Privacy Policy
Last updated: March 2026
1. Introduction
Studify Tutors ("Studify", "we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of our clients, their children, and all visitors to our website. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to your information.
This policy applies to all personal information collected through our website, booking forms, free trial forms, email communications, WhatsApp interactions, and any other channels through which you provide information to us.
We comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa. By using our website and services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this policy.
2. Information We Collect
We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you use our website, book a session, request a free trial lesson, or communicate with us. This includes:
2.1 Parent / Guardian Information
Full name, email address, phone number (WhatsApp number), and any additional information you share in booking form notes or in communication with us.
2.2 Student Information
Student's first name, grade, curriculum (IEB, CAPS, or Cambridge), subject(s), and any additional context about learning needs, goals, or challenges provided by the parent or guardian.
We do not collect sensitive personal information about students beyond what is necessary to match them with an appropriate tutor and deliver the tutoring service. We do not collect identity numbers, medical information, or financial details of students.
2.3 Payment Information
Payments are processed through Yoco, a PCI-compliant third-party payment gateway. We do not collect, store, or have access to your credit card number, debit card number, or bank account details. Yoco processes your payment information directly and provides us only with a transaction reference, payment status, and the amount paid. For more information about how Yoco handles your payment data, please refer to Yoco's Privacy Policy.
2.4 Automatically Collected Information
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical information including your IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit. This information is collected through standard web server logs and is used to improve the performance and security of our website.
2.5 Session Recordings
Tutoring sessions conducted via Google Meet may be recorded for the purpose of allowing students to review lesson content. These recordings are stored in Google's infrastructure and are accessible only to the student, parent, and assigned tutor. We do not use session recordings for marketing, training, or any purpose other than the student's educational benefit, unless we obtain explicit consent.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:
Service delivery: To match your child with an appropriate tutor, schedule sessions, send booking confirmations, calendar invites, and session reminders.
Payment processing: To process your payment through Yoco, generate receipts, and maintain accurate financial records.
Communication: To contact you regarding your booking, tutor assignments, session updates, scheduling changes, and to respond to any enquiries you make.
Service improvement: To understand how our website is used and to improve our services, including the tutor matching process and overall customer experience.
Promotional offers: To send you information about workshops, exam preparation courses, and promotional offers related to Studify services. You may opt out of promotional communications at any time.
Legal compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.
We will not use your personal information for any purpose that is incompatible with the purposes listed above without first obtaining your consent.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (POPIA)
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), we process your personal information based on the following lawful grounds:
Consent: Where you have provided explicit consent, such as when you submit a booking form or free trial request.
Contract: Where processing is necessary to fulfil our contractual obligations to you, such as delivering tutoring services you have paid for.
Legitimate interest: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights. This includes improving our services and communicating with you about your account.
Legal obligation: Where processing is required to comply with a legal obligation.
5. Information About Children
Our services are designed for school-aged children from Grade 1 to Grade 12. We collect limited personal information about students (first name, grade, curriculum, and subjects) solely for the purpose of providing the tutoring service. This information is provided to us by the parent or guardian, not directly by the child.
We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under the age of 18 without the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian. All communication about a student's account, progress, and scheduling is conducted with the parent or guardian.
If you believe that personal information about a child has been submitted to us without appropriate parental consent, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete that information.
6. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
Assigned tutors: We share the student's first name, grade, curriculum, subject(s), and scheduling preferences with the assigned tutor so they can prepare for and deliver the tutoring sessions. We do not share the parent's financial information or full contact details with tutors beyond what is necessary for session coordination.
Payment processor (Yoco): Your payment is processed by Yoco. We share the transaction amount and a booking reference with Yoco. Yoco processes your card details directly and does not share them with us.
Email service provider (Resend): We use Resend to send transactional emails (booking confirmations, reminders). Your email address and name are shared with Resend solely for the purpose of delivering these emails.
Database hosting (Supabase): Your booking and account data is stored in a database hosted by Supabase. Supabase provides secure cloud database infrastructure and does not access or use your data for its own purposes.
Google (Calendar and Meet): Session scheduling information is shared with Google Calendar to create calendar events and send invites. Session recordings are stored within Google Meet's infrastructure.
Legal requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or government regulation, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
7. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These measures include:
All data transmitted between your browser and our website is encrypted using HTTPS (SSL/TLS).
Payment information is handled entirely by Yoco, which is PCI DSS compliant.
Our database is hosted on Supabase with row-level security policies and encrypted connections.
Access to personal information within our team is restricted to those who need it to deliver the service.
Admin access to the booking system is protected by authentication.
While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to protecting your information to the best of our ability.
8. Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Specifically:
Active client data: We retain your booking and account information for as long as you are an active client and for 12 months after your last booking.
Free trial requests: Data from free trial requests is retained for 6 months after the request, or until conversion to a paid booking.
Payment records: Transaction records are retained for 5 years as required by South African financial record-keeping regulations.
Session recordings: Session recordings are retained for the duration of the active booking period. Once a student's booking ends, recordings may be deleted after 3 months unless the parent requests earlier deletion.
Communication records: WhatsApp and email communication records are retained for 12 months after your last interaction.
When personal information is no longer needed, we will securely delete or anonymise it.
9. Your Rights Under POPIA
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
Right of access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy of that information.
Right to correction: You may request that we correct or update any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
Right to deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records.
Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw consent: Where you have given consent for us to process your information, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before the withdrawal.
Right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your personal information has been mishandled.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 12 below. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
10. Cookies and Tracking
Our website does not currently use cookies for tracking or advertising purposes. We do not use third-party analytics services such as Google Analytics. If we introduce cookies or tracking technologies in the future, we will update this policy and provide you with the option to manage your preferences.
Third-party services embedded on our website (such as the Yoco payment widget and Google Fonts) may use their own cookies in accordance with their respective privacy policies.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or applicable laws. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
If we make changes that significantly affect how we use your personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you by email or through a notice on our website.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your rights under POPIA, or have concerns about how your personal information is being handled, please contact us:
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:
Information Regulator (South Africa)
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
Website: inforegulator.org.za