Privacy Policy
Protecting Your Sweet Data
At Whispering Vegan, your trust is as important to us as the perfect rise in our cupcakes! We understand that sharing your personal information requires faith, and we're committed to protecting it with the utmost care, in line with South African privacy laws, especially the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
By interacting with our websites (Whispering Vegan Local Shop, E-Shop, Whispering Pixels), placing orders, or signing up for any of our programs, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
1. The Sweet Data We Collect
When you interact with us, we may collect different types of personal information, purely for the purpose of serving you better and delivering our products.
Activity
Placing an Order
Information Collected
Name, Contact (Email, Phone), Physical Delivery Address, Order History, Payment Transaction ID (we do not store full credit card details).
Purpose
To process your purchase, arrange delivery/collection, and communicate order status.
Activity
Website Browsing
Information Collected
IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent.
Purpose
To improve your experience on our website and ensure it's as smooth as our buttercream.
Activity
Newsletter Sign-Up
Information Collected
Email Address
Purpose
To send you delightful updates, special offers, and news about our latest bakes (only if you have actively opted in).
Activity
Community/Blog
Information Collected
Username, Email Address (for comments).
Purpose
To manage your membership, facilitate community interaction, and respond to your comments.
2. How We Use and Share Your Data (Giving Without Taking)
We promise not to share, sell, or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We only share your data when absolutely necessary for our services or when legally required.
Necessary Disclosure to Third Parties:
Delivery Partners (Couriers): We share your Name, Address, and Phone Number with third-party courier companies (for E-Shop orders) and local delivery drivers (for Local Shop orders) so your goodies can find their way safely to you.
Payment Processors: We share transaction details with secure, POPIA-compliant payment gateways, such as Yoco, to process payments (including card and EFT options) and prevent fraud. We do not store your full payment information.
Email and Mailing Platforms: We share your Email Address with third-party mailing services (e.g., Mailchimp or similar) to manage and distribute the newsletters and updates you have voluntarily subscribed to.
Analytics Services: We use tools (like Google Analytics) to understand website usage and trends. This data is usually anonymised to improve our website experience.
Legal Compliance: We will disclose information if required by a legal process or government request, in line with POPIA.
3. Your Membership and Blog Interactions
Members' Privacy: If you choose to become a member, we collect information necessary to manage your account. This is used to provide exclusive benefits and tailor your experience. By becoming a member, you agree to abide by our site's community guidelines, designed to ensure a respectful and safe environment.
Blog Comments: When you submit a comment, your Name and the Comment itself may be publicly visible on the blog. Your email address remains private and is only used to manage or respond to your comment.
4. Data Security and Retention
Security Measures:
We take reasonable, technical, and organisational steps to keep your information secure and safe from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. This includes:
* Using secure, encrypted connections (SSL) on our websites.
* Restricting internal access to personal data to only those employees who require it for their jobs (e.g., order fulfilment).
* Using secure, reputable cloud services that comply with global data protection standards.
Data Retention:
We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. For example, order history and Agent payment records are kept for the period required by South African tax law. Once data is no longer needed, we will securely destroy or permanently anonymise it.
5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website uses "cookies" (small text files placed on your device) to enhance your browsing experience. These help us:
*Remember items in your shopping cart.
*Analyse how you use our site.
*Offer personalised content.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. However, this may limit your ability to use certain features of the Local Shop or E-Shop.
6. Your Rights Under POPIA
You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to ask us to correct or delete it. Please remember that deletion requests may be subject to legal requirements (e.g., we cannot delete transaction data required for tax audits).
If you have any concerns or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Information Officer:
Email: whisperingvegan@gmail.com
Address: Montana, Pretoria, South Africa
We're here to help make things right! Thank you for being a part of the Whispering Vegan family.
At Whispering Vegan, your trust is as important to us as the perfect rise in our cupcakes! We understand that sharing your personal information requires faith, and we're committed to protecting it with the utmost care, in line with South African privacy laws, especially the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
By interacting with our websites (Whispering Vegan Local Shop, E-Shop, Whispering Pixels), placing orders, or signing up for any of our programs, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
1. The Sweet Data We Collect
When you interact with us, we may collect different types of personal information, purely for the purpose of serving you better and delivering our products.
Activity
Placing an Order
Information Collected
Name, Contact (Email, Phone), Physical Delivery Address, Order History, Payment Transaction ID (we do not store full credit card details).
Purpose
To process your purchase, arrange delivery/collection, and communicate order status.
Activity
Website Browsing
Information Collected
IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent.
Purpose
To improve your experience on our website and ensure it's as smooth as our buttercream.
Activity
Newsletter Sign-Up
Information Collected
Email Address
Purpose
To send you delightful updates, special offers, and news about our latest bakes (only if you have actively opted in).
Activity
Community/Blog
Information Collected
Username, Email Address (for comments).
Purpose
To manage your membership, facilitate community interaction, and respond to your comments.
2. How We Use and Share Your Data (Giving Without Taking)
We promise not to share, sell, or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We only share your data when absolutely necessary for our services or when legally required.
Necessary Disclosure to Third Parties:
Delivery Partners (Couriers): We share your Name, Address, and Phone Number with third-party courier companies (for E-Shop orders) and local delivery drivers (for Local Shop orders) so your goodies can find their way safely to you.
Payment Processors: We share transaction details with secure, POPIA-compliant payment gateways, such as Yoco, to process payments (including card and EFT options) and prevent fraud. We do not store your full payment information.
Email and Mailing Platforms: We share your Email Address with third-party mailing services (e.g., Mailchimp or similar) to manage and distribute the newsletters and updates you have voluntarily subscribed to.
Analytics Services: We use tools (like Google Analytics) to understand website usage and trends. This data is usually anonymised to improve our website experience.
Legal Compliance: We will disclose information if required by a legal process or government request, in line with POPIA.
3. Your Membership and Blog Interactions
Members' Privacy: If you choose to become a member, we collect information necessary to manage your account. This is used to provide exclusive benefits and tailor your experience. By becoming a member, you agree to abide by our site's community guidelines, designed to ensure a respectful and safe environment.
Blog Comments: When you submit a comment, your Name and the Comment itself may be publicly visible on the blog. Your email address remains private and is only used to manage or respond to your comment.
4. Data Security and Retention
Security Measures:
We take reasonable, technical, and organisational steps to keep your information secure and safe from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. This includes:
* Using secure, encrypted connections (SSL) on our websites.
* Restricting internal access to personal data to only those employees who require it for their jobs (e.g., order fulfilment).
* Using secure, reputable cloud services that comply with global data protection standards.
Data Retention:
We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. For example, order history and Agent payment records are kept for the period required by South African tax law. Once data is no longer needed, we will securely destroy or permanently anonymise it.
5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website uses "cookies" (small text files placed on your device) to enhance your browsing experience. These help us:
*Remember items in your shopping cart.
*Analyse how you use our site.
*Offer personalised content.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. However, this may limit your ability to use certain features of the Local Shop or E-Shop.
6. Your Rights Under POPIA
You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to ask us to correct or delete it. Please remember that deletion requests may be subject to legal requirements (e.g., we cannot delete transaction data required for tax audits).
If you have any concerns or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Information Officer:
Email: whisperingvegan@gmail.com
Address: Montana, Pretoria, South Africa
We're here to help make things right! Thank you for being a part of the Whispering Vegan family.