Privacy Policy

TechTonic Labs ("we", "us", or "our") is a custom software development and IT consulting company based in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa. We operate the website techtoniclabs.co.za (the "Website").

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our Website or interact with our services. We are committed to complying with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and all applicable South African data protection legislation.

By using our Website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the practices described herein, please discontinue use of the Website.

We collect information in the following ways when you use our Website:

a) Information you provide directly

When you submit our contact form, we collect the following personal information:

• Full name
• Email address
• Company name (optional)
• Project description
• Budget range (optional)
• Project timeline preference (optional)
• Selected service and industry category

b) Information collected automatically

When you visit our Website, we automatically collect certain technical data through cookies and analytics tools, including:

• IP address (anonymised where possible)
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths
• Referring website or source
• Device type and screen resolution
• Approximate geographic location (city/region level)

This data is collected via Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager and is used to understand how visitors interact with our Website.

We use the personal information we collect to:

• Respond to your project inquiries and provide tailored proposals
• Communicate with you about our services, project updates, and relevant information
• Improve our Website, user experience, and service offerings based on usage patterns
• Analyse website traffic and visitor behaviour to optimise content and performance
• Ensure the security and proper functioning of our Website
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms of service

We will never use your personal information for purposes unrelated to those described above without obtaining your prior consent.

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), we process your personal information based on one or more of the following lawful grounds:

a) Consent

When you voluntarily submit our contact form, you consent to the collection and processing of the personal information provided. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at info@ttlabs.co.za.

b) Legitimate interest

We rely on legitimate interest as a lawful basis for processing analytics data. Understanding how visitors interact with our Website enables us to improve our services, content, and user experience. This processing is conducted in a manner that does not unreasonably infringe upon your privacy, and we take steps to anonymise data wherever feasible.

c) Contractual necessity

Where you engage our services, the processing of your personal information may be necessary for the performance of a contract between you and TechTonic Labs, or to take pre-contractual steps at your request (such as preparing a project proposal).

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with the following trusted service providers who assist us in operating our Website and delivering our services:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) — website hosting via AWS Amplify and content delivery via CloudFront. Data may be processed in AWS data centres in accordance with AWS's Privacy Policy.
• Google (Analytics) — website usage analytics via Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. Data is processed in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy.
• Microsoft 365 — email communications. Emails sent to or from our team are processed through Microsoft 365 servers in accordance with Microsoft's Privacy Statement.

These third-party providers are contractually obligated to protect your personal information and may only use it for the purposes specified by us. We ensure that any cross-border transfer of personal information is subject to appropriate safeguards as required by POPIA.

Our Website uses the following tracking technologies:

a) Google Tag Manager

We use Google Tag Manager (GTM) to manage and deploy analytics tags on our Website. GTM itself does not collect personal information but facilitates the loading of other tracking scripts.

b) Google Analytics

Google Analytics uses cookies to collect anonymised data about website usage. This includes information such as pages visited, session duration, and traffic sources. We use this data exclusively to analyse and improve website performance and user experience.

c) Essential cookies

We use essential cookies that are strictly necessary for the operation of our Website. These cookies do not require your consent as they are needed for basic site functionality.

d) Managing cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of our Website. To learn more about managing cookies, visit your browser's help documentation or allaboutcookies.org.

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access — You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information.
• Right to correction — You may request that we correct or update any inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading personal information we hold about you.
• Right to deletion — You may request that we delete your personal information where it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or where you have withdrawn your consent.
• Right to object — You may object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds, unless legislation permits or requires such processing.
• Right to withdraw consent — Where processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing conducted before the withdrawal.
• Right to lodge a complaint — You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe your personal information has been processed in violation of POPIA.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@ttlabs.co.za. We will respond to your request within a reasonable time and in any event within 30 days as required by POPIA.

You may also contact the Information Regulator directly:

• Website: inforegulator.org.za
• Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za

We retain personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected:

• Contact form submissions — retained for a maximum of 2 years from the date of submission, after which they are securely deleted unless an ongoing business relationship requires further retention.
• Analytics data — retained in accordance with Google Analytics' default data retention settings. You can learn more about Google's data retention practices in their data retention documentation.
• Email correspondence — retained for the duration of the business relationship and for up to 2 years thereafter for record-keeping and dispute resolution purposes.

Upon expiry of the retention period, personal information is securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with you.

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS encryption — all data transmitted between your browser and our Website is encrypted using industry-standard SSL/TLS protocols.
• Encrypted storage — personal information is stored in encrypted databases hosted on secure AWS infrastructure.
• Access controls — access to personal information is restricted to authorised personnel only, on a need-to-know basis.
• Regular security reviews — we conduct periodic reviews of our security practices and infrastructure to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to maintaining industry-standard safeguards to minimise risks.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal information. Continued use of the Website following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of those changes.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your rights under POPIA, or have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:

• Company: TechTonic Labs
• Information Officer: info@ttlabs.co.za
• Location: Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa
• Website: techtoniclabs.co.za