Your privacy.
Clearly explained.

01 / ONLEVATE

Who is responsible for your information?

Onlevate is an independent digital creative studio operated by James Taljaard, a sole proprietor trading as Onlevate, based in Cape Town, South Africa.

James Taljaard is the responsible party for personal information processed through onlevate.com and the studio’s business communications.

Business and correspondence address: 137 Alice Street, Goodwood, Cape Town, 7460, South Africa.

Privacy contact: info@onlevate.com

We aim to handle personal information responsibly and in accordance with applicable South African law, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

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What information do we collect?

When you contact Onlevate using the website enquiry form, we may collect:

• Your name and email address.
• Your website or social media profile, if you choose to provide it.
• The type of service you are interested in.
• The information you include in your message.
• Your acknowledgement of the form’s privacy statement.

Our website, hosting and security systems may also process technical information such as IP addresses, browser information, request times and security-related logs.

Submitting an enquiry is voluntary, although your name, email address and message are required for the form to work. If you do not provide these details, we may be unable to receive or respond to your request.

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How do we use your information?

We use personal information for legitimate business purposes, including:

• Responding to your enquiries and questions.
• Understanding your requirements and preparing proposals or quotations.
• Providing agreed website, search, social media or content services.
• Maintaining website security and preventing misuse.
• Meeting relevant legal, contractual, accounting and administrative obligations.

Submitting an enquiry does not automatically subscribe you to a marketing mailing list. We will only send unrelated promotional communications where we have a lawful basis to do so.

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Website enquiries and email

Our website runs on WordPress and uses the Onlevate Studio enquiry form. Website enquiries are configured to be sent to info@onlevate.com.

We use xneelo for website and mailbox hosting, and FluentSMTP to send authenticated WordPress emails. We also use Microsoft Outlook to access and manage business correspondence.

At the time of this policy, the optional feature that stores private copies of enquiries in the Onlevate WordPress dashboard is disabled. Enquiry correspondence may still be stored in our email mailbox, and relevant technical sending logs may be created depending on our configuration.

If we change how enquiries are stored or processed, we will review and update this policy.

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Cookies and website technology

Our website uses WordPress, hosting services and related software. These systems may use cookies or similar technologies for essential functions such as administration, security and maintaining website sessions.

Our hosting service may record technical information needed for performance, troubleshooting and security.

Additional features, including analytics tools, embedded media, social media integrations or other third-party plugins, may use cookies or collect information if they are enabled on the website. We will review those services and update our disclosures and consent arrangements where necessary.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how certain website functions work.

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Service providers and information sharing

We do not sell personal information.

We may share or make information accessible to service providers where reasonably necessary to operate our website, maintain business communications, provide requested services, safeguard our systems or comply with the law.

Depending on the service involved, this may include website and email hosting providers, software and communication services, and other providers involved in delivering an agreed project.

Some providers may process or access information outside South Africa. Where cross-border processing occurs, we aim to ensure that it is carried out with the protections required by applicable law, including POPIA.

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How long do we keep information?

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or for longer where required or permitted by law.

Enquiry correspondence is reviewed and removed when no longer needed. If an enquiry becomes an ongoing client relationship, relevant contractual, project and financial records may need to be retained for longer.

Technical logs may be retained in accordance with the settings and policies of the relevant hosting, email or security service.

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How do we protect your information?

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information against unauthorised access, misuse, loss and disclosure.

These measures may include restricted administrative access, authenticated email services, website updates, account security and appropriate hosting arrangements.

No internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

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Your privacy rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Ask whether we hold personal information about you.
• Request access to personal information we hold.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion where appropriate.
• Object to certain processing activities or withdraw consent where applicable.

To submit a privacy request, email info@onlevate.com. We may need to verify your identity before providing or changing personal information.

You can also contact South Africa’s Information Regulator if you believe your personal information has been processed unlawfully.

Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za
POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za

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Links to other websites

Our website may link to third-party websites or social media platforms. Those services have their own privacy practices and policies, which are outside our control.

We encourage you to review their privacy information before submitting personal details to them.

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Updates to this policy

We may update this policy as our services, website features, service providers or legal requirements change.

The latest version will be available on this page, together with the date on which it was last updated.