Privacy policy

This website is run by Armand Meintjes, a South African author. Under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), I am the "responsible party", and I am also my own Information Officer.

You can reach me about anything in this policy at armand@armandmeintjes.co.za.

I collect personal information only through the forms on this site, or if you email me.

• Newsletter: your email address and, if you give it, your first name. I use it to send you news about Almost, future books and my writing. You are only added if you ask to be.
• Orders: your first name, surname, email address, cell number, delivery address (for printed copies), any note you add, whether you asked for a signed copy and what you would like written in it, and any discount code you used. I use it to take payment, deliver your book, email you confirmations and keep a record of the sale.
• Your almost (reader stories): the name or nickname you choose, your story, your email address if you give it, and whether you said I may share it. I read every story. Nothing appears on the site unless you ticked permission and I approved it, and your email address is never shown.
• Emails to me: your email address and whatever you write, so I can reply.

POPIA says I need a lawful reason. For the newsletter and for reader stories, the reason is your consent, which you can take back at any time. For orders, I need your details to complete the sale you asked for, and I have to keep sales records to meet tax and accounting law.

When you order, you pay on PayFast's own secure page. Your card or bank details go to PayFast and never reach this website or me. PayFast tells this site whether your payment went through, and I keep that status, the amount and PayFast's payment reference with your order. PayFast has its own privacy policy.

I do not sell your information or give it to anyone for marketing. It is shared only where it is needed:

• PayFast, to process your payment.
• A courier or the postal service, which receives your name, address and cell number so a printed copy can be delivered.
• The company that hosts this website and handles its email. It stores the information for me and may use it only to provide that service.
• If I use an email service to send the newsletter (for example MailerLite or Mailchimp), your name and email address will be stored there too. I will update this page when that happens.

Anyone who handles your information for me is expected to keep it secure and to use it only for the job I gave them.

This website does not set cookies of its own for visitors, and it does not use analytics or advertising trackers. A few things still happen when you visit:

• Fonts: the site's fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser contacts Google, which can see your IP address and browser details.
• Song cover art: where a song on the Soundtrack page shows cover art, your browser loads that picture from Apple's servers.
• Links: links to shops, music services and social media take you to other websites. Their own privacy policies apply there.
• Spam protection: when you send a form, the site briefly remembers a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address, for up to an hour, to slow down automated abuse.
• Server logs: the company that hosts this site keeps routine logs (IP address, browser and pages requested) for security and troubleshooting.

Your information is stored in this website's database and with the services listed above. Some of them, such as Google and Apple, are outside South Africa. POPIA allows this where the information stays protected to a similar standard, and I only use services that I believe meet it.

• Newsletter details: until you ask me to remove you.
• Orders: five years, because tax law generally requires sales records to be kept that long.
• Reader stories: until you ask me to delete them. Stories I have not published are not shared with anyone.
• Emails to me: for as long as the conversation needs. After that I delete them when I no longer need them.

Almost is a young adult novel, so some of my readers are under 18. POPIA asks that a parent or guardian agrees before a child's personal information is used. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before you order, join the newsletter or send in a story.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child gave their details without your agreement, email me at armand@armandmeintjes.co.za and I will delete them.

Access to the orders, the subscriber list and reader stories is limited to the site's administrator. No system is perfectly secure, so if something goes wrong that puts your information at risk, I will tell you and the Information Regulator, as POPIA requires.

Under POPIA you can:

• ask whether I hold information about you, and ask for a copy
• ask me to correct it
• ask me to delete it
• object to how I use it, or take back a consent you gave

Email me at armand@armandmeintjes.co.za and I will reply as soon as I can. I may need to check that it is really you before I share or change anything.

If you think I have handled your information badly, you can complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za, enquiries@inforegulator.org.za, or on 010 023 5200 (toll-free 0800 017 160). I would be grateful for the chance to put things right first, but you do not have to wait.

If I change how I use your information, for example by adding an email service, I will update this page and the date at the top.