Privacy notice
How we collect, use and protect your personal information, and the rights you have under the Protection of Personal Information Act.
Who we are
@fnet Projects (Pty) Ltd, trading as @fnet Projects, @fnet Systems and @fnet Consulting (“@fnet”, “we”, “us”), is the responsible party for the personal information described in this notice. Our company details and the contact details of our Information Officer are shown on this page.
This notice explains how we process personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). It applies to visitors to this website, people who contact us or request a quote, and the clients, suppliers and contacts we work with.
What personal information we collect
When you request a quote or contact us, we collect what you give us:
- your name and mobile number
- your company name, if you provide it
- what you need and any description of the job you choose to share
- any email, phone, WhatsApp or meeting conversations that follow
The request form also records which page you sent it from and, if you arrived from an advert or campaign link, the campaign details in that link. We keep a minimal record of your consent: the date and time, the type of request and that consent was given.
When we work with you, we may also collect site addresses, contact details of your staff, project information, and the details needed to quote, contract, deliver and support the work.
When you visit this website, we collect:
- technical information needed to run and secure the site, such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested, which our hosting provider records in standard server logs
- information from Cloudflare Turnstile, a spam check on the request form, which looks at technical signals from your browser to tell people from automated programs
- usage information from Google Analytics, but only if you accept analytics cookies
We do not ask for special personal information (such as health, religious or biometric information) or information about children through this website.
Why we use it
We use personal information to:
- respond to your request, route it to the right team and prepare a quote
- deliver, support and invoice the work you ask us to do
- keep records of our dealings with you, as required by law
- keep the website and the request form secure and free of spam
- understand, with your consent, which pages are useful so we can improve the site
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for automated decisions about you.
Our lawful basis
We process personal information only where POPIA allows it, mainly:
- consent, for example when you tick the consent box on the request form or accept analytics cookies
- to take steps you ask for before a contract, or to perform a contract with you
- to comply with a legal obligation, such as tax, company, labour and health and safety laws
- our legitimate interests, such as keeping our systems secure and managing our business, where these do not override your rights
Direct marketing
We will not send you marketing messages unless you have agreed to receive them, or you are an existing client and the message is about similar services. Every marketing message will tell you how to opt out, and you can opt out at any time by contacting us.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only with people who need it to help us serve you, and only as much as they need:
- our own staff and project leads, on a need-to-know basis
- service providers who process information on our behalf (“operators”), including our website hosting provider, our email provider, Cloudflare (spam protection) and Google (analytics, only with your consent)
- subcontractors working on your project, where their involvement is needed
- professional advisers such as auditors and attorneys, under a duty of confidentiality
- regulators, courts or authorities, where the law requires it
Our operators are bound by written agreements to keep personal information confidential and secure, as POPIA requires.
Information sent outside South Africa
Some of our service providers, such as Google and Cloudflare, may store or process information on servers outside South Africa. We only use providers that are subject to laws, binding rules or agreements that give personal information a level of protection substantially similar to POPIA, as section 72 of POPIA requires.
How long we keep it
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose we collected it for, or for as long as the law requires. Records of contracts, invoices and tax are kept for the periods set by company and tax law. Quote requests that do not lead to work are deleted after [CONFIRM: retention period, e.g. 12 months]. Consent records are kept for as long as we hold the information they relate to.
How we protect it
We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage and unauthorised access, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, multi-factor sign-in on business systems, backups and confidentiality obligations for staff and operators. If we have reasonable grounds to believe your personal information has been accessed by an unauthorised person, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
Cookies
This website uses a necessary cookie to remember your cookie choice, and Google Analytics cookies only if you accept them. Our cookie policy explains this in full, and you can change your choice at any time from “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.
Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of it
- ask us to correct or delete personal information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or obtained unlawfully
- object to our processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds, and to direct marketing at any time
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting processing that took place before you withdrew it
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator
To use these rights, contact our Information Officer using the contact details on this page. We may ask you to confirm your identity first. Requests for access to records are handled under our PAIA manual.
Complaints to the Information Regulator
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, please tell us first so we can try to put it right. You may also complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa):
- Website: inforegulator.org.za
- Complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
- General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
- Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Changes to this notice
We may update this notice when our services, systems or the law change. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.