PRIVACY POLICY

PRIVACY POLICY2026-07-21T17:11:30+00:00

PRIVACY POLICY (POPIA COMPLIANCE)

Last Updated: June 2026

  1. Introduction and Commitment to Privacy

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how ‘Shrooms for Improvement (“the Supplier”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you visit our website and purchase our mushroom extracts and products.

All processing of personal data is conducted strictly in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

  1. Information We Collect (Personal Information)

To process your orders and provide a seamless e-commerce experience on WooCommerce we collect the following personal information:

  • Identity Data: Full name, surname.
  • Contact Data: Email address, telephone number, and billing/shipping address
  • Financial Data: We currently accept direct deposits but will soon also use a secure payment gateway. Your full credit card details, CVV number, and banking credentials are processed entirely by your bank (for direct deposits) or on the payment gateway‘s secure, PCI-DSS compliant servers. We do not store or have access to your full financial/card details on our WordPress database.
  • Technical Data: IP address, login data, browser type, and time-zone settings collected via standard cookies.
  1. Purpose of Processing Your Information

In terms of Section 9 of POPIA, personal information is collected only for specific, lawful purposes related to our business operations. We process your data to:

  • Verify your identity and validate your online transaction.
  • Pack, fulfil, and ship your mushroom extract orders to your specified delivery address.
  • Communicate tracking updates, order confirmations, or customer service queries.
  1. Who We Share Your Data With (Third-Party Operators)

While responsible security measures have been taken by us to safeguard your privacy, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you provide to us. Whenever you use the internet, you do so with the full knowledge that no information provided online is fully secure.  We accept no liability or responsibility for the activities of third parties. We reserve the right to disclose your information under limited circumstances, such as required by law or legal process, to protect our own legal rights, or to protect the public good.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. To run our e-commerce store, we share specific data with trusted third parties (known as “Operators” under POPIA): You may read their privacy and other policies on their respective websites.

  • Payment Gateways: In South Africa, to securely process your Rands (ZAR) transactions.
  • Courier & Logistics Services: We have selected The Courier Guy, a reputable courier service for this purpose. We are not liable or responsible for any misuse of said information by them. They receive your name, contact number, and physical address solely to execute the physical delivery of your goods.   Their privacy policies are in line with current reasonably accepted standards in South Africa and may be accessed on their websites
  • Hosting Providers: Our secure South African web hosting environment where our WordPress/WooCommerce site is safely stored.
  1. Data Security and Storage

We have implemented strict technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information from accidental loss, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

  • Our website uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to secure all data transmissions during checkout.
  • Data is stored on secure servers, and access is strictly limited to authorized personnel who need to fulfil your orders.
  1. Data Retention Period

We will only retain your personal information for as long as is legally necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or to comply with statutory record-keeping obligations under South African financial and tax laws (typically 5 years for transaction history under SARS regulations).

  1. Your Legal Rights Under POPIA

In terms of Chapter 8 of POPIA, you possess the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right of Access: You may request a record of the personal information we hold about you at no charge.
  • Right to Correction: You have the right to request that we update, correct, or delete inaccurate or outdated personal data.
  • Right to Object/Withdraw Consent: You may object to the processing of your data for direct marketing at any time. Any marketing email we may send, will contain an absolute, instant “Unsubscribe” link.
  1. Contact Details of the Information Officer

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your legal rights, or need to log a data query, please contact our designated Information Officer:

  • Information Officer Name: Asha Maharaj
  • Physical Address: ‘Shrooms for Improvement, St. Helena Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

Contact Email: Email: support@shroomsforimprovement.com

  • Telephone Number: 0713739032

You also have the right to lodge a formal complaint with the South African Information Regulator if you believe your POPIA rights have been breached (complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za).