Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Cogniz (referred to as "Cogniz", "we", "us", or "our") is an AI automation and integration business operating in South Africa. We sell subscription-based AI automation products and provide enterprise AI consultancy services.

This Privacy Policy explains how Cogniz collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards personal information when you visit our website, purchase a subscription, or engage our services, in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECT Act).

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Identity information: first name, last name, company name
• Contact information: email address, phone number
• Billing information: billing address (payment card details are processed exclusively by PayFast — we never store card numbers)
• Account credentials: username and password for any subscription portal access
• Communications: messages, enquiries, and support requests you send us

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Usage data: pages visited, features accessed, session duration, click patterns
• Device and log data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, timestamps
• Cookies and similar technologies: see Section 9

2.3 Information from third parties

• Payment confirmation and transaction reference data from PayFast
• Publicly available business information if you engage us for enterprise services

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information only for the purposes described below:

• To provide and manage your subscription — account creation, access provisioning, billing, and renewals
• To process payments — securely via PayFast; we receive payment confirmation, not card details
• To communicate with you — service notifications, receipts, support responses, and (where you have consented) product updates
• To improve our services — analysing aggregated usage patterns to identify issues and enhance functionality
• To comply with legal obligations — tax records, fraud prevention, responding to lawful requests
• To enforce our Terms of Sale — including investigating and addressing breaches

We will not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces significant legal effects without your explicit consent.

4. Legal basis for processing

Under POPIA, we process your personal information on the following grounds:

• Contractual necessity — processing required to fulfil your subscription agreement
• Legal obligation — processing required to comply with South African law (e.g. SARS record-keeping obligations)
• Legitimate interest — security monitoring, fraud prevention, and improving our services, where these interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent — marketing communications; you may withdraw consent at any time

5. Sharing your information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share it in the following limited circumstances:

5.1 Service providers (operators)

We engage trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf under binding agreements that require them to protect your information:

• PayFast — payment processing (South Africa)
• Make.com (Celonis SE) — automation workflow platform
• Hosting / infrastructure providers — for website and application hosting
• Email delivery providers — for transactional and marketing communications

5.2 Legal requirements

We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law, court order, or a competent regulatory authority, or where necessary to protect the safety of any person or to prevent fraud.

5.3 Business transfers

If Cogniz undergoes a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify affected data subjects and honour this Privacy Policy during any transition period.

6. PayFast payments

All subscription payments are processed by PayFast (Pty) Ltd, a South African payment service provider registered with the South African Reserve Bank. When you make a payment:

• You are redirected to PayFast's secure environment to enter payment details
• Cogniz receives only a payment confirmation and transaction reference number
• Your card details are never transmitted to or stored by Cogniz
• PayFast is PCI-DSS compliant and subject to its own Privacy Policy

7. Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with applicable law:

• Active subscription records: for the duration of the subscription plus 5 years (for tax and audit purposes under South African law)
• Billing and transaction records: 5 years from the date of the transaction
• Support communications: 3 years from the date of the last interaction
• Marketing consent records: until consent is withdrawn, plus 3 years
• Website logs and analytics: 13 months on a rolling basis

When personal information is no longer required, we securely delete or irreversibly anonymise it.

8. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or disclosure. These measures include:

• HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data in transit
• Access controls and authentication for systems holding personal information
• Regular review of our security practices

No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you believe your personal information has been compromised, please contact us immediately at legal@cogniz.online.

In the event of a data breach that is likely to harm you, we will notify the Information Regulator of South Africa and affected data subjects as required by POPIA.

9. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate our website. These fall into the following categories:

• Strictly necessary: required for the website and subscription portal to function (e.g. session management, security). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics: used to understand how visitors use our site, in aggregate and anonymised form. You may opt out via your browser settings.
• Marketing: only placed with your explicit consent, to show relevant content about our services.

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or by contacting us. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

10. Your rights under POPIA

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

• Right of access: to request confirmation of whether we hold your personal information and to receive a copy
• Right to correction: to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Right to deletion: to request erasure of your personal information where it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to legal retention obligations
• Right to object: to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes at any time
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, to withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing
• Right to complain: to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at legal@cogniz.online. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

11. Cross-border transfers

Some of our service providers are located outside South Africa (for example, Make.com operates servers in the European Union). Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we ensure that:

• The receiving country provides an adequate level of protection, or
• We have entered into binding agreements (such as the Information Regulator's prescribed model clauses) with the recipient to ensure equivalent protection

By using our services, you acknowledge that your personal information may be processed in countries outside South Africa, subject to these safeguards.

12. Children

Our services are intended for business users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under 18 years of age. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a minor, we will delete it promptly. If you believe we hold personal information belonging to a minor, please contact legal@cogniz.online.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal obligations. When we make material changes, we will:

• Post the updated policy on this page with a new effective date
• Notify active subscribers by email at least 14 days before changes take effect

Continued use of our services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact & complaints

For any queries, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint directly with the Information Regulator of South Africa (see Section 10).