Privacy Policy

Koca Bean is a South African software and digital services business. We build websites, online stores, apps and business software, and provide hosting, business email, content and digital marketing services.

This notice explains how Koca Bean handles personal information, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). For any privacy question or request, email support@kocabean.co.za.

Depending on how you use our website and services, we may collect:

• Your name, company or business name, email address and phone number.
• Your WhatsApp number and WhatsApp profile name when you message us on WhatsApp.
• What you tell us in enquiries, quote requests, support tickets, website or design change requests and callback requests, including preferred callback dates and times.
• Files you choose to upload with a request, such as images, documents or briefs.
• Account details if you sign in to the client portal, such as your email address and login records.
• Technical and security information, such as IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, and logs created when forms are submitted or misuse is checked.

Please don't send us sensitive personal information (for example health or financial account details) unless we ask for it for a specific service.

• To respond to enquiries and quote requests, and to arrange callbacks.
• To provide support and process support tickets and change requests.
• To deliver the services you contract us for, including websites, hosting and business email.
• To communicate with you about your project, account or invoices.
• To keep our website and systems secure, including preventing spam and misuse.
• To understand how our website is used so we can improve it.
• To meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations.

• Scheduled phone callbacks are available Monday to Friday, 09:00–16:00 South African time (SAST). Callback requests are requests, not confirmed bookings — our team confirms them.
• WhatsApp messaging support is available 24/7 as a messaging channel. We don't accept incoming WhatsApp voice calls.
• Today, WhatsApp and email support is handled by people. Our AI assistants, Bean and the Seeds, are not connected to our live WhatsApp or email support.

We plan to introduce AI-assisted support through Bean and the Seeds on WhatsApp and email in future. This is not live yet. Before it is switched on, we will update this notice to explain what the AI does, which providers are involved, and how your information is handled.

When AI-assisted support does launch, we intend to tell you when you are interacting with an AI assistant, and you will be able to ask for a person at any time. Our team stays responsible for decisions about your account and services.

We share personal information only with service providers that help us run our business, and only as needed for the purposes above. These may include:

• Website hosting and cloud infrastructure providers, which store our website, database and uploaded files.
• Meta Platforms (WhatsApp), when you message us on WhatsApp.
• Email and workflow tools we use to receive and route enquiries and support requests.
• Google Analytics, to measure website usage.
• Cloudflare, where used to protect forms from spam.
• Professional advisers, or authorities where the law requires it.

We expect these providers to protect your information and use it only on our instructions or as their own terms and the law allow.

Some of our providers, including hosting, WhatsApp and analytics providers, may store or process information outside South Africa. Where this happens, we rely on providers that are subject to data protection laws, binding agreements or other safeguards that offer protection similar to POPIA, as required by section 72 of POPIA.

Our website uses Google Analytics, which sets cookies to understand how visitors use the site (for example which pages are visited). If you sign in to the client portal, we store sign-in information in your browser to keep you logged in. The client service hub may remember the contact details you type during your visit, only in that browser tab, so you don't have to re-enter them.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some parts of the site, such as signing in, may not work without them.

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, for the duration of our relationship with you, or for as long as the law or our contracts require (for example tax and accounting records). When it is no longer needed, we delete it or make it anonymous.

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including restricted access to client requests and uploaded files, signed-in access to admin tools, and spam protection on forms. No system is completely secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security compromise affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

Under POPIA, you may:

• Ask whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy.
• Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or out of date.
• Ask us to delete information, where we are not legally required to keep it.
• Object to processing, including for direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent.

To make a request, email support@kocabean.co.za. We may need to confirm your identity first.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.

We may update this notice, for example when we launch new services such as AI-assisted support. The updated version and its effective date will be published on this page.