Privacy
What we collect, why, and what we will never do with it.
Written to be read rather than to protect us. If anything here is unclear, ask, and we will explain it in plain terms.
The short version
- If you contact us, we collect your details so we can reply. Nothing else.
- The cost calculator sends us nothing at all. It runs entirely in your browser.
- This site sets no cookies and runs no analytics or advertising trackers.
- During a client engagement, personal information belonging to your members or beneficiaries stays in your environment. Identification happens locally.
- You can ask what we hold, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it.
Who is responsible
Bits & Algorithm is the responsible party for the personal information described here, as that term is used in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013.
Bits and Algorithm
Registration number 2018/571829/07
Lookout Hill, corner of Mew Way and Spine RoadIlitha Park, Khayelitsha, 7784
Cape Town, South Africa
admin@bitsalgorithm.co.za · 067 962 4679
Information officer to be named and registered
The Act requires a responsible party to appoint an information officer and register them with the Information Regulator. Until that is done and the name appears here, write to the address above and it will reach the right person.
What we collect from this website
When you use the contact form
Your name and work email, which we need in order to reply, and optionally your organisation, role, the process area you are asking about, your case volumes, your core system and whatever you write in the message box. Those optional fields exist so the first conversation is useful rather than exploratory. None of them is required.
When you use the cost calculator
Nothing. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you enter are never transmitted to us, never stored, and disappear when you close the tab. You can use it without telling us who you are, and we would encourage that.
Cookies and tracking
This site sets no cookies and runs no analytics, advertising or session recording tools. There is no consent banner because there is nothing to consent to. If that ever changes, this page will say so first and you will be asked before anything non essential is set.
Client data during an engagement
This is the section that matters most, because our clients are administrators holding personal information about members and beneficiaries, often including minors.
| Stage | What we access | Where it stays |
|---|---|---|
| Demonstration | Nothing. Synthetic data only | Not applicable |
| Phase 0 | Aggregate volumes and turnaround times, read only | Member records do not leave your environment |
| Pilot and production | Correspondence content, under a written agreement | Identification runs locally. Only de-identified text is interpreted elsewhere |
In an engagement, you remain the responsible party for your members' information and we act as an operator on your instruction. That relationship, along with security measures, breach notification and what happens at the end, is set out in the written agreement rather than left to this page.
Who else sees it
Enquiry details from this site are seen only by the people at B&A who need to respond to you. We do not sell data, we do not share it with advertisers, and we do not add you to a mailing list because you asked a question.
We use third party providers for hosting, email and for delivering the enquiry form to us. They process data on our instruction under contract and may not use it for their own purposes. Some of them operate servers outside South Africa, which means your enquiry may cross a border on its way to our inbox. The Act allows that where the receiving party is bound by comparable protection, and we hold an agreement with each provider on that basis.
If a law or a court requires disclosure we will comply, and we will tell you unless we are legally prevented from doing so.
How long we keep it
Enquiries are kept for two years, so that we have context if you come back to us, unless you ask us to delete them sooner. Client engagement records are kept for five years after the engagement ends, because tax and company law require it. Anything held under a client agreement follows the retention terms in that agreement, which take precedence over this page.
Your rights
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act you may:
- Ask what personal information we hold about you
- Ask us to correct anything that is wrong
- Ask us to delete information we no longer have a reason to keep
- Object to a particular use of your information
- Complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have got it wrong
Write to us and we will respond within thirty days. There is no charge for asking.
Changes to this notice
If we change how we handle information in a way that matters, we will tell clients and active enquirers directly rather than quietly updating this page and relying on you to notice.