Privacy Policy

At Ratings for Schools, your privacy matters. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our platform.

You agree to the terms outlined in this policy by accessing or using our website.

2. Who We Are

Ratings for Schools is a school listing and discovery platform that helps parents find schools in South Africa based on their unique needs. We also enable schools to market their offerings to prospective parents and students.

For the purposes of this policy, “we,” “our,” or “us” refers to Ratings for Schools.

3. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Basic Information: Name, surname, email address, and contact number.
• Account Details: Username, password, profile information.
• Transactional Data: Purchase history related to paid listings.
• Technical Data: IP address, browser type, device information, cookies, and usage data.
• Content Submissions: Comments, reviews, or messages submitted through the platform.
• Media Uploads: Images or files shared as part of a listing or review.

We do not collect sensitive personal information such as national ID numbers, birthdays, or banking credentials.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data to:

• Allow you to create and manage accounts
• Help you bookmark, save, and review schools
• Enable schools to manage their listings
• Process listing-related payments via PayFast
• Respond to your inquiries or feedback
• Prevent fraud and ensure security
• Analyse usage to improve site performance and user experience
• Send you updates, if you’ve opted in

5. Legal Basis for Processing (Under POPIA)

We process your data based on one or more of the following legal grounds:

• Your consent (e.g. when submitting a form or signing up)
• Performance of a contract (e.g. subscription payments for school listings)
• Legal obligations (e.g. keeping financial records)
• Legitimate interests (e.g. improving services or preventing fraud)

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.

6. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with:

• Third-party service providers (e.g. PayFast, email tools, spam detection)
• Law enforcement or regulators when legally required

These third parties are required to safeguard your information and only use it for the intended purpose.

7. Payment Processing

We use PayFast, a secure third-party payment gateway, for all listing payments.

Ratings for Schools does not access or store your credit card details or sensitive financial information. All financial data is handled directly by PayFast in accordance with their security protocols.

8. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Remember your login details
• Enable smooth navigation
• Monitor site traffic via Google Analytics

You can control cookie settings through your browser. Disabling cookies may affect site functionality.

9. Analytics & Advertising

We use:

• Google Analytics to understand user behaviour, most visited pages, and time on site

These tools collect anonymised or pseudonymised data and may place cookies on your device.

10. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a South African resident, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or outdated information
• Object to the processing of your personal data
• Request deletion of your personal data
• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent to process data
• Submit a complaint to the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, please get in touch with us at here.

11. Data Retention

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary:

• Account information is retained until you delete your account
• Comments and metadata are retained indefinitely for moderation and user continuity
• Payment-related information such as invoices is retained as required for financial records

You may request account deletion or data removal at any time.

12. Security of Your Data

We use industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information, including:

• SSL encryption
• Secure servers
• Regular backups
• Role-based access control

However, no method of transmission is 100% secure. We encourage you to use strong passwords and stay vigilant.

13. Children’s Privacy

While Ratings for Schools is intended for parents and schools, we acknowledge that children may view content.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If we become aware that we have collected such data, we will delete it immediately.

14. Data Breach Response

In the event of a data breach:

• We will notify affected users and the relevant authority (e.g. the Information Regulator) within a reasonable time
• We will investigate the incident and take steps to mitigate further risk

15. International Transfers

If we store or process data outside South Africa (e.g. cloud-based services), we will ensure the country has equivalent data protection standards, or we will use lawful mechanisms such as data transfer agreements.

16. Contact Information

For any privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights, contact us here.

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll revise the “Last Updated” date and notify users where appropriate.

We encourage you to review this page regularly to stay informed about how we protect your information.