Website Privacy Statement

Privacy Statement

  1. Polar Bear Innovation (Pty) Ltd and its Affiliates (“Affiliate” means any subsidiary of Polar Bear Innovation (Pty) Ltd, or any division or operating branch of each subsidiary and all of its subsidiaries) (hereafter “us”, ‘we’, or ‘our’) respects your privacy and the protection of your personal information is important to us. We are dedicated to safeguarding and securing the personal information we handle, adhering to the standards set forth in the Protection of Personal Information Act (“POPI”), and maintaining compliance and uniformity in our data protection practices.
  2. This Privacy Statement outlines the procedures governing the collection, utilization, disclosure, and safeguarding of your personal data, as well as your associated rights, particularly concerning our website, www.polarbear.digital (referred to as the “website”), including any subdomains, products, and services offered therein. Additionally, it pertains to any applications, either fully or partially developed, managed, or provided by us (referred to as the “Apps”).
  3. By utilizing the websites, products, services, and/or apps, you agree to the gathering, utilization, handling, and retention of personal data as outlined in this Privacy Statement and/or as required by law.
  4. Your personal information that is collected by the websites, products, services and/or Apps may be used for the following purposes:
    1. To register you for inclusion in our websites, products, services and/or Apps; to meet your requests; to examine and/or attend to your inquiries/communications; to reach out to you for gathering or furnishing information related to transactions; to handle transactions; to authenticate the precision of our records; or to reach out to you regarding customer satisfaction surveys.
    2. Regarding the process of ordering, purchasing and/or selling, as well as the delivery of services;
    3. To get in touch with you concerning newsletters, updates on new features, exclusive deals, promotional contests, or services, as well as any other products provided by us, our affiliates, or our partners (unless you’ve opted out to receive marketing materials from us, which you can choose at any time);
    4. For record-keeping purposes;
    5. The fulfillment of any contractual or legal obligation;
    6. The pursuit of any contractual or legal right;
    7. To enhance our services and optimize your experience on our websites and/or Apps, we may, for instance, analyze technical details such as your browser version and operating system;
    8. To better understand our target market, for instance, by analyzing data obtained from cookies and code;
    9. For research and statistics to assist in our business operations;
    10. Certain personally identifiable information that individuals willingly provide may be collected for a specific, clearly defined purpose, and subsequently handled in alignment with and to advance this purpose.
  5. You agree to allow us to share your personal information with the following specified third parties, for the purposes outlined below:
    1. Any relevant third party required for outsourcing or assistance with the aforementioned tasks or objectives, or in the pursuit of fulfilling them, either wholly or partially;
    2. To our staff and/or external service partners who support us in engaging with you for ordering, purchasing, selling, and delivering services or products;
    3. We may disclose personal information to law enforcement, government officials, fraud detection agencies, or other third parties if we genuinely believe it is necessary to prevent physical harm or financial loss, report suspected illegal activity, or investigate violations of our Privacy Policy;
    4. To our contracted service providers, who aid us in our business operations. These providers are contractually obligated to handle your information exclusively in accordance with POPI regulations and for the designated purpose;
    5. To our suppliers: Should you need to communicate directly or indirectly with us regarding any warranty claims, complaints, queries, or other matters related to services that may necessitate your involvement, please do so.
  6. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of your personal information. To this end, we guarantee that all our staff, third-party service providers, departments, partners, and any other individuals or entities with access to your personal data will be obligated by confidentiality and POPI compliance agreements regarding any shared personal information.
    1. While we make every effort to safeguard your personal information, we cannot assume any responsibility for unauthorized or unlawful disclosure or processing of your personal data resulting from actions by third parties beyond our control.
    2. We do not oversee or have authority over third parties. Therefore, if you provide your personal information to a third party, we cannot be held liable for any resulting consequences. It is important to review the privacy policy of any third party before sharing your personal information with them.
  7. By consenting, you acknowledge the transfer of your personal data to countries beyond South Africa and/or your country of residence, where data protection regulations may differ, to facilitate present or prospective business endeavours or opportunities.
  8. Our websites and/or Apps are not designed to appeal to children. We refrain from intentionally seeking personal information from individuals under the legal age of majority.

  9. Collection, Use, and Retention of Personal Information

    1. We might gather your data either from you directly or from various other sources, adhering to legal guidelines. When you utilize our websites and/or applications, we might ask for specific personal details to facilitate contact or identification. This personal information encompasses, but is not confined to: complete names, age, date of birth, identification number, thorough contact information, postal and physical addresses, banking particulars, financial information, credit records, purchase history, income specifics, job position, employer details, work history, location, and device data.
  10. When you share personal information about someone else with us on the website and/or the Apps, or through any other means or platform, you affirm that you have obtained the requisite consent from those individuals, businesses, or entities to disclose such information to us.
  11. Whenever we will specify whether the release of information is obligatory or optional.
  12. Your personal information will be retained according to the terms specified in our agreement with POPI. By utilizing our websites and/or Apps or furnishing us with personal details, you agree to the retention of such data for the duration necessary for current or potential business interactions with you. After which, we will securely discard the information
  13. You have the right to:
    1. Ask us to verify if we hold any of your personal information and request a copy of it. Alternatively, you can ask us to amend, update, or delete this information. There may be a legally permissible fee associated with such requests;
    2. Object to the processing of your personal information;
    3. Object to automated decision-making and profiling;
    4. Unsubscribe from direct marketing; and
    5. Withdraw your consent to process your personal information.
  14. Your rights in this regard may be exercised by contacting our Information Officer, Dr. Eugene Visser at compliance@polarbear.digital
  15. You also possess the entitlement to file a complaint with the Regulatory Body if you suspect that we are impeding the safeguarding of your personal information. You can reach out to the Regulatory Body via telephone (at 010 023 5200), or alternatively, you can fill out an online complaint form accessible at https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/.
  16. We gather Log Data each time you access or utilize our website and/or applications. This Log Data might encompass various details, including your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, version, the specific pages of our website and/or applications you visit along with their durations, as well as the timestamp of your visit.
  17. Furthermore, we reserve the right to disclose your information to third-party service providers responsible for gathering, monitoring, and analyzing data. These service providers may undertake a range of tasks on our behalf, such as processing payments, conducting data analytics and research, delivering electronic messages, and hosting websites. Nevertheless, unless we have a lawful reason, we shall refrain from sharing your personal information with third parties, except for service providers acting on our behalf. When sharing your data with these service providers, we implement all necessary precautions to safeguard your information’s security.
  18. “Cookies” are small data files that contain minimal information, possibly including an anonymous distinctive identifier. They are generated by websites and stored on your computer’s hard drive through your browser. These files are essentially small text files transmitted from our website, product, or service to your computer’s hard drive. Our utilization of various cookies aims to facilitate personalized services and improve the overall quality of our websites, products, and services for your benefit. We employ a variety of Cookie types to achieve these objectives, including:
    1. Session Cookies: When you leave your browser or end your session on the website, product or service, these temporary cookies are removed. Session cookies are used by us to identify and track users on our websites and in certain of our products and services.
    2. Persistent Cookies: On our websites and in some of our products or services, we use persistent cookies to track and identify users. Periodically, we might also incorporate persistent cookies and related technologies into our products or services, either to provide you with specific features or to help us enhance the product or service.
    3. Web analytics cookies and similar technologies: Our websites, products, and services use several third-party web analytics cookies and similar technologies. These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and see how such visitors move around the website, product or service. This helps us make our service to you better and also helps us to contact you with details about our products and services which we feel may be of interest to you.
    4. You have the option to adjust your browser preferences to reject all cookies. However, this action may limit your ability to view, access, or utilize certain sections of our website and/or Apps. If you choose to continue using our webste and/or do not disable cookies, you are considered to have consented to the utilization of any personal data collected through those cookies.
  19. We prioritize the security of your personal information and have implemented appropriate security measures to safeguard it. Access to your personal data is restricted to authorized personnel who are committed to maintaining its confidentiality. Despite our best efforts to protect your information, it’s important to note that no electronic transmission or storage method is completely infallible. Therefore, while we take every reasonable precaution, we cannot assure absolute security. By using our websites, products, and services, and/or providing us with your information, you acknowledge and agree that we cannot be held responsible for any data breaches that may occur.
  20. We shall provide notice to you in the event of any unauthorized utilization, divulgence, or handling of your personal data of which we become cognizant of. If you become aware of such a breach of privacy, you hereby consent to undertake all requisite measures to alleviate any resultant harm.
  21. Should you possess grounds to suspect that the security of your engagement with us and/or the personal data you have furnished is compromised, kindly promptly contact us of such an issue by reaching out to us at the following address: legal@polarbear.digital.

  22. Privacy Statement Amendments

    1. We reserve the right to amend or update our Privacy Statement, and such amendments will be reflected on our website, which you may view at any time. Your continued use of the websites, products, services, and/or apps, after amendments are made to the Privacy Statement will constitute your acknowledgment of and consent to the amendments.

  23. Disclaimer

    By accessing the websites, products, services, and/or Apps, you acknowledge and accept that you do so at your own risk. You assume complete responsibility for any potential risks or losses arising from your use of the websites, products, services, and/or Apps, as well as from any reliance placed on the information provided therein.

  24. While we undertake reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the content within the websites, products, services, and/or Apps, we do not provide any guarantees or assurances regarding the quality, timeliness, operational integrity, availability, or functionality of the aforementioned platforms, nor do we guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information contained therein. Any representations or warranties made by our representatives do not bind us.
  25. We hereby disclaim any responsibility or liability for any harm, injury, damage, or loss incurred as a result of your utilization or access to the websites, products, services, and/or applications, as well as any associated content therein, unless such liabilities are mandated otherwise by applicable law.
  26. The opinions or assertions presented or communicated on the websites, products, services, and/or Apps do not inherently reflect our perspectives, nor those of our directors, employees, and/or agents.
  27. In conjunction with the disclaimers stipulated elsewhere across our websites, products, services, and/or applications, or within this Privacy statement, we make no warranty that the information or files available are free of viruses, spyware, malware, trojans, destructive materials, or any other data or code that could potentially corrupt, obliterate, compromise, disrupt, disable, harm, jeopardize, or otherwise hinder the operation, stability, security, functionality, or content of your computer system, computer network, hardware, or software in any manner.
  28. If you have any queries or concerns about our Privacy Statement, kindly contact us at legal@polarbear.digital.