Privacy Policy

OptiRate (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information when you use our website, applications, and related services (the “Services”), in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable laws in the Republic of South Africa.

This is a general-purpose policy. For specific contractual or regulatory obligations, your agreement with us may contain additional terms.

1. Who we are

The responsible party (operator) for processing personal information in connection with the Services is OptiRate. For privacy-related requests, please use the contact details provided in section 10 below.

2. What information we collect

Depending on how you use the Services, we may collect:

• Identity and contact data: name, email address, phone number, company name, job title.
• Account data: login credentials, preferences, and settings.
• Business and utility data: information you or your organisation upload or connect for analysis (for example utility bills, consumption data, site or account identifiers).
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, approximate location (derived from IP), and cookies or similar technologies.
• Communications: messages you send us (support tickets, emails, demo requests).

3. How we use your information

We process personal information for purposes that may include:

• Providing, operating, and improving the Services;
• Authenticating users and securing our systems;
• Communicating with you about the Services, support, and (where permitted) marketing;
• Analytics and product improvement (including aggregated or de-identified statistics);
• Complying with legal obligations and responding to lawful requests;
• Protecting our rights, users, and the public.

We will not use your personal information for a new purpose that is incompatible with these purposes without informing you where required by law.

4. Legal basis (POPIA)

Where POPIA applies, we process personal information on grounds such as: your consent (where we ask for it); performance of a contract; compliance with a legal obligation; protection of a legitimate interest (balanced against your rights); or other grounds permitted by law. Where processing is voluntary, you may withdraw consent where withdrawal does not affect lawful processing before withdrawal.

5. Sharing and international transfers

We may share personal information with trusted service providers (e.g. hosting, email, analytics, payment processors) who process data on our instructions and under appropriate safeguards. We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect our legitimate interests, subject to applicable law.

If personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we take steps to ensure an adequate level of protection as required by POPIA (for example contractual clauses or adequacy assessments, where applicable).

6. Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes above, including legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Retention periods may vary by data type and context.

7. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Your rights

Under POPIA, you may have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you;
• Request correction or deletion where appropriate;
• Object to certain processing, or restrict processing in defined circumstances;
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) if you believe your rights have been infringed.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the details in section 10. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We may use cookies, pixels, and similar tools for essential functionality, analytics, and (where applicable) marketing. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Some features may not work if you disable certain cookies.

10. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, please contact us through the channels provided on our website (for example the contact or support details on our home page), or your usual OptiRate account representative if you are an existing customer.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the Services after changes may constitute notice of the updated policy where permitted by law.