Privacy
policy

1. Who we are

Convo-Cards ("we", "us") is operated by [legal entity name], [company registration number], [physical address], South Africa. We are the "responsible party" for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

Our Information Officer is [name]. You can reach them at info@convo-cards.co.za.

2. What this policy covers

This policy explains how we handle information when you visit our website, read stories, submit a story, contact us, or see our advertising. By using the site you agree to this policy. Where we rely on your consent, for example for advertising cookies or for stories that touch on sensitive topics, we ask for it separately and you can withdraw it at any time.

3. The short version

• We don't ask for your name, email address, phone number or an account.
• Stories are published anonymously. We remove anything that could identify you or anyone else.
• With your permission, we may use advertising tools such as Meta's (Facebook and Instagram) to show general health information to people who have visited our site. What you're shown may depend on the kinds of stories you showed interest in. We never learn who you are, and we never share your story or anything you type on the site with advertisers.
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• We don't sell your information.

4. Information we collect

Stories you submit. When you use the "Share your story" form, we receive the story you write (up to 250 characters), the region you enter (for example a town or city), and the date and time you submitted it. We don't ask for your name or contact details. Please don't include them, or anyone else's, in your story.

Information collected automatically. When you visit the site, our website host and security providers automatically receive technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit, the page you came from, and the date and time of your visit. This is used to deliver the site, keep it secure and prevent spam.

When you contact us. If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message. We only use this to respond to you.

5. Sensitive information

Stories on Convo-Cards are about love, sex and relationships. A story may reveal information about someone's sex life, sexual orientation or health, which POPIA calls "special personal information".

• Stories you submit: by submitting a story, you consent to us processing it for the purposes in this policy, including publishing it anonymously. We remove names and any details that could identify a person before publishing.
• Browsing the site: Some of our pages feature particular kinds of stories. Visiting a page tells us which kinds of stories you're interested in. It doesn't tell us anything certain about you, and we don't link your visits to your name or know who you are. Because some of these stories deal with sex, relationships and sexual orientation, we treat this interest as sensitive and handle it with extra care.
• Advertising: If you accept advertising cookies, the kinds of stories you showed interest in may be used to decide which general health information you're shown (see section 7). We only do this with your explicit consent, given through our cookie banner, and you can withdraw it at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer. We never share your story, anything you type on the site, or the content of the stories you read with advertising partners.

6. How we use information

We use information to:

• review submitted stories and decide which ones to publish,
• publish approved stories anonymously, tagged by region,
• run, maintain and secure the website and prevent spam and abuse,
• respond to emails and requests,
• understand, in general terms, how many people visit the site,
• with your consent, show general health information through advertising to people who have visited the site (see section 7),
• meet our legal obligations.

We only process personal information where POPIA allows it, for example with your consent, where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (such as keeping the site secure), or where the law requires it.

7. Advertising and retargeting

With your consent, we may use the Meta Pixel, a tool provided by Meta Platforms, Inc. and Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. It is only switched on for visitors who accept advertising cookies.

What happens. If you accept advertising cookies, the Meta Pixel records which pages of Convo-Cards your browser visited, including the web address of each page, the time of your visit, and basic technical information about your browser and device. Meta may then show you general health information on Facebook or Instagram. Which information you're shown may depend on the kinds of stories you showed interest in on our site.

What we don't do.

• We don't see your name, profile or identity. We only see combined statistics, such as audience size.
• We don't send Meta your story, the region you entered, or anything you type on the site.
• We don't use "advanced matching" or upload any contact lists.
• Our ads don't suggest that we know anything personal about you.

Meta's role. Meta processes this information under its own privacy policy, available at facebook.com/privacy/policy. Meta may combine it with information it already holds about your account.

How to say no or change your mind. Choose "Decline" in our cookie banner, or change your choice at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer. You can also adjust your ad preferences in your Facebook or Instagram settings, or clear cookies in your browser.

8. Cookies and similar technologies

• Essential (Webflow, our host): delivers the site and processes the story form. No consent needed.
• Security (Cloudflare Turnstile): checks that form submissions come from a person, not a bot. No consent needed.
• Functional (Convo-Cards): remembers your cookie choice, and, for the current browser tab only, which stories page you arrived on so the Home link takes you back there. No consent needed.
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• Fonts (Google Fonts): loads the site's typefaces. Google receives your IP address when fonts load. No consent needed.
• Advertising (Meta Pixel): see section 7. Only used if you accept.

9. Who we share information with

We don't sell, rent or trade personal information. We only share it with:

• Service providers who help us run the site, such as Webflow (website hosting and form submissions), Cloudflare (security), Google (fonts) and our email provider. They may only use it to provide their service to us.
• Meta, only if you accept advertising cookies, as described in section 7.
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• Authorities, where the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety.
• A new owner, if Convo-Cards is sold or restructured. The same protections would continue to apply.

Published stories are public and anyone can read and share them.

10. Information stored outside South Africa

Some of our service providers (including Webflow, Cloudflare, Google and Meta) store or process information outside South Africa, for example in the United States and the European Union. When this happens, we rely on POPIA's rules for cross-border transfers (section 72), including using providers that are bound by data protection laws or agreements that offer protection similar to POPIA.

11. Publishing your story

By submitting a story, you confirm that it is your own, true to the best of your knowledge, and that you are 18 or older. You give us permission to edit it for length, clarity and anonymity, and to publish it on Convo-Cards and our social media channels, without paying you and without naming you. Published stories are public. We may decide not to publish any story.

12. How long we keep information

• Stories we don't publish: deleted within [90] days of review.
• Published stories: kept until we remove them or you ask us to (see section 14).
• Technical and security logs: kept by our providers for a limited time, usually no longer than [12] months.
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• Advertising data: our advertising audience only includes people who visited in the last [180] days. Meta keeps its own data under its policy.
• Emails: kept only as long as needed to deal with your request.

13. How we protect information

We use reputable providers with industry-standard security, limit who on our team can see submissions, and remove identifying details before publishing. No website is completely secure, so please don't include personal details in your story.

14. Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy,
• ask us to correct or delete it,
• object to us processing it, including for advertising,
• withdraw any consent you've given, at any time,
• complain to the Information Regulator.

Because stories are anonymous, we may need the card number (for example No. 1042) and part of the story to find what you're asking about. Email info@convo-cards.co.za. We'll respond within a reasonable time and may need to confirm the request is genuine.

Information Regulator (South Africa). Website: inforegulator.org.za. Complaints: complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za. General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za.

15. Age limit

Convo-Cards is for people aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect information from, or publish stories submitted by, anyone under 18. If you believe we have, please contact us and we'll delete it.

16. Other websites and services

Our site links to other services, including a private healthcare advice service on WhatsApp and our social media pages. Those services have their own privacy policies, and we're not responsible for how they handle your information. Information on Convo-Cards is not medical advice.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll change the date at the top of this page, and if the changes are significant we'll make that clear on the site.

18. Contact us

[legal entity name]
Information Officer: [name]
Email: info@convo-cards.co.za
Address: [physical address]