Privacy Policy
(POPIA)

1. Who we are

VisiHost ("we", "us", "our") is a South African digital services business providing done-for-you websites, business email, .co.za domain registration, SSD hosting, CRM and Xero support, creative services and company registration assistance. For the purposes of POPIA, VisiHost is the Responsible Party for the personal information described in this policy.

You can reach us about any privacy matter at info@visihost.co.za or via WhatsApp using the chat link on our website.

2. What personal information we collect

We keep it deliberately light. We only collect what we need to reply to you and do the work you've asked for:

• Enquiry details you submit: business name, your name, WhatsApp number, email address, preferred .co.za domain and any notes you include.
• Message content from conversations we have with you on WhatsApp, email or by phone.
• Service information needed to deliver your package: domain registration contact details, email account settings, content and images you supply for your website.
• Billing details where a payment is involved — limited to what the payment provider requires; we do not store card numbers on this website.
• Basic technical logs (such as IP address and pages requested) kept by our hosting provider for security and uptime monitoring.

Important: the enquiry form on this website does not save your details to a database. Your information is composed into a pre-filled WhatsApp message on your own device and sent directly to us — exactly as if you had typed it yourself.

3. How we collect it

• Directly from you — via our website enquiry form, WhatsApp, email or a phone call.
• When you become a client — through onboarding information needed to build, host or support your services.
• Automatically — minimal server logs generated by our hosting infrastructure.

We do not buy contact lists, and we do not collect information about you from third-party data brokers.

4. Why we process it (our lawful basis)

POPIA requires us to process personal information lawfully and for a clearly defined purpose. We rely on the following grounds under section 11 of the Act:

• Your consent — when you send us an enquiry, you consent to us using those details to respond to you.
• Contract performance — when you take a package, we process what is necessary to build, host, invoice and support your services.
• Legitimate business purposes — keeping records of quotations and service delivery, protecting our infrastructure and meeting legal obligations.

We process your information only for the purpose for which you gave it to us: answering your enquiry, preparing your quote, delivering and supporting your service, and keeping proper business records. If we ever want to use it for something new, we will ask you first.

6. When and with whom we share it

We share personal information only with the parties who help us deliver your service, and only to the extent necessary:

• Hosting and infrastructure providers — to host your website, email and this website itself (our reseller hosting runs on a South African provider's platform).
• Domain registries (e.g. the .co.za registry) — required to register and renew your domain; registry rules may publish certain registrant details as part of the public WHOIS record.
• Communication platforms — WhatsApp (Meta) and email providers carry the messages you send us.
• Payment and accounting tools — PayFast / Flutterwave payment links on invoices, and Xero where you use our Xero setup or support service.
• CIPC — when we assist with your company registration, the details you give us are submitted on your instruction.
• Law and safety — where we are legally required to disclose information under South African law.

Where these parties process information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure they protect it as POPIA requires.

7. How we protect your information

Under section 19 of POPIA we must secure personal information with appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures. In practice that means:

• Enquiry data lives in our business communication tools (WhatsApp, email) with device and account passcodes, not in a public website database.
• Hosting accounts are protected by strong passwords, and access is limited to the VisiHost team members who need it.
• Websites we deliver include SSL certificates, and hosting includes regular backups.
• We review our practices as our services grow and update safeguards accordingly.

No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach ever affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA section 22 requires.

8. How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as the purpose requires — in line with section 14 of POPIA. Enquiries that don't become projects are kept for a reasonable follow-up period and then deleted. Client records (invoices, service configuration, correspondence) are retained for as long as you are a client and thereafter only as long as South African tax and business-record laws require, after which they are securely destroyed or de-identified.

9. Your rights under POPIA

You have real, enforceable rights over your personal information. You may:

• Ask us what personal information we hold about you and request a copy.
• Ask us to correct or update information that is out of date or wrong.
• Ask us to delete or destroy information we no longer need (subject to legal record-keeping duties).
• Object to our processing of your information, or withdraw consent you previously gave.
• Complain to the Information Regulator if you believe we have not honoured POPIA.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@visihost.co.za — we will respond within a reasonable time and will never charge you a fee to exercise your rights.

11. Changes to this policy

If we update this policy, the revised version will be published on this page with a new "last updated" date. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we will tell you directly before it takes effect. The version published here is the version that applies, so it's worth checking back occasionally — though we promise to keep changes rare and sensible.