Privacy note
What MzansiData collects when you read the site, sign up for the newsletter or write to us, why we collect it, where it is kept and for how long, and how to see it or have it deleted.
This note follows the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). We collect as little as we can. We don't sell personal information, and we don't use it for advertising.
Who is responsible for your information
MzansiData is a project by Bridgewaiv. The responsible party under POPIA is BridgeWaiv, AMR 3 Office Park, 9 Concorde Road East, Bedfordview, Johannesburg, 2008. Our information officer is Elroy Parkinson.
For any question about this note, or to use any of the rights below, email hello@mzansidata.co.za.
Reading the site
We use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and to see which posts and charts people read. It records:
- the pages you view, the page or site you came from, and how long you stay
- your device type, browser, operating system, screen size and language
- your approximate location (country and city), worked out from your IP address. Google Analytics 4 doesn't store the IP address itself.
- when someone signs up for the newsletter or sends the contact form, and the subject chosen on the contact form. Your name, email address and message are not sent to Google.
Google Analytics sets two cookies, _ga and _ga_5SR8MWG19X. They hold a random number so that a return visit can be counted as the same visitor, and they last up to two years. The site sets no other cookies. Advertising storage and Google's optional data-sharing settings are switched off.
We use this information to learn what readers find useful and to plan posts. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in running and improving the site (POPIA section 11(1)(f)). The reports we look at are totals; we don't try to identify anyone.
To stop it, block cookies for this site in your browser, use a content blocker, or install Google's opt-out add-on. The site works the same without it.
Google keeps the visit-level data for 14 months, after which only the totals in our reports remain.
Signing up for the newsletter
When you sign up, we receive your email address, the time you agreed to receive the newsletter, and the page you signed up on. Our server also records the IP address the request came from and your browser type, which help us spot automated sign-ups.
We use your email address only to send the newsletter. The legal basis is your consent (POPIA section 11(1)(a)). Our server adds your address to the list at Buttondown, our newsletter service, as soon as you sign up.
You can unsubscribe at any time with the link at the bottom of every newsletter, or by emailing hello@mzansidata.co.za. That withdraws your consent. Buttondown keeps your address marked as unsubscribed so that you aren't emailed again, unless you ask us to delete it completely. We delete our own copy of the sign-up within 30 days after you unsubscribe.
Writing to us
When you use the contact form, we receive your name, email address, the subject you chose, your message, and the post or page it concerns if you give one. As with the newsletter, our server also records the IP address the request came from and your browser type.
We use this to reply to you and to improve the site, for example by correcting a post. We don't add you to the newsletter or any other list. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in answering the people who contact us (POPIA section 11(1)(f)).
We keep contact messages for 12 months, so that we can follow up on corrections, and then delete them. Emails you send to hello@mzansidata.co.za go to a Google Workspace group, and we keep them there for the same period.
Where your information is stored
We use these services to run the site. Each processes personal information for us under data-processing terms that require it to keep the information secure and to use it only on our instructions.
| Service | What it does with your information | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services | Hosts the site. Stores each newsletter sign-up and contact message in private, encrypted storage. | United States |
| Slack | Shows us each new sign-up or message in a private channel, so that someone sees it quickly. | United States |
| Buttondown | Keeps the newsletter list and sends the newsletter. | United States |
| Runs Google Analytics, and receives email sent to hello@mzansidata.co.za (Google Workspace). | United States and other countries |
All of these services are outside South Africa, so your information is sent across the border to them (POPIA section 72). Only the people who run MzansiData at Bridgewaiv can see it. We share personal information with nobody else, unless the law requires us to.
Your rights
You can ask us:
- whether we hold personal information about you, and for a copy of it
- to correct it, or to delete it
- to stop using it, or to withdraw a consent you gave
Email hello@mzansidata.co.za. We may ask you to confirm that the request comes from you, and we reply within 30 days.
If you aren't satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za.
Changes to this note
When this note changes, we update it here and change the date at the top.