Skip to content
SmartPass Research Back to website

Privacy & POPIA Policy

Last updated September 2026

SmartPass Research · South Africa

1. Introduction

SmartPass Research (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This policy explains how we collect, process, store, and safeguard your personal data in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), Republic of South Africa.

2. Responsible party

SmartPass Research acts as the Responsible Party under POPIA for personal information collected through this portal.

3. Personal information we collect

We collect personal information necessary to deliver custom academic support and process financial transactions:

  • Identity and contact data: name, surname, email address, phone or WhatsApp number.
  • Academic data: degree programme, field of study, research proposals, draft chapters, supervisor feedback, and reference materials you upload.
  • Financial data: Proof of Payment, bank account-holder names, and transaction reference numbers.
  • Technical data: IP address, browser type, portal login sessions, and usage logs.

4. Purpose and lawful basis for processing

  1. Performance of contract. Processing uploaded research files, generating custom quotations, verifying EFT payments, and releasing deliverables to your account.
  2. Legitimate interest. Communicating project progress, sending account alerts, and securing portal access.
  3. Legal obligation. Retaining invoice and tax payment records in compliance with South African financial laws.

5. Confidentiality and security of academic materials

  • Private account storage. Study drafts, supervisor notes, and research outputs are stored securely and remain private to your account.
  • Data security. We use technical and organisational measures, including secure server hosting and access controls, to prevent unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure of your research.
  • Non-disclosure. Your academic topics, proposals, data, and deliverables will never be sold, published, shared, or repurposed for other clients.

6. Sharing information with third parties

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share information only with trusted Operators who assist us in running the platform, subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations:

  • Hosting and infrastructure Operators: secure server and database providers hosting the Forge portal environment.
  • Banking institutions: verification of EFT deposits against official bank records.

7. Data retention

We retain personal information and uploaded study files only for as long as necessary to fulfil project requirements, resolve revision requests, or meet statutory accounting obligations. Users may request account deletion after all active orders are closed, subject to applicable legal and contractual retention obligations.

8. Your data-subject rights under POPIA

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

  1. Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  2. Correction: request correction or updating of inaccurate or outdated personal details.
  3. Objection and erasure: object to processing or request deletion of personal data, subject to legal or contractual retention obligations.
  4. Complain: file a complaint with the South African Information Regulator if you believe your privacy rights have been infringed.

9. Cookie policy

Our website uses essential session cookies to manage portal authentication, account state, and security. We do not use intrusive third-party tracking or advertising cookies.