prevent fraud, enforce license terms, and improve our services.
  • Legal obligation — to comply with tax and financial record-keeping requirements (SARS).
  • Consent — where you voluntarily submit information (e.g. support tickets).

6. How We Use Your Information

  • Process and fulfil your orders
  • Issue and manage license keys
  • Send order confirmations and license key emails
  • Respond to support tickets
  • Prevent fraudulent transactions and license abuse
  • Maintain financial records for tax purposes

7. Third-Party Sharing

We share personal information only with:

Third Party What We Share Why
PayFast Name, email, order amount Payment processing
Email provider (SMTP) Email address, email content Deliver transactional emails

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.

8. Data Storage & Security

  • Your data is stored in an encrypted database on our servers.
  • We use HTTPS (TLS) for all data in transit.
  • Admin access is password-protected.
  • We do not store credit card numbers — all payment processing is handled by PayFast.

9. Data Retention

  • Order & license data — retained for the lifetime of the license plus 5 years (tax record-keeping).
  • Support tickets — retained for 2 years after closure, then anonymised or deleted.
  • Server logs — retained for 90 days, then automatically deleted.

10. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject in South Africa, you have the right to:

  • Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Deletion — request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements).
  • Object — object to the processing of your information in certain circumstances.
  • Data portability — request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, submit a request via our Support Ticket system with the category "General" and include "POPIA Request" in the subject line. We will respond within 30 days as required by POPIA.

11. Cookies

Our website uses essential cookies only (session cookies for admin login and anti-forgery tokens). We do not use tracking cookies, analytics cookies, or advertising cookies.

12. Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it promptly.

13. Information Regulator

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa):

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact

For privacy-related queries, contact us via our Support Ticket system.