Privacy Policy for shop.pro-connect.co.za (Pro-Connect)

Effective Date: March 2025

1. Introduction Welcome to shop.pro-connect.co.za. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting your personal data in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and other applicable data protection laws.

2. Information We Collect We collect and process personal data that you provide to us when using our website, including but not limited to:

• Your name, email address, contact details, and shipping address when you make a purchase or create an account.
• Payment details when processing transactions (processed securely via third-party payment providers).
• Comments and interactions on our website.
• Technical data, such as cookies and usage logs, to improve website functionality.

3. Media If you upload images to our website, please ensure they do not contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors may download and extract location data from images posted online.

4. Cookies

• When you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies for convenience. These cookies last for one year.
• If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to check if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie does not contain personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
• Login cookies last for two days, and screen preference cookies last for one year. Selecting “Remember Me” extends your login for two weeks. Logging out removes login cookies.
• Editing or publishing an article will store an additional cookie, which expires after one day.

5. Embedded Content from Other Websites Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the same way as if you had visited the external site. These websites may collect your data, use cookies, embed third-party tracking, and monitor your interactions with the content.

6. Who We Share Your Data With

• If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
• We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.
• Data may be shared with trusted third-party service providers for operational purposes, such as payment processing, delivery services, and analytics.

7. Data Retention

• Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely to recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically.
• User account information is stored as long as the account is active. Users can edit or delete their data, except for usernames.

8. Your Rights Over Your Data Under the POPIA, you have the right to:

• Request access to the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction or deletion of your personal data.
• Withdraw consent for data processing where applicable.
• Object to the processing of your data for direct marketing purposes.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your data is being mishandled.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected]

9. Data Security We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration.

10. Where Your Data is Sent Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Data may also be transferred to third-party services that assist in website operations and analytics.

11. Changes to This Policy We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes will be posted on this page, and where required, we will notify users via email.

12. Contact Us If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact us at:

Pro-Connect Email: [email protected]