Privacy Policy

Who we are

VetClause is operated by VetPages, trading as VetClause, [LEGAL STATUS, e.g. a sole proprietorship / a private company registered in South Africa, registration number XXXX/XXXXXX/XX], of [PHYSICAL STREET ADDRESS]. For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), we are the responsible party for the personal information described below.

Information Officer

Our Information Officer is Claire Rossouw, contactable at [EMAIL]. Any question, request, or complaint about how we handle personal information should go to that address.

What we collect

Account information: your email address, and your password in encrypted form. If you choose to provide it, your name and the practice you work at.

Waitlist sign-ups: your email address, and any other details you choose to give us when signing up.

Query submissions: the content of any question, search, or query you submit to the tool. Please see “What not to submit” below.

Technical information: standard server and log information generated when you use the site, including IP address, browser type and version, device type, pages viewed, and the times of those visits.

Practice details and sign-in region: the practice name, address and contact details you supply for billing, together with the approximate region and country each sign-in comes from. We use the region only to confirm that a practice licence is being used by that practice. We do not collect GPS or precise location data.

We do not collect special personal information as defined in section 26 of POPIA, and we do not knowingly collect information relating to children.

What not to submit

VetClause is a reference tool. It does not need, and you should not submit, any information that identifies a client or a patient. Please do not include client names, contact details, ID numbers, policy or membership numbers, patient names, or clinical records in any query, search, or message to us. If you do submit such information, you remain responsible for it under POPIA and under your professional obligations. We will delete identifying client or patient information when we become aware of it.

Why we collect it

• To create and operate your account and give you access to the tool.
• To respond to your queries and return relevant reference information.
• To notify you when VetClause launches or when features change, if you have joined the waitlist or asked to be contacted.
• To understand which parts of the tool are used and to improve them.
• To keep the site secure and to detect and prevent abuse.
• To comply with any legal obligation that applies to us.

We collect this information directly from you. Supplying it is voluntary, but we cannot provide an account or answer a query without it.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with any insurer, broker, or underwriter.

VetClause is built and hosted on Lovable Cloud, which provides our website hosting, database, and account sign-in. That provider processes personal information on our behalf as an operator under POPIA, on our instruction only. We use no other third-party processor: we run no analytics service and no separate mailing platform.

We may disclose personal information where required by law, or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.

Information sent outside South Africa

Our service provider stores and processes information on servers in South Africa, the United States, the European Union, and other countries where its hosting facilities are located. Where information leaves South Africa we rely on section 72 of POPIA. This means the transfer is either necessary to perform our contract with you, or the recipient is bound by an agreement or subject to laws that provide an adequate level of protection substantially similar to POPIA.

How long we keep it

We keep account information for as long as your account is active, and for two years after you close it. Waitlist information is kept until you unsubscribe or until one year after launch, whichever comes first. Query submissions are kept for one year. Server logs are kept for 90 days. After those periods we delete or de-identify the information, unless required by law to keep it longer.

How we protect it

We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to secure personal information against loss, damage, and unauthorised access, as required by section 19 of POPIA. These include encrypted connections, access controls, and encrypted storage of passwords. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a security compromise affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by section 22 of POPIA.

Marketing

If you have joined our waitlist or otherwise asked to hear from us, we will email you about VetClause. Every such email includes a way to unsubscribe, and you can opt out at any time by contacting our Information Officer. We do not use your information for third-party marketing.

Cookies

We do not use advertising or analytics cookies. The site sets a session or authentication cookie so that you stay signed in, and it stores a small amount of information in your browser’s local storage: a key recording that you have acknowledged the site disclaimer, and your sign-in session details. Clearing your browser storage will sign you out and show the disclaimer again.

Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to ask us to confirm whether we hold personal information about you and to be given a record of it (section 23); to ask us to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading, or unlawfully obtained (section 24); to object to our processing on reasonable grounds (section 11(3)); to withdraw any consent you have given, without affecting processing that already happened; and to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (section 74).

To exercise any of these, contact our Information Officer at [EMAIL]. We may need to verify your identity before we act on a request.

Complaints to the Regulator

The Information Regulator of South Africa can be contacted at: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001. Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za. Complaints can also be lodged through the eServices portal at inforegulator.org.za/complaints. Telephone: 010 023 5200 (toll free: 0800 017 160).

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. Material changes will be communicated to account holders by email.

Contact

[FULL LEGAL NAME], [PHYSICAL STREET ADDRESS], [EMAIL]