My Menopause South Africa – Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Ulwazi Health Hub (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2026/498020/07), which owns and operates My Menopause South Africa (“we”, “us”, “our”), collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal information when you visit https://mymenopause-sa.co.za/ (“the Website”), create an account, buy a subscription or a once-off article, access Subscriber-only content, receive newsletters, attend or book an event, post in the Community Forum (when available), contact us or otherwise interact with the Website.

We are the responsible party for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

Our details   Postal address: Postnet Suite #03, Private Bag X32, Highveld, Gauteng, 0169;

Telephone: +27 87 265 2392.

Information Officer   Dr R Govender

Email: support@mymenopause-sa.co.za.

This Privacy Policy forms part of our Terms and Conditions. Words defined in the Terms (such as “Subscriber”, “Subscriber-only content” and “Community”) have the same meaning here. If this Privacy Policy and the Terms conflict on anything to do with personal information, this Privacy Policy applies.

This policy applies to everyone who uses the Website, including visitors, account holders, Subscribers, people who buy once-off articles or content, newsletter recipients, event attendees, Community participants, and anyone who contacts us.

It covers information collected through website forms, account registration, checkout and payment processing, cookies and similar technologies, email communications, customer support, membership administration, event bookings and recordings, and Community posts.

• Identity and contact information: your name, email address and cellphone number.
• Account information: such as username, account status, membership status, subscription dates and access permissions.
• Transaction information, such as the subscription or once-off article you bought, the amount, billing frequency, renewal date, transaction reference, payment status, refunds and cancellations. Payments are processed by PayFast. We do not see or store your card or bank details. PayFast gives us only your name, email address, payment status and a payment reference.
• Technical information: such as IP address, browser/device information, operating system, approximate location derived from technical data, pages visited, referral information and website activity.
• Communications and support information: including information you choose to provide when contacting us.
• Newsletter preferences, opt-in and opt-out records, and delivery and engagement information supplied by our email service provider (MailPoet) including whether emails are opened and links clicked.
• Information you voluntarily submit in forms, comments or other website interactions.
• Event information (when available): events you book or attend and, where an event is recorded, your image, voice, name or comments if you take part on camera or in the chat.
• Community content (when available): anything you post in the Community, together with your display name.

We do not ask for, and do not want, information about your personal health. Please do not include health details, such as symptoms, diagnoses, medication, test results or medical records, in messages, contact forms, booking forms, event chats or Community posts (when the latter are available).

Health information is special personal information under POPIA. If you choose to send it to us, we treat that as your consent to us using it for the sole purpose of replying to you. We will not use it for any other purpose, will not add it to your account, and will delete it once we have replied.

If you post health information about yourself in the Community (when available), it will be visible to other members. Please think carefully before doing so.

Our Content is general educational health information. It is not medical advice and does not create a healthcare-provider relationship (see clause 14 of the Terms and our Disclaimer).

If you buy a single article or piece of content, we process your name, email address and transaction information to give you access to it through your account. This purchase does not sign you up for any subscription, newsletter or marketing. Your access depends on your account, so deleting your account will end access to anything you bought.

When the Community is available, anything you post there, together with your display name, can be seen by other members. Please do not post personal health details or anyone else’s personal information. We may moderate, edit or remove posts that break our Terms. If you delete your account, we will remove or de-identify your posts, unless they have been quoted by another member or we need to keep them to deal with a complaint or legal matter.

When events are available and you book one, we use your name and email address to manage your booking and send you joining details and reminders. Terms clause 17.3 says we may record events. Where we do, we will tell you at the start of the event. If you do not want to appear in a recording, you can keep your camera and microphone off and avoid using your name in the chat. Recordings may be made available to Subscribers.

• To create and administer user accounts.
• To process subscriptions and provide paid access to members-only content.
• To confirm payments, manage billing, cancellations, refunds and subscription status.
• To authenticate users and control access to gated content.
• To send service-related communications, including account, payment, membership and security notices.
• To send Subscribers the two subscriber newsletters per calendar month included in their subscription. These are part of the paid service, not marketing.
• To send promotional emails about our own similar products and services to customers, and about other organisations’ products only with your consent (see clause 8).
• To respond to enquiries and provide customer support.
• To maintain website security, prevent abuse and investigate suspected unauthorised access.
• To improve website performance, content, usability and services.
• To comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, tax and record-keeping obligations.
• To manage event bookings and, where applicable, event recordings (when available).
• To host and moderate the Community forum (when available).

In practice, we process account, subscription, once-off (content) purchase, payment and subscriber-newsletter information because it is necessary to perform our contract with you; marketing to non-customers and any health information you send us on the basis of your consent; security and Website-improvement information on the basis of our legitimate interests; and financial records to comply with the law.

A subscription is linked to an account so that the website can determine whether the account is entitled to access members-only content.

If a subscription is cancelled, expires, is refunded, fails to renew, or is otherwise terminated, the membership status may be changed and access to gated content may be removed. The account may remain in our systems where necessary for transaction records, legal compliance, security or account administration.

Unsubscribing from emails, cancelling a subscription and deleting your account are three separate things:

• Unsubscribing from emails does not cancel your subscription.
• Cancelling your subscription stops future payments but does not delete your account. You keep access until the end of the period you have paid for.
• Deleting your account removes your access to all Subscriber-only content and to any once-off articles or content you have bought. To request deletion, see clause 15A.

Subscriber newsletters. Subscribers receive two newsletters per calendar month, linking to articles. These are part of the paid service, not marketing, and are sent to the email address on your account. Any change to this will be notified as set out in clause 21 of the Terms.

Promotional emails to customers. If you are a Subscriber or have bought from us, we may send you promotional emails about our own similar products and services. Every such email includes an easy way to opt out.

Other marketing. We will only send you a free newsletter (if you are not a customer) or promotional emails about other organisations’ products and services if you have opted in.

Once-off purchases. Buying a once-off article or content does not sign you up for any newsletter or marketing. You must opt in separately.

Account and payment messages. Payment confirmations, renewal reminders, security notices and other essential account messages are not marketing and will continue while you have an account.

Opting out of promotional emails does not stop your subscriber newsletters or essential account messages.

We use essential cookies for login, security, membership access and checkout. With your consent, we also use analytics cookies to understand how the Website is used. You can manage non-essential cookies through the cookie banner or your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may stop you from logging in or accessing Subscriber-only content.

Our Cookie Policy, which forms part of this Privacy Policy, gives more detail, including a list of the cookies we use.

We may use carefully selected service providers to operate the website and subscription service, including hosting providers, payment processors, email/newsletter providers, security services, analytics providers, customer-support tools and technical contractors.

Our main service providers are:

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with other organisations for their own marketing.

Where another party processes personal information on our behalf, we will take reasonable steps to require appropriate confidentiality and security measures and to comply with POPIA requirements applicable to operators and responsible parties.

Payments are processed by PayFast. We do not see or store your card or bank details. PayFast gives us your name, email address, payment status and a reference so that we can manage your subscription or purchase. PayFast’s own terms and privacy policy also apply to your payment.

Some of our service providers, including our analytics provider (Google Analytics), may store or process your personal information outside South Africa. We only allow this where section 72 of POPIA permits it, for example where the recipient is subject to laws, binding rules or a binding agreement that give protection substantially similar to POPIA, or where the transfer is necessary to perform our contract with you.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised destruction, unlawful access and unlawful processing. POPIA requires responsible parties to implement appropriate security safeguards and to continually review those safeguards.

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Users are responsible for keeping account credentials confidential and should notify us promptly at info@mymenopause-sa.co.za if they think someone else has used their account.

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

Transaction and accounting records may need to be retained after a membership ends. Deleting or deactivating a user account therefore does not necessarily mean every record can be immediately erased.

In particular:

• health information you send us is deleted once we have replied;
• account information is kept while your account is open and deleted or de-identified within thirty (30) days of a deletion request, except as below;
• transaction and accounting records are kept for as long as tax and company law require (generally five to seven years);
• newsletter opt-out records are kept so that we do not contact you again.

• Request access to personal information held about you, subject to applicable law.
• Request correction or updating of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Object to certain processing where the law provides that right.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Request deletion where legally applicable and where there is no overriding lawful reason to retain the information.
• Unsubscribe from direct marketing communications.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator where you believe your privacy rights have been infringed.

To exercise any of these rights, email our Information Officer at support@mymenopause-sa.co.za. We may ask you to verify your identity first. We will respond within a reasonable time and, for deletion requests, within 30 days.

To delete your account, email support@mymenopause-sa.co.za from the address linked to your account, with the subject “Account deletion”. If you have an active subscription, please cancel it first, as deleting your account does not by itself cancel future payments with PayFast. Once your account is deleted, you will lose access to all Subscriber-only content and any once-off purchases. We will delete or de-identify your personal information within 30 days, except records we must keep by law (see clause 14).

If we have reasonable grounds to believe that your personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will notify the Information Regulator and you as soon as reasonably possible, as required by section 22 of POPIA.

The Website is for adults only. You must be 18 or older to create an account, buy a subscription or post in the Community. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have, we will delete it and close the account.

We may update this policy when our services, technology, legal obligations or data-processing practices change. If a change is material, we will notify you by email at least 20 business days before it takes effect. Minor changes, such as corrections or clarifications, take effect when published. Each version shows its effective date, and earlier versions are available on request.

For privacy questions, access requests, corrections, objections, deletion requests or complaints, contact our Information Officer, Dr R Govender, at support@mymenopause-sa.co.za.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa (https://inforegulator.org.za).

This policy is governed by South African law, including POPIA, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.