Unipply (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights as a data subject.
By using Unipply you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you are under 18, a parent or legal guardian must review and agree to this policy on your behalf.
1. Responsible Party
The responsible party (as defined in POPIA) for personal information processed through the Unipply platform is:
- Organisation: Unipply
- Information Officer: Ntando Mthembu
- Email: privacy@unipply.co.za
- Country: Republic of South Africa
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information you provide
- Full name, email address, and password
- Date of birth, gender, and province
- Current grade and school name
- Academic marks and subject results (uploaded voluntarily)
- Teacher credentials: SACE number, qualifications, and supporting documents
- University application credentials (if you use the Application Tracker)
2.2 Information collected automatically
- IP address and device/browser information
- Pages visited, search terms used, and features accessed
- Session cookies required for authentication
3. How We Use Your Information
- Calculate your APS score and match you to eligible university programmes
- Personalise your roadmap, deadlines, and study recommendations
- Connect you with registered teachers for tutoring
- Send you transactional emails (account verification, password reset)
- Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
- Improve the platform through aggregate, anonymised analytics
We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not use it for advertising profiling.
4. Lawful Basis for Processing
We process your personal information on the following grounds under POPIA:
- Consent: You have given explicit consent during registration.
- Contract: Processing is necessary to provide the services you have requested.
- Legitimate interest: Platform security and fraud prevention.
5. Sharing Your Information
We share personal information only in these limited circumstances:
- Teachers on Unipply — only the information you choose to share in a tutoring session.
- PayFast — payment details required to process transactions (governed by PayFast's own privacy policy).
- Supabase — file storage provider for uploaded documents.
- Legal authorities — if required by South African law or court order.
6. Application Tracker & University Credentials
If you use the Application Tracker, you may provide your university portal username and password. These credentials are encrypted using AES-256-CBC before storage. They are used solely to check your application status on your behalf. You can delete your stored credentials at any time from the Application Tracker settings.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, we anonymise your personal details within 24 hours. Anonymised, aggregated data (e.g. APS score distributions) may be retained indefinitely for research purposes and cannot be linked back to you.
8. Security Measures
- Passwords hashed with bcrypt (12 rounds)
- Sensitive credentials encrypted with AES-256-CBC
- All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS
- HTTP security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options) applied to all responses
- Session tokens expire after 30 days of inactivity
9. Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject you have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — request that inaccurate information be corrected.
- Deletion — request deletion of your account and personal information via Settings → Delete Account, or by emailing privacy@unipply.co.za.
- Objection — object to processing of your information.
- Complaint — lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/.
To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at privacy@unipply.co.za. We will respond within 30 days.
10. Children's Privacy
Unipply is designed for learners aged 13 and above. Users under 18 are considered minors under POPIA, and we apply additional care to the processing of their information. Parents or guardians of learners under 13 should not allow them to register on the platform.
11. Cookies
We use session cookies for authentication (required for the platform to function) and optional analytics cookies to improve the user experience. You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings. Refusing session cookies will prevent you from signing in.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before significant changes take effect. Continued use of Unipply after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
13. Contact Us
For any privacy-related questions or requests, please contact: