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Privacy Policy

The Book Connection

www.thebookconnection.co.za

Last Updated: October 2025

1. Introduction

The Book Connection (Pty) Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or purchase products from us.

This policy complies with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002, and where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for international customers.

2. Information Responsibility

Responsible Party:

The Book Connection (Pty) Ltd

Email: privacy@thebookconnection.co.za

Website: www.thebookconnection.co.za

Information Officer:

As required by POPIA, our Information Officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with data protection laws. Contact details are provided in Section 15 of this policy.

3. What Information We Collect

3.1 Personal Information You Provide

When you use our website or make a purchase, we may collect the following personal information:

Account Information:

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Password (encrypted)
  • Date of birth (optional)

Billing and Delivery Information:

  • Postal address
  • Delivery address
  • Telephone number
  • Mobile number

Payment Information:

  • Payment method details (processed securely by third-party payment processors)
  • Billing address
  • Transaction history

Communication Information:

  • Email correspondence
  • Customer service inquiries
  • Product reviews and ratings
  • Newsletter subscriptions

Optional Information:

  • Educational preferences
  • Reading interests
  • Children's grade levels (for homeschooling curriculum)

3.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect:

Technical Information:

  • IP address
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system
  • Device information
  • Time zone setting

Usage Information:

  • Pages visited
  • Time spent on pages
  • Products viewed
  • Search queries
  • Click patterns
  • Referring website
  • Date and time of visits

Location Information:

  • Approximate geographic location based on IP address

3.3 Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience. See Section 8 for detailed information about cookies.

4. How We Use Your Information

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

4.1 Contract Performance

To fulfill our contractual obligations when you purchase from us:

  • Process and fulfill your orders
  • Arrange delivery of products
  • Process payments and refunds
  • Communicate about your orders
  • Provide customer support

4.2 Legitimate Interests

For our legitimate business interests:

  • Improve our website and services
  • Personalize your shopping experience
  • Analyze website usage and customer behavior
  • Prevent fraud and enhance security
  • Maintain business records
  • Conduct market research

4.3 Legal Obligations

To comply with legal requirements:

  • Maintain accounting records
  • Comply with tax obligations
  • Respond to legal requests
  • Enforce our terms and conditions

4.4 Consent

Where you have given explicit consent:

  • Send marketing communications and newsletters
  • Display personalized advertisements
  • Share information with third parties for marketing purposes

5. Legal Basis for Processing (POPIA Compliance)

Under POPIA, we process your personal information based on:

  • Consent: You have given clear consent for specific processing activities
  • Contract: Processing is necessary to fulfill our contract with you
  • Legal Obligation: Processing is required by South African law
  • Legitimate Interests: Processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided it doesn't override your rights

You have the right to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing.

6. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with the following categories of recipients:

6.1 Service Providers

We share information with trusted service providers who assist us in operating our business:

  • Payment Processors: To process secure payments
  • Courier Services: To deliver your orders
  • IT Service Providers: For website hosting and maintenance
  • Email Service Providers: To send transactional and marketing emails
  • Analytics Providers: To analyze website usage

All service providers are contractually bound to protect your information and use it only for specified purposes.

6.2 Business Transfers

If The Book Connection is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred. We will notify you before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to:

  • Comply with legal obligations or court orders
  • Protect our rights, property, or safety
  • Prevent fraud or illegal activities
  • Respond to government requests

6.4 With Your Consent

We may share information with other parties when you have given explicit consent.

7. International Data Transfers

Your personal information is primarily stored and processed in South Africa. If we transfer information outside of South Africa, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

  • Standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities
  • Adequacy decisions for countries with equivalent data protection laws
  • Your explicit consent where required

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

8.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us provide you with a better experience and allow certain features to function.

8.2 Types of Cookies We Use

Essential Cookies:

  • Required for the website to function properly
  • Enable shopping cart functionality
  • Maintain your session during checkout
  • Remember your preferences

Analytics Cookies:

  • Help us understand how visitors use our website
  • Provide aggregated statistics on page visits and user behavior
  • We use Google Analytics (anonymized where possible)

Marketing Cookies:

  • Track your browsing across websites
  • Enable personalized advertising
  • Measure advertising effectiveness
  • We may use cookies from Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, and similar services

Preference Cookies:

  • Remember your settings and preferences
  • Store language preferences
  • Maintain your login status

8.3 Third-Party Cookies

Third-party services we use may set their own cookies:

  • Google Analytics: For website analytics
  • Google Ads: For advertising and remarketing
  • Facebook Pixel: For social media advertising
  • Payment Processors: For secure payment processing

8.4 Managing Cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

To opt out of specific tracking:

8.5 Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers have "Do Not Track" features. We currently do not respond to these signals as there is no industry standard for compliance.

9. Marketing Communications

9.1 Newsletter Subscriptions

With your consent, we may send:

  • Promotional emails about new products and special offers
  • Educational content related to books and homeschooling
  • Updates about our services
  • Personalized product recommendations

9.2 Opting Out

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by:

Please note: You cannot opt out of transactional emails related to your orders.

10. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

Security Measures Include:

  • SSL/TLS encryption for data transmission
  • Secure payment processing through PCI-DSS compliant providers
  • Regular security assessments and updates
  • Access controls and authentication requirements
  • Employee training on data protection
  • Regular backups and disaster recovery procedures

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Retention Periods:

  • Account Information: Until you request deletion or close your account
  • Order Information: 7 years (for accounting and tax purposes)
  • Marketing Data: Until you withdraw consent or 2 years of inactivity
  • Website Analytics: 26 months (Google Analytics default)
  • Customer Service Records: 3 years from last interaction

After the retention period, we securely delete or anonymize your information.

12. Your Rights Under POPIA

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the following rights:

12.1 Right to Access

You have the right to request confirmation of whether we hold your personal information and to access that information.

12.2 Right to Correction

You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

12.3 Right to Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances, such as:

  • The information is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected
  • You withdraw consent (where consent was the basis for processing)
  • You object to processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds
  • The information was processed unlawfully

12.4 Right to Object

You have the right to object to:

  • Processing based on legitimate interests
  • Direct marketing at any time
  • Automated decision-making, including profiling

12.5 Right to Restriction

You have the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.

12.6 Right to Data Portability

You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used format and to transmit it to another controller.

12.7 Right to Withdraw Consent

Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time.

12.8 Right to Lodge a Complaint

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been violated.

Information Regulator South Africa:

Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg

13. Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of your rights, please contact us:

Email: privacy@thebookconnection.co.za

Subject Line: "POPIA Data Subject Request"

Please include:

  • Your full name and contact information
  • Description of your request
  • Proof of identity (for security purposes)

We will respond to your request within 30 days. If we need additional time, we will inform you and explain the reason for the delay.

14. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13. While we sell children's books and educational materials, purchases must be made by adults.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us immediately and we will delete the information.

For homeschooling-related information (such as grade levels), we collect this from parents/guardians, not directly from children.

15. Contact Information

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices:

The Book Connection (Pty) Ltd

Attention: Information Officer

Email: privacy@thebookconnection.co.za

Alternative Email: info@thebookconnection.co.za

Website: www.thebookconnection.co.za

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors.

When we make material changes:

  • We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
  • We will notify you by email (if you have an account with us)
  • We will display a prominent notice on our website
  • For significant changes, we may request your renewed consent

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

17. Additional Information for International Customers

17.1 GDPR Compliance (European Customers)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), additional rights apply under GDPR, including enhanced rights to data portability and the right to be forgotten. The legal bases and rights outlined in this policy are consistent with GDPR requirements.

17.2 California Residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect and the right to opt-out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

18. Consent and Acknowledgment

By using our website, creating an account, or making a purchase, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described herein.

If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not use our website or services.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on October 13, 2025 and is effective immediately.