MKITECH SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD. (Reg: 2018/224602/07) (“MKITECH”) is committed to protecting your personal information to the highest standards when processing it due to your use of our Services, our website www.mkitech.co.za, or any related blogs, websites, applications, or platforms (collectively, “the Website”). This specific and detailed Privacy Policy explains how we safeguard your personal information and respect your privacy (“Policy”).
MKITECH is a private limited company registered and operating under South African law.
For information on how MKITECH lawfully stores or uses your personal information, please contact legal@mkitech.co.za.
Not all terms may be defined in order or may be defined in our general website Terms.
Please read all the provisions below, along with other MKITECH rules and policies that may apply from time to time, to understand your rights and duties.
- Important Information and Who We Are
1.1. Purpose of this Privacy Policy
1.1.1. This Privacy Policy explains how MKITECH collects and processes your data through your engagement with us, such as contracting or corresponding with us, using our Services, accessing the Website, or providing us with your personal information in other ways (e.g., participating in surveys, events, or signing up for newsletters).
1.1.2. This Privacy Policy complies with the South African Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (“POPI”), as amended.
1.1.2.1. For users from jurisdictions outside South Africa, note that MKITECH complies with South African data protection laws. If foreign laws apply to your use of the Services or Website, including how we process your personal information, please contact MKITECH at legal@mkitech.co.za.
1.1.3. Please read this Privacy Policy along with any other privacy policy or fair processing notice we may provide when collecting or processing personal data about you. This Privacy Policy supplements other notices and does not override them.
1.1.4. We do not process special categories of personal data or data of minors. Do not provide us with such data, as doing so will constitute an immediate and automatic material breach of these terms.
1.2. Responsible Party and Operator
1.2.1. MKITECH is the “Responsible Party” for your data when we decide the processing operations concerning your data. Sometimes we also operate as an “Operator” of personal data on behalf of a third-party Responsible Party, where the Responsible Party’s privacy terms will apply.
1.2.2. We have appointed a data representative at MKITECH to oversee questions about this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact the representative using the details below.
1.3. Our Contact Details
1.3.1. Full name of legal entity: MKITECH SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD.
1.3.2. Name or title of data representative: Director
1.3.3. Email address: legal@mkitech.co.za
1.3.4. Postal address: 48 Kroton Street, Weltevreden Park, Roodepoort, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1709
1.3.5. Telephone number: +27 84 444 8787
1.3.6. You can make a complaint at any time to the South African regulator’s office (Information Regulator’s Office of South Africa). However, we would appreciate the chance to address your concerns first, so please contact us.
1.4. Changes to the Privacy Policy and Your Duty to Inform Us of Changes
1.4.1. This Privacy Policy was last updated on May 29, 2024. Archived versions can be obtained by contacting us.
1.4.2. It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please update your data using the relevant prompts on the Website, or inform us if your data changes during your relationship with us.
1.5. Third-Party Links on Website or Otherwise
1.5.1. The Website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements or terms. When you leave our Website or engage with such third parties, we encourage you to read their privacy policies.
- The Data We Collect About You
2.1. Personal data means any information about an individual or entity from which that individual or entity can be identified. It does not include anonymous data.
2.2. We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you, grouped as follows:
2.2.1. Identity Data: first name, maiden name, last name, country of residence, username, title, date of birth, gender, company registration details, company address, and name;
2.2.2. Contact Data: email address, physical/registered addresses, social media contact details, and telephone numbers;
2.2.3. Financial Data: bank account details, third-party payment provider information, and payment card details (not stored by us but provided to our authorized third-party payment service provider);
2.2.4. Social Media Data: publicly available profile information such as images, photos, photo tags, likes, followers, comments, posts, and stories;
2.2.5. Transaction Data: details about payments, contracts, contractual terms, contract fees, signups, subscriptions, invoices, and other details of products and services you have obtained from or provided to us;
2.2.6. Technical Data: IP addresses, login data, browser type and version, time zone setting, and location, cookies, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on devices used to access the Website;
2.2.7. Profile Data: Website/Profile username and password, preferences, feedback, ratings and reviews, and survey responses;
2.2.8. Usage Data: information about how you use our company, Website, surveys, events, and Services;
2.2.9. Marketing and Communications Data: preferences in receiving notices and marketing from us and our third parties, and communication preferences.
2.3. We also collect, use, and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data. Aggregated Data may be derived from your data but is not considered personal data in law as it does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. If we combine Aggregated Data with your data so it can identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data.
2.4. If we need to collect personal data by law or under the terms of a contract and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract. In this case, we may have to cancel your Website access or Services, but we will notify you if this happens.
- How Is Your Data Collected?
3.1. We collect data from and about you using different methods:
3.1.1. Direct interactions: You may provide Identity, Contact, Profile, Social Media, Transaction, and Financial Data by filling in various MKITECH forms, Website forms, or corresponding with us by post, phone, email, or otherwise. This includes data you provide when you:
Use our Website;
Contract with us;
Consult with us;
Complete forms;
Sign up for newsletters;
Interact with us via webinars or social platform groups;
Subscribe to our publications;
Provide services to us;
Request information;
Attend any MKITECH event; or
Give us feedback.
3.1.2. Automated technologies or interactions: As you interact with our Website, we may automatically collect Technical Data, Profile Data, and Usage Data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. We collect this data using cookies, server logs, and similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you from other websites using our cookies.
3.1.3. Third parties or publicly available sources: We may receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources, including:
Technical and Social Data from analytics providers (Google Analytics and Google Search Console), social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube), and Google Ads, all based in the USA;
Contact, Financial, and Transaction Data from providers of technical and/or payment services, such as Yoco based in South Africa.
- How We Use Your Data
4.1. We use your data only when the law allows us to and for legitimate reasons, which you expressly understand and consent to. Most commonly, we will use your data:
4.1.1. With your express consent;
4.1.2. To consult with you or perform the Services contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you;
4.1.3. For our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) where your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests; and/or
4.1.4. To comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
4.2. We have set out below a description of how we plan to use your data, the legal bases we rely on, and the External Third Parties your data is handed to for specific reasons.
4.3. Marketing
4.3.1. We provide choices regarding the use of certain personal data, particularly for marketing and advertising. To manage your marketing preferences, use the built-in prompts on communications or contact us.
4.3.2. You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us, participated in any MKITECH service or event, or provided us with your details when registering for a promotion or event, and you have not opted out of receiving marketing.
4.4. Opting Out
4.4.1. You can ask us or authorized third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by contacting us or the relevant third party to change your marketing preferences.
4.4.1.2. If you opt out of receiving marketing messages, this opt-out will not apply to other personal data that we process on another lawful basis.
4.5. Change of Purpose
4.5.1. We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, unless we reasonably determine that we need to use it for another reason that is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to understand how the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
4.5.2. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the legal basis for doing so.
4.5.3. Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where required or permitted by law.
- DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
5.1. We may need to share your personal data with the parties listed below for the purposes mentioned above:
5.1.1. Internal Third Parties as defined in the Glossary;
5.1.2. External Third Parties as defined in the Glossary;
5.1.3. Specific third parties mentioned above; and/or
5.1.4. Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our organization or assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other organizations or merge with them. If a change happens to our organization, the new owners may use your data in the same way as set out in this Privacy Policy.
5.2. We require all third parties to respect the security of your data and to treat it per the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your data for their purposes and only permit them to process your data for specified purposes by our instructions and standards.
- EXPRESS COOKIES PROVISION
6.1. The Website may use “cookies” to automatically collect information and data through the standard operation of Internet servers. “Cookies” are small text files a website can use (and which we may use) to recognize repeat users, facilitate ongoing access to and use of a website, and allow a website to track usage behavior and compile aggregate data. This helps the Website operator improve the functionality of the Website and its content, and display more focused advertising via third-party tools.
6.2. The type of information collected by cookies is not used to personally identify you. If you do not want information collected through cookies, the Website allows you to deny or modify the types of cookies collected. Most browsers also have a simple procedure to deny or accept cookies entirely. Please note that cookies may be necessary to provide certain features on our Website. If you deny access or disable cookies on your browser, you may not be able to use those features, limiting your access to our Website. If you do not deny or disable cookies, you are deemed to consent to our use of any personal information collected through cookies, subject to this Policy and our other policies or terms.
- INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
7.1. We share your personal data within the MKITECH group and affiliates, which may involve transferring and processing your data outside of South Africa.
7.2. Whenever we transfer your personal data out of South Africa, we ensure a similar degree of protection by implementing one of the following safeguards:
7.2.1. We will only transfer your personal data to countries that provide an adequate level of protection for personal data as determined by the Information Regulator’s Office of South Africa; and/or
7.2.2. Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts or clauses approved by the Information Regulator’s Office to ensure your personal data receives the same protection as in South Africa.
7.3. Please contact us for further information on the specific mechanism we use when transferring your data out of South Africa.
- DATA SECURITY
8.1. We have implemented appropriate security measures to prevent your data from being accidentally lost, used, accessed in an unauthorized way, altered, or disclosed. We use a secure, centralized CRM tool and stringent third-party security apps. Access to your data is limited to employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know. They will only process your data on our instructions and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
8.2. We have procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
- DATA RETENTION
9.1. We will only retain your data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
9.2. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for processing your data, applicable legal requirements, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means.
9.3. Details of retention periods for different aspects of your data are available upon request.
9.4. In some circumstances, you can request the deletion of your data; see below for further information.
9.5. In some cases, we may anonymize your data (so it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
- YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
10.1. Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws about your data where we are the relevant “Responsible Party.” Please contact us to learn more about or exercise these rights:
10.1.1. Request access to your data;
10.1.2. Request correction of your data;
10.1.3. Request erasure of your data;
10.1.4. Object to the processing of your personal data;
10.1.5. Request restriction of processing your personal data;
10.1.6. Request transfer of your personal data; and/or
10.1.7. Right to withdraw consent.
10.2. You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data or to exercise any of the other rights. However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
10.3. We may need to request specific information from you to help confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to anyone who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
10.4. We try to respond to all legitimate requests within seven working days. Occasionally it may take us longer if your request is particularly complex or if you have made multiple requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated on the expected timeframe.
- GLOSSARY
11.1. Lawful Basis
11.1.1. Legitimate Interest means the interest of our organization in conducting and managing our operations to provide you with the best service and the most secure experience. We ensure that we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before processing your data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted by law. You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in specific activities by contacting us.
11.1.2. Performance of Contract means processing your data where necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.
11.1.3. Complying with a legal or regulatory obligation means processing your data where necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation that we are subject to.
11.2. Third Parties
11.2.1. Internal Third Parties means other entities or parties within the MKITECH group acting as joint controllers or processors based in South Africa, providing IT and system administration services, and undertaking reporting.
11.2.2. External Third Parties include:
11.2.2.1. Authorized third-party service providers under contract with MKITECH who need your personal information to contact and transact with you according to your use of the Services;
11.2.2.2. Service providers acting as processors based in South Africa who provide IT and system administration services;
11.2.2.3. South African or other national governments and/or their respective authorities under our adherence to anti-corruption and crime-fighting legislation; and/or
11.2.2.4. Professional advisers acting as processors or joint controllers, including lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers based in South Africa who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance, and accounting services as required.
- YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
12.1. You have the right to:
12.1.1. Request access to your data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and check that we are lawfully processing it.
12.1.2. Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
12.1.3. Request erasure of your data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no valid reason for us to continue processing it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully, or where we are required to erase your data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request for erasure for specific legal or operational reasons which will be communicated to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
12.1.4. Object to the processing of your data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation that makes you want to object to processing on this ground, as you feel it impacts your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
12.1.5. Request restriction of processing your data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your data in the following scenarios:
12.1.5.1. If you want us to establish the data’s accuracy;
12.1.5.2. Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it;
12.1.5.3. Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; or
12.1.5.4. You have objected to our use of your data, but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
12.1.6. Request the transfer of your data to you or a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information that you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
12.1.7. Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain Website access or Services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent. Please note that regardless of your right to withdraw consent under POPI, other South African legislation may require us to continue processing your data to comply with anti-corruption, crime-fighting, and/or other national legislation, which you expressly understand and agree to.