The Oaks Collective (Pty) Ltd takes your privacy and the protection of personal information provided to us by yourself either through this website https://theoaks.studio or via third parties seriously and we are committed to ensuring that your Personal Information is collected and used properly, lawfully and transparently.
This Website Privacy Policy explains how we obtain, use and disclose your Personal Information provided to us by you in accordance with the requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPIA”).
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1. “The Oaks” means The Oaks Collective (Pty) Ltd, a private company with limited liability and domiciled in the Republic of South Africa.
1.2. “Cookies” means a small text file (up to 4KB) created by a website that is stored in the user’s computer either temporarily for that session only or permanently in the hard disk (persistent cookie). Cookies provide a way for the website to recognise you and keep track of your preferences;
1.3. “Data” means information collected and stored in electronic format;
1.4. “Data subject” means the person to whom the Personal Information relates;
1.5. “IP address” means a unique address that identifies a device on the Internet or a local network;
1.6. “Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where it is applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person, including, but not limited to:
1.6.1. information relating to the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic, or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, well-being, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth of the person;
1.6.2. information relating to the education or the medical, financial, criminal or employment history of the person;
1.6.3. any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier, or other particular assignment to the person;
1.6.4. biometric information of the person;
1.6.5. correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence; the personal opinions, views, or preferences of the person;
1.6.6 the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and
1.6.7. the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person;
1.7. “POPIA” means the Protection of Persona Information Act 4 of 2013;
1.8. “Traffic data” means any data processed for the purpose of the conveyance of a communication on an electronic communications network in respect of that communication and includes data relating to the routing, duration or time of a communication;
1.9. “User” means a person who uses a computer or other device to access this website; and
1.10. “Web browser” means an application used to access and view this website. Well known web browsers include but are not limited to Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Safari.
2. PERSONAL INFORMATION
2.1. The Oaks do not collect Personal Information on this website unless provided by you through a specific request submission.
3. USE AND DISCLOSURE
3.1. The Oaks will only use Personal Information that you provide through this website for the purposes for which you provide it.
3.2. We will not make your Personal Information available to any third party unless this is necessary for the purpose for which you provide the information. An example hereof would be to investigate a complaint.
3.3. We may use your Personal Information for the purposes of administering and improving the site, improving our services, or communicating with you. The Personal Information you provide to us may be shared with developers to the extent necessary for them to administer and improve the website on our behalf.
3.4. The Oaks will only disclose your Personal Information to third parties in limited circumstances and authorised by POPIA and as further detailed in our PAIA Manual. An example hereof would be to enable the South African Police Service to investigate a criminal offence.
4. WEBSITE ANALYTICS
4.1. You may visit the website without providing any Personal Information. The website servers will in such instances collect the IP address used by the Data subject to access the website, but not the email address or any other personal identifiable information. The information on IP addresses is aggregated to measure the number of visits, the average time spent on the website, pages viewed, etc. This non-identifiable traffic data is analysed to improve our services, which might be via a third-party program.
4.2. We may collect, hold and use statistical information about website visits to help us improve the website or our communication efforts. Such information includes the IP address, the date and time of your visit to our site, search terms used by you, the pages visited on our website and the links clicked on, the referring website of social media platform (if applicable) from which you clicked through to our website and the type of browser you use.
4.3. Data analytics is not personally identifiable and is collected with regard to “do not track” settings which you might have set on your browser.
5. USE OF COOKIES
5.1. Cookies on this website are used where required to enhance your experience or for particular features to work.
5.2. The Cookies do not collect any Personal Information about you.
6. LINKS TO SOCIAL NETWORKING SERVICES
6.1. The Oaks use social networking services such as Facebook and LinkedIn to communicate with the public about its work. When you communicate with us through a social media platform, that service may collect your Personal Information for its purposes.
6.2. Social media platforms may track your use of our website through links posted on that platform. If you are logged in to those services (including any Google service) while using our website, their tracking will be associated with your profile held with those service providers.
6.3. These social networking services have their own privacy policies which are independent of our policies and practices.
7. YOUR RIGHT TO ACCESS AND CORRECT PERSONAL INFORMATION
7.1. You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under PAIA. Fees to obtain a copy or a description of personal information held about you are prescribed in terms of PAIA.
7.2 Confirmation of whether or not we hold personal information about you may be requested free of charge. If you would like to obtain a copy of your personal information held by The Oaks, please review our PAIA Manual located on the website https://theoaks.studio.
7.3 You have a right to request the correction of personal information that we hold about you.
8. INDEMNITY
You hereby waive any claim that you may have against The Oaks in respect of any loss, damages, or injury that you may incur as a result of:
- lawful processing of your personal information;
- any unintentional processing of your personal information; and
- the provision of incorrect or incomplete personal information by yourself to The Oaks
9. AMENDMENTS
9.1 The Oaks may amend this Policy from time to time for any of the following reasons:
9.1.1 to provide for the introduction of new systems, methods of operation,
services, products, offerings, or facilities;
9.1.2 to comply with changes to any Applicable Laws or regulatory requirement;
9.1.3 to ensure that our Policy is clearer and more favourable to you.
9.1.4 to rectify any mistake that may be discovered from time to time; and
9.1.5 for any other reason which The Oaks, in its sole discretion, may deem reasonable
or necessary.
9.2 Any such amendment will come into effect and become part of any agreement
you have with The Oaks when notice is given to you of the change by publication on our website
(https://theoaks.studio). It is your responsibility to check the website frequently.
10. COMPLAINTS
Should you believe that The Oaks have utilised your personal information contrary to Applicable Laws, you undertake to first attempt to resolve any concerns with The Oaks. If you are not satisfied with such process, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator, using the contact details listed below:
Email: [email protected].
Website: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/
11. CONTACT US
Kindly contact The Oaks’ Information Officer if you have any comments or questions about this Policy or to request access to your Personal Information or for the correction of your Personal Information. Contact details of the Information Officer as well as the procedure to obtain access to the aforesaid is set out in our PAIA Manual which is published on our website.
This Website Privacy Policy was updated on the 30th of June 2021.