Privacy policy

Shop Authentic Privacy Policy (POPIA Compliant)

Last Updated: 12 December 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from shopauthentic.co.za (the "Site").

  1. Compliance and Governing Law (POPIA)

This policy is governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

For the purpose of POPIA:

  • Shop Authentic is the Responsible Party (the entity that determines the purpose and means of processing personal information).
  • Our third-party service providers (like Shopify, payment gateways, and shipping companies) act as Operators.

If you have any complaints or concerns regarding our handling of your Personal Information, you have the right to contact the Information Regulator of South Africa (contact details below).

2. Personal Information We Collect

When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. As you browse the Site, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Site, and information about how you interact with the Site. We refer to this automatically-collected information as "Device Information.”

When you make a purchase or attempt to make a purchase through the Site, we collect certain information from you, including your name, billing address, shipping address, payment information (including credit card numbers), email address, and phone number. We refer to this as "Order Information.”

We collectively refer to Device Information and Order Information as "Personal Information."

3. How We Use Your Personal Information

We use the Order Information primarily to fulfill any orders placed through the Site (including processing your payment information, arranging for shipping, and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations).

We use the Device Information to help us screen for potential risk and fraud (in particular, your IP address), and more generally to improve and optimize our Site (for example, by generating analytics about how our customers browse and interact with the Site).

4. Sharing Your Personal Information (Operators)

We share your Personal Information with third parties who are our Operators to help us perform our services, as described above.

  • We use Shopify to power our online store. You can read more about how Shopify uses your Personal Information here: https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy
  • We use payment gateways (e.g., PayFast, Yoco) and courier services to process and deliver your order. These parties are bound by data processing agreements to keep your information secure.

We may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights.

5. Cross-Border Transfer of Information (POPIA Section 72)

As a Shopify-hosted store, your Personal Information is primarily processed and stored outside of the Republic of South Africa (e.g., in the US, Canada, and the EU).

We ensure that:

  • This transfer is necessary for the performance of the contract (order fulfillment) between you and Shop Authentic.
  • Your information is only transferred to Operators who are subject to a law, corporate rule, or binding agreement that provides an adequate level of protection substantially similar to the standards set out in POPIA.

6. Your Rights as a Data Subject (POPIA)

Under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your Personal Information:

  1. Right to Access: You have the right to request access to the Personal Information we hold about you.
  2. Right to Correction/Deletion: You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information or delete Personal Information that is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected.
  3. Right to Object: You have the right to object, on reasonable grounds, to the processing of your Personal Information. This includes the right to object to processing for the purposes of direct marketing (see Section 7).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided below.

7. Direct Marketing (POPIA Section 69)

We will only send you electronic direct marketing communications (via email or SMS) if:

  • You have expressly consented to receive such communications (Opt-In), or;
  • You are an existing customer who has purchased similar products or services from us, and we are marketing similar goods or services.

Every marketing communication we send will include a clear and easy mechanism to Opt-Out or unsubscribe from future communications.

8. Retention

When you place an order through the Site, we will maintain your Order Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information. We only retain information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law (e.g., tax and accounting records).

9. Contact Us

For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by email at:

Email: info@shopauthentic.co.za

Designated POPIA Contact/Information Officer: Kerry Jeromin

Information Regulator of South Africa

If you are not satisfied with our response or how we handle your information, you have the right to complain to the Information Regulator:

Website: https://www.inforegulator.org.za/ General Enquiries Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za