Privacy & POPIA
Notice.

Who I am

I’m Sean van Tonder, and I run Sean van Tonder Photography on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. This notice explains, in plain language, what personal information I collect, why, how long I keep it, who helps me handle it, and what your rights are under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

I’m also the Information Officer responsible for your information. You can reach me at sean@seanvantonder.co.za.

What the contact form collects

When you send an enquiry through this website, I receive:

• your name and email address;
• your cell number, and your WhatsApp number if it’s different;
• your preferred date and location for the shoot;
• the services you’re interested in, and your message;
• where you heard about me;
• how you’d prefer I contact you (WhatsApp, phone call or email);
• whether you’re happy to receive occasional marketing emails.

To protect the form from spam, the website briefly checks your device’s IP address to limit how many enquiries can be sent in an hour. This check is held in the website’s memory for no longer than an hour and is not stored or used for anything else.

If you book a session, I’ll also collect what’s needed to deliver it, such as billing details for your invoice. I never store card numbers or banking passwords.

Why I collect it

I use your details to reply to your enquiry, prepare a personalised quote, plan and photograph your session, deliver your images, and keep the records the law requires (such as invoices for SARS).

I only send marketing emails if you’ve ticked the box to say yes, and I contact you about your enquiry or booking the way you’ve chosen (WhatsApp, phone call or email). You can change your mind at any time by emailing me.

Mailing list. My mailing list has two groups. If you subscribe on my Resources page, I keep your name and email address so I can email you about new resources for photographers. If you tick the newsletter box when you send an enquiry, I keep your name and email address so I can occasionally email you about new work, seasonal availability and behind-the-scenes updates. Each group only receives the emails it signed up for. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying to any of my emails or emailing sean@seanvantonder.co.za, and I’ll remove you from the list.

In POPIA terms, I process your information because you’ve asked me for a quote or a service, because you’ve given consent (for marketing emails), and to meet legal record-keeping duties. I don’t sell, rent or trade your information.

How long I keep it

Enquiries that don’t become a booking. Deleted within twelve (12) months of our last contact.

Bookings, contracts and invoices. Kept for seven (7) years, as South African tax law requires.

Your photos. Your online gallery is available for two (2) weeks after delivery and can be reactivated afterwards for a fee. I keep your images for a minimum of six (6) months.

Marketing consent and mailing list. Until you tell me to stop or unsubscribe.

Website analytics. Anonymised, and kept for up to twenty-six (26) months.

Who helps me handle your information

A few trusted services help me run the website and my business. They only use your information to provide their service to me:

• Resend: Sends your enquiry to me by email, sends you a confirmation email, and lets me know when someone joins my mailing list. (Where: United States.)
• Google Workspace (Gmail): My business email. Your enquiry, and any emails we exchange, are kept in my inbox. (Where: worldwide.)
• Vercel: Hosts this website. Your enquiry passes through it on its way to me, and it keeps short-lived technical logs (such as IP addresses) to keep the site running securely. (Where: United States and worldwide.)
• Sanity: Stores the website’s text and portfolio photos, and, privately, a copy of each enquiry sent through the contact form and the name and email address of anyone who joins my mailing list. (Where: European Union and United States.)
• Studio Ninja: If you book: your quote, booking details, invoices and payments. (Where: Australia and worldwide.)
• ShootProof: If you book: your private online gallery, where I deliver your photos, along with your name and email so you can access it. (Where: United States.)
• Google Analytics: Only if you accept cookies: how visitors use the website, in anonymised form. (Where: worldwide.)
• Meta Pixel: Only if you accept cookies: measuring whether my Facebook and Instagram adverts work. (Where: worldwide.)
• WhatsApp (Meta): Only if you message me on WhatsApp, or choose WhatsApp as the way you’d like me to contact you. (Where: worldwide.)

If I work with a second photographer or assistant on your session, they only receive what they need for that session.

Information stored outside South Africa

Several of the services above store information outside South Africa. I only use reputable providers bound by laws or agreements that protect your information to a standard similar to POPIA, as Section 72 of POPIA requires.

Photos of you on my website and social media

As set out in my service agreement, I may share images from your session on my website and social media. If you’d rather I didn’t, just tell me when you book or at any time afterwards, and I’ll remove them within a reasonable time.

Cookies & analytics

Always on: one small setting saved in your browser that remembers your cookie choice, so the banner doesn’t reappear on every page. It isn’t used for tracking.

Only if you accept: Google Analytics, to understand which pages are useful (it doesn’t identify you), and the Meta Pixel, to measure my Facebook and Instagram adverts. Neither is loaded at all until you click “Accept”, and if you decline, they never load.

To change your choice, clear this website’s data in your browser and the banner will appear again on your next visit. Declining never stops you from enquiring or booking.

Keeping your information safe

This website only works over a secure (HTTPS) connection, the contact form is protected against spam and misuse, and access to my email and business systems is password-protected. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach ever affected your information, I’d tell you and the Information Regulator promptly, as POPIA requires.

Your rights

You can ask me at any time to:

• tell you what personal information I hold about you, or send you a copy;
• correct or update it;
• delete it, where I’m not legally required to keep it;
• stop using it for marketing, or withdraw any consent you’ve given.

Just email sean@seanvantonder.co.za. I may ask you to confirm who you are first, to protect your information, and I’ll respond as soon as I can.

If you’re unhappy with how I’ve handled your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za.

Children

My services are booked by adults. Where children appear in my photographs, a parent or legal guardian gives consent as part of the booking. I don’t knowingly collect children’s information for marketing.

Changes to this notice

I’ll update this notice if my services or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.