Privacy
Policy

01 Introduction

This Privacy Policy applies to Futech (Pty) Ltd ("Futech", "we", "us", "our"), an IT solutions company based in Mpumalanga, South Africa. This Policy covers:

• Visitors to the Futech website (futech.co.za);
• Clients, prospective clients, and suppliers who interact with Futech;
• Any person whose personal information is processed by Futech in the course of delivering its services;
• Users who connect third-party social media accounts (including TikTok) to services managed or operated by Futech.

Futech may act as either a responsible party (deciding how and why personal information is processed) or as an operator (processing personal information on behalf of a client). This Policy primarily addresses Futech's role as responsible party.

02 Information Officer

Futech has designated an Information Officer as required by POPIA. The Information Officer is responsible for overseeing Futech's compliance with POPIA and handling data subject requests and complaints.

• Information Officer: Futech Management
• Email: info@futech.co.za
• Telephone: 013 004 0019
• Address: Mpumalanga, South Africa

03 What Personal Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with Futech, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

Identity and Contact Information

• Full name, job title, and company name;
• Physical and postal address;
• Email address and telephone number;
• Identity number or company registration number (for credit applications).

Financial Information

• Banking details for payment processing or debit order mandates;
• VAT registration numbers;
• Invoice and payment history.

Technical and Usage Information

• IP address, browser type, and operating system;
• Pages visited, time spent on site, and referring URLs;
• Device identifiers where relevant to support services.

Support and Service Information

• Details of IT issues, support tickets, and service history;
• Network configuration and topology information (held in confidence);
• CCTV footage or access control logs, where Futech manages such systems on your behalf.

Social Media Account Information

• Social media account identifiers (e.g. TikTok user ID, display name, profile information) obtained via OAuth authorisation when you connect an account to a Futech-managed social media publishing service;
• Access tokens and refresh tokens necessary to interact with third-party social media APIs on your behalf;
• Content you submit for publishing or scheduling through such services.

Communications

• Content of emails, enquiry forms, and chat messages sent to Futech;
• Records of consent where required.

04 How We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information through the following means:

• Directly from you: when you complete a contact form, request a quote, sign a service agreement, or communicate with us by phone or email;
• Automatically: when you visit our website, through cookies and server logs (see Section 13);
• From third parties: from credit bureaus for credit vetting purposes, or from referral partners with your consent;
• Via OAuth authorisation: when you connect a social media account (such as TikTok) through a Futech-managed platform, the relevant social media platform transmits authorised account data to us;
• In the course of service delivery: when Futech has access to client systems, premises, or platforms to deliver managed IT, security, or connectivity services.

05 Why We Process Your Information

Futech processes personal information for the following purposes:

• Service delivery: to provide, manage, and support the IT products and services you have engaged us for;
• Quotations and sales: to prepare quotes, process orders, and manage invoicing;
• Account management: to manage your client account, credit facility, and payment history;
• Support: to respond to support requests and resolve technical issues;
• Communications: to send service notifications, updates, and invoices;
• Social media management: to publish, schedule, and manage content on social media platforms (including TikTok) on your behalf where you have connected your account and authorised us to do so;
• Marketing: to send you relevant service updates, product announcements, or promotional offers where you have consented or where we have a legitimate interest (with opt-out available at any time);
• Legal compliance: to comply with applicable South African laws, including POPIA, the ECT Act, and tax legislation;
• Security: to protect our systems, networks, and the security of information we hold;
• Website analytics: to understand how our website is used and improve the user experience.

06 Lawful Basis for Processing

Futech relies on the following conditions for the lawful processing of personal information under POPIA:

• Contractual necessity: processing is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you;
• Legal obligation: processing is required to comply with a legal obligation, such as SARS reporting or POPIA compliance;
• Legitimate interest: processing is necessary for Futech's legitimate business interests (such as fraud prevention, network security, and direct marketing to existing clients), provided such interests are not overridden by your rights;
• Consent: where you have given express consent, such as for marketing communications or the use of certain cookies.

07 Sharing With Third Parties

Futech does not sell your personal information. We share it only in the following circumstances:

• Suppliers and service providers: with upstream network operators, software publishers, hardware distributors, and logistics providers to the extent necessary to deliver the service you have engaged;
• Cloud and SaaS platforms: where your information is processed on platforms such as Microsoft 365, we act in accordance with those platforms' data processing terms;
• Payment processors: banking and payment processing partners, subject to their own privacy and security policies;
• Legal and regulatory bodies: where required by law, court order, or a regulatory authority;
• Social media platforms: where you have authorised Futech to publish or manage content on your behalf, your content and account tokens are transmitted to the relevant platform's API (e.g. TikTok, Meta/Facebook, LinkedIn). See Section 8 for full details;
• Professional advisors: auditors, attorneys, and accountants bound by professional confidentiality obligations.

All third parties with whom we share personal information are required to handle it lawfully and with appropriate security measures.

08 Social Media Integrations

Futech operates and supports social media management tools (including Postiz) that integrate with third-party social media platforms via their official developer APIs. This section explains how data is handled in the context of those integrations.

TikTok API Integration

Where Futech provides TikTok content management or scheduling services, it does so using the TikTok for Developers API. The following applies:

• Authorisation: You must explicitly authorise Futech (via TikTok's OAuth flow) to access your TikTok account. This authorisation can be revoked by you at any time through your TikTok account settings;
• Data accessed: Upon authorisation, Futech may access your TikTok display name, profile picture, unique user ID, and account statistics necessary to manage and publish content;
• Content publishing: Content you submit through Futech's platform is transmitted to TikTok's API solely for the purpose of publishing or scheduling it on your TikTok account;
• Access tokens: OAuth access tokens issued by TikTok are stored securely and used exclusively to perform actions you have authorised. Tokens are not shared with any unauthorised third party;
• Data minimisation: Futech accesses only the TikTok account permissions that are necessary to deliver the service you have requested. No additional data is accessed without your consent;
• TikTok's own data practices: TikTok independently collects and processes data in accordance with its own Privacy Policy. Futech has no control over TikTok's independent data collection activities.

Other Social Media Platforms

The same principles apply to integrations with other social media platforms (including Meta/Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube) that Futech may support. Each platform's own API terms and privacy policies apply to data processed by those platforms directly.

Revoking Access

You may revoke Futech's access to any connected social media account at any time by:

• Disconnecting the account within the Futech-managed application or Postiz dashboard;
• Revoking the app's permissions directly in your social media account's settings (e.g. TikTok → Settings → Privacy → Apps and Websites); or
• Contacting us at info@futech.co.za and requesting that stored tokens be deleted.

Revoking access will prevent Futech from publishing or managing content on that account going forward. Historical content already published is not affected.

09 Cross-Border Transfers

Some of Futech's service providers are located outside South Africa. For example, cloud platforms operated by Microsoft, Google, TikTok, or other vendors may store or process data in overseas data centres. Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, Futech will only do so where:

• The recipient country has adequate protection laws as recognised by the Information Regulator;
• The recipient is bound by binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent safeguards; or
• You have consented to the transfer.

10 Data Retention

Futech retains personal information for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and to comply with legal obligations. Our general retention guidelines are:

• Client records (contracts, invoices, service history): 5 years after the end of the client relationship, in line with South African tax and accounting obligations;
• Support tickets and correspondence: 3 years;
• Website analytics data: 24 months on a rolling basis;
• Marketing consent records: until withdrawn, plus 1 year;
• Social media OAuth tokens: retained for the duration of the active service connection and deleted promptly upon disconnection or revocation;
• CCTV footage managed on behalf of clients: as instructed by the client, and subject to POPIA and the client's own retention obligations.

When personal information is no longer required, it will be deleted, anonymised, or de-identified in a secure manner.

11 Security

As an IT security company, Futech applies appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures include:

• Encrypted storage and transmission of sensitive data, including OAuth tokens;
• Role-based access controls and principle of least privilege;
• Regular security patching and vulnerability management;
• Staff awareness and confidentiality obligations;
• Incident response procedures for data breaches.

In the event of a security compromise that is likely to result in serious harm to a data subject, Futech will notify the Information Regulator and affected data subjects as required by Section 22 of POPIA.

12 Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject, you have the following rights under POPIA:

• Right of access: to request confirmation of whether Futech holds your personal information and to obtain a copy of it;
• Right to correction: to request correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal information;
• Right to deletion: to request deletion or destruction of your personal information where it is no longer necessary, or where consent has been withdrawn;
• Right to object: to object to the processing of your personal information on grounds relating to your particular situation, or to processing for direct marketing;
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, to withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing. This includes withdrawing consent for social media account access (see Section 8);
• Right not to be subject to automated decision-making: to request human review of automated decisions that significantly affect you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer at info@futech.co.za. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request. We may require proof of identity before processing your request.

13 Cookies

The Futech website uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your browsing experience and collect analytics data.

Types of cookies we use:

• Strictly necessary cookies: essential for the website to function, such as session and security cookies. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: used to understand how visitors use our website (e.g. pages visited, time on site). These help us improve the site. We use anonymised analytics data where possible.
• Preference cookies: used to remember your settings and preferences between visits.

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling non-essential cookies will not materially affect your use of the website. You may also opt out of analytics tracking at any time by contacting us.

14 Children

Futech's services are directed at businesses and adult individuals. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a minor, please contact us immediately and we will delete such information promptly.

15 Third-Party Links

The Futech website and our Terms and Conditions contain links to third-party websites, including those of our supplier partners and social media platforms. These links are provided for convenience and reference only. Futech has no control over the content, privacy practices, or security of external websites and accepts no responsibility for them. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website you visit, including TikTok's Privacy Policy.

16 Updates to This Policy

Futech 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 effective date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify active clients by email. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

17 Contact and Complaints

For any questions, concerns, or requests related to your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:

• Company: Futech (Pty) Ltd
• Address: Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Telephone: 013 004 0019
• Email: info@futech.co.za

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to the Information Regulator of South Africa at POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za.