POPIA / Data Protection Notice
A practical notice explaining how Viranova handles personal information under South African data protection principles.
POPIA at a glance
Viranova handles personal information under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA): lawfully, fairly, transparently, for specific purposes, with reasonable safeguards, and without collecting more than the platform needs. This notice sits alongside our Privacy Policy and our PAIA Manual.
The responsible party
The responsible party is Viranova (the responsible party operating viranova.co.za).
Our Information Officer
Viranova has designated an Information Officer, as POPIA requires of every responsible party, and registers them with the Information Regulator. The Information Officer handles data-protection and access-to-information requests and can be reached at support@viranova.co.za.
When you give us information
When you submit a form, comment on an article, subscribe to The Viranova Culture Brief, send a correction, apply to work with Viranova, contact the team, or interact with protected features, you give Viranova permission to receive, store, review, respond to, and administer the information you provide.
The personal information we process may include contact details, submission details, uploaded media, source links, message content, consent records, moderation notes, email delivery records, analytics events, device or security signals, and admin workflow records.
How we use and protect it
We process this information to run editorial review, communicate with submitters, manage subscriptions, handle privacy and correction requests, moderate unsafe material, investigate abuse, secure the platform, maintain audit trails, and improve the service. We protect it through controlled admin access, role permissions, server-side storage, safe upload rules, backups, password hashing, audit logs, HTTPS, and vetted providers for hosting, email, media storage, and analytics.
Your POPIA rights
You may ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you, give you access to it, correct or delete it, object to certain processing, or withdraw consent. To make a request, email support@viranova.co.za. We may verify your identity before acting, and we keep privacy requests traceable so we can show what was requested and what we did.
If we cannot fully delete a record immediately because of editorial integrity, legal compliance, security, audit, backup, dispute, or abuse-prevention reasons, we may restrict or retain the minimum record needed for that purpose and explain why.
Complaining to the Information Regulator
If you are not satisfied, you have the right to complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa). POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za. PAIA complaints: PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za. Switchboard 010 023 5200, toll free 0800 017 160. Office: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191. Website inforegulator.org.za.
Access to information (PAIA)
For requests to access records that Viranova holds, see our PAIA Manual at viranova.co.za/paia-manual, prepared under section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act.