Privacy Policy.

1. Introduction

The right to privacy is a human right recognised and protected by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").

Pixel Forest (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2018/010485/07 ("Pixel Forest", "we", "us" or "our"), provides website design, digital marketing, search engine optimisation, digital strategy and related services.

In providing these services, we may collect, use, store and disclose personal information relating to clients, prospective clients, suppliers, service providers, employees, contractors, website visitors and other individuals or organisations with whom we have a business relationship.

A person's right to privacy includes the ability to exercise appropriate control over their personal information and to conduct their affairs without unjustified intrusion or disclosure.

2. Privacy Statement

Pixel Forest is committed to protecting personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we may collect, why we collect it, how it may be used or disclosed, how we protect it, and the rights available to data subjects.

This policy applies to personal information provided directly to us, collected through our website or digital systems, or lawfully obtained from third parties or publicly available sources.

In this policy, information relating to or identifying a person or organisation may be referred to as "personal information" or "personal data".

The term "processing" includes the collection, receipt, recording, organisation, storage, updating, retrieval, use, dissemination, distribution, linking, restriction, deletion or destruction of personal information.

We treat personal information as private and confidential and implement reasonable technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect it against loss, unauthorised access, destruction, alteration or disclosure.

Where permitted or required by law, personal information may be disclosed to regulators, government authorities, law enforcement agencies or other public bodies.

3. Personal Information We May Collect

Depending on your interaction with Pixel Forest, we may collect information including:

• Your name and surname.
• Company or organisation name.
• Email address.
• Telephone or mobile number.
• Billing and business information.
• Physical or postal address where relevant.
• Information submitted through website forms.
• Project briefs, enquiries and correspondence.
• Contractual and commercial information.
• Information necessary to provide our services.
• Website usage and analytics information.
• IP address and basic device or browser information where collected by our systems or analytics providers.
• Information lawfully obtained from public sources or third-party service providers.

4. Why We Process Personal Information

Pixel Forest may process personal information for purposes including:

• Responding to enquiries and requests.
• Preparing proposals, quotations and estimates.
• Negotiating and finalising project agreements and contracts.
• Providing website design, SEO, strategy, marketing and related services.
• Managing client projects, products and services.
• Communicating regarding projects or ongoing services.
• Managing billing, invoicing and accounts.
• Verifying and updating client or supplier information.
• Managing suppliers, contractors and third-party service providers.
• Improving our website, marketing and digital services.
• Analysing website traffic and visitor behaviour.
• Measuring the performance of our marketing and SEO activities.
• Notifying clients about relevant services or developments where lawful.
• Meeting contractual obligations.
• Meeting legal, tax, regulatory and compliance requirements.
• Protecting Pixel Forest's legitimate business and security interests.

5. Website Analytics and Measurement

We use analytics and measurement tools to understand how visitors discover and use our website and to help us improve website performance, content, search visibility and user experience.

Google Analytics

Our website may use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google. Google Analytics may collect information such as pages visited, approximate geographic information, device type, browser information, traffic source, session information, interactions and other website usage data.

Depending on our configuration and your consent preferences, Google Analytics may use cookies or similar technologies to distinguish users and sessions and to provide aggregated reporting about website activity.

We use this information to understand how visitors use our website, identify opportunities for improvement and measure the effectiveness of our digital activities.

Google Search Console

We use Google Search Console to monitor and understand how our website performs in Google Search.

Search Console provides aggregated information relating to matters such as search queries, impressions, clicks, search positions, indexing and technical website performance.

Google Search Console does not operate in the same way as Google Analytics and is primarily used by us to analyse our website's performance within Google's search services.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies required for website functionality, security, analytics and performance measurement.

Cookies are small data files stored on or accessed through a user's device. Certain cookies may be necessary for the website to operate correctly, while others may be used to understand website usage or measure performance.

Where required, visitors may be given the opportunity to manage non-essential cookies through our website's cookie or consent settings.

You may also configure your browser to block or delete cookies. Disabling certain cookies may affect the way some parts of the website operate.

7. Information Submitted Through Our Website

When you submit an enquiry, contact form, project request or other information through our website, we may collect the information you provide in order to respond to your request and manage any subsequent business relationship.

Please do not submit confidential or sensitive personal information through general website contact forms unless it is reasonably necessary for the purpose of your enquiry.

8. Sources of Personal Information

We generally collect personal information directly from the data subject. Where lawful and reasonable, we may also obtain personal information from:

• Publicly available sources.
• Business directories.
• Clients or authorised representatives.
• Referral partners.
• Professional advisers.
• Service providers.
• Government or regulatory bodies.
• Analytics and digital platforms.

9. Sharing Personal Information

Pixel Forest may share personal information with service providers, operators or third parties where this is reasonably necessary for our business, services or legal obligations.

These may include:

• Website and hosting providers.
• Cloud storage and software providers.
• Analytics providers.
• Google and related digital services used for analytics and search measurement.
• Accounting and financial service providers.
• Professional advisers.
• Contractors or suppliers involved in providing client services.
• Regulators, government authorities or law enforcement where required by law.

Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate confidentiality and security measures are in place.

10. Cross-Border Processing

Some of the digital platforms, cloud services, analytics providers and technology providers we use may process or store information outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred across borders, Pixel Forest will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer is conducted in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

11. Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or for as long as required by applicable contractual, legal, tax, regulatory or record-keeping requirements.

Where personal information is no longer required and there is no lawful reason to retain it, we may delete, destroy or de-identify the information.

12. Security Safeguards

Pixel Forest takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• Loss.
• Damage.
• Unauthorised access.
• Unauthorised disclosure.
• Destruction.
• Alteration.
• Unlawful processing.

Security controls may include access restrictions, password controls, firewalls, software updates, backups, encryption where appropriate and the use of reputable cloud and technology service providers.

While we take reasonable steps to protect personal information, no internet transmission, website, software system or electronic storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. Definitions

Personal Information

Personal information means information relating to an identifiable living natural person and, where applicable, an identifiable existing juristic person.

This may include information relating to:

• Race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national or ethnic origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, health, disability, religion, belief, culture, language and birth.
• Education, medical, financial, criminal or employment history.
• Identifying numbers or symbols.
• Email addresses.
• Physical addresses.
• Telephone numbers.
• Location information.
• Online identifiers.
• Biometric information.
• Personal opinions, views or preferences.
• Private or confidential correspondence.
• The views or opinions of another individual about the person.
• A person's name where it appears together with other personal information.

Data Subject

A natural or juristic person to whom personal information relates.

Responsible Party

The person who determines the purpose of and means for processing personal information.

Operator

A person who processes personal information for a responsible party in terms of a contract or mandate, without coming under the direct authority of that responsible party.

Information Officer

The person responsible for overseeing Pixel Forest's compliance with POPIA and applicable information protection requirements.

Processing

Processing includes any operation or activity concerning personal information, including collection, receipt, recording, organisation, storage, modification, retrieval, consultation, use, dissemination, distribution, linking, restriction, erasure or destruction.

Consent

Any voluntary, specific and informed expression of will in terms of which permission is given for the processing of personal information.

De-identify

To remove information that identifies a data subject or that can reasonably be used to identify a data subject.

Re-identify

To restore or reconstruct information that enables previously de-identified information to identify a data subject.

14. Rights of Data Subjects

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, data subjects may have the following rights:

Right to Access Personal Information

You may request confirmation of whether Pixel Forest holds personal information about you and request access to that information.

Right to Correction

You may request that inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or misleading personal information be corrected or updated.

Right to Deletion

Where permitted by law, you may request deletion or destruction of personal information where Pixel Forest is no longer authorised or required to retain it.

Right to Object

You may object, on reasonable grounds and where permitted by POPIA, to certain processing of your personal information.

Pixel Forest will consider such requests subject to contractual obligations, legitimate business requirements, statutory retention requirements and other lawful grounds for processing.

Right to be Informed

Data subjects have the right to be informed when and why personal information is collected and processed.

Right to Notification of Certain Security Compromises

Where Pixel Forest has reasonable grounds to believe that personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will act in accordance with the notification requirements imposed by applicable law.

Right to Complain

Data subjects may submit a complaint to Pixel Forest's Information Officer and, where applicable, to the Information Regulator of South Africa.

15. General Principles

Accountability

Pixel Forest recognises its responsibility to process personal information in accordance with POPIA.

Processing Limitation

Personal information will be processed in a fair, lawful and reasonable manner and will not be collected or processed excessively in relation to the purpose for which it is required.

Purpose Specification

Personal information will be collected for specific, explicitly defined and legitimate purposes related to Pixel Forest's services and operations.

Further Processing Limitation

Personal information will not be further processed for an incompatible purpose unless that processing is authorised by law or the data subject.

Information Quality

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is complete, accurate, not misleading and updated where necessary.

Openness

Pixel Forest takes reasonable steps to ensure that data subjects understand when their personal information is collected and the purposes for which it is processed.

16. Information Officer

Pixel Forest's Information Officer is responsible for overseeing compliance with POPIA and addressing requests relating to personal information.

17. Requests to Access or Correct Personal Information

Data subjects may contact Pixel Forest's Information Officer to:

• Ask whether Pixel Forest holds personal information about them.
• Request access to personal information.
• Request correction or updating of personal information.
• Request deletion where permitted by law.
• Object to certain processing where permitted by POPIA.
• Submit a complaint relating to personal information.

We may require reasonable proof of identity before processing a request in order to protect personal information against unauthorised disclosure.

Where permitted by law, a reasonable fee may be charged for providing copies of information requested.

18. POPIA Complaints

Complaints concerning the processing or protection of personal information should be submitted in writing to Pixel Forest's Information Officer.

Pixel Forest will consider complaints and take reasonable steps to investigate and address the matter.

Where a complaint indicates that personal information may have been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, Pixel Forest will assess the incident and take any actions required under applicable law.

If you are not satisfied with Pixel Forest's response, you may have the right to submit a complaint to the Information Regulator of South Africa.

19. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, legal requirements or business practices.

The most current version will be published on this website together with the applicable review or publication date.

20. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, would like to access or correct your personal information, or would like to submit a privacy-related request or complaint, please contact our Information Officer:

Email: michelle@pixelforest.design
Telephone: 012 111 7254

We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and the confidentiality of personal information and to complying with the Protection of Personal Information Act.