This Privacy & Cookies Policy explains how Accutrak (Pty) Ltd (“Accutrak”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a company incorporated in South Africa, collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information. Accutrak supplies industrial Internet-of-Things (IoT) fleet telematics, vehicle and site monitoring, and operational reporting to the mining sector. This policy also covers the operational notifications our application sends to authorised users over the WhatsApp Business Platform, and is published in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).
01 Who we are
Accutrak (Pty) Ltd is a company incorporated in South Africa that delivers industrial Internet-of-Things (IoT) telematics and monitoring solutions to the mining sector, including fleet tracking, vehicle and site monitoring, and operational reporting. Our products include applications such as Trucktrak, Minegaze, Smartrail, Roadgaze and Accuchip.
For the purposes of POPIA, Accutrak (Pty) Ltd is the responsible party that determines the purpose and means of processing personal information described in this policy. You can direct any privacy query, request or complaint to our Information Officer using the contact details in the Contact & complaints section below.
02 Scope of this policy
This policy applies to personal information we process when you:
- visit or interact with our website at accutrak.co.za;
- are an authorised user of our products and platforms deployed at a customer mine site;
- receive operational notifications from us, including messages delivered through WhatsApp;
- contact us for support, sales or other enquiries; or
- are an employee, contractor or representative of one of our customers or suppliers.
Where we process personal information on behalf of a customer (for example, a mining company operating our software at its site) under a contract, we act as an operator on that customer’s behalf, and the customer’s own privacy notice governs that processing.
03 Personal information we collect
We only collect personal information that is adequate, relevant and necessary for the purposes set out in this policy. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Identity & contact | Name, job title, employer, work email address, work mobile/telephone number. |
| Account & access | Username, role, authentication and access logs for our platforms. |
| Messaging data | WhatsApp phone number, message content of operational notifications, delivery and read status, opt-in and opt-out records. |
| Operational data | Device, vehicle and equipment identifiers and telemetry associated with your role at a site (this generally relates to assets rather than to you personally). |
| Technical data | IP address, browser type, device information, and cookie identifiers when you use our websites. |
| Correspondence | Records of your enquiries, support requests and our responses. |
We do not seek to collect special personal information (as defined in POPIA) through our products or notification services, and you should not send such information to us through these channels.
04 WhatsApp notifications
Accutrak uses the WhatsApp Business Platform, provided by Meta Platforms, Inc. and its affiliates (“Meta”), to deliver operational notifications to authorised users - for example, alerts relating to vehicle events, site activity, equipment status and production reporting from our monitoring systems.
What this means for your data
To send these notifications, we process your WhatsApp phone number and the content of the messages we send to you, together with delivery and read receipts returned by WhatsApp. Your phone number is provided to us by your employer or by you, for the purpose of receiving these notifications.
Messages are transmitted through Meta’s WhatsApp Business infrastructure. Meta processes this information as a separate controller/processor in accordance with its own terms and privacy policy. We do not use WhatsApp data for advertising, and we do not sell it.
You can opt out of WhatsApp notifications at any time by replying STOP to a notification, by adjusting your preferences in the relevant Accutrak product, or by contacting us using the details below. Opting out of notifications does not affect your access to the underlying Accutrak platform.
05 Why we process your information
We process personal information for the following purposes:
- to provide, operate, maintain and support our products and platforms;
- to deliver operational notifications and alerts, including via WhatsApp;
- to authenticate users and manage access and security of our systems;
- to respond to your enquiries, support requests and complaints;
- to improve, test and develop our products and services;
- to manage our relationship with customers, suppliers and partners; and
- to comply with our legal, regulatory and contractual obligations.
06 Lawful basis for processing
Under POPIA, we process your personal information only where one or more of the following applies:
- processing is necessary to conclude or perform under a contract with you or your employer;
- processing is necessary to pursue our legitimate interests or those of a third party (such as keeping mine-site operations safe and informed), balanced against your rights;
- you, or a person legally authorised to do so, have consented - for example, by opting in to receive WhatsApp notifications;
- processing is required to comply with an obligation imposed on us by law; or
- processing protects a legitimate interest of yours.
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
08 Cross-border transfers
Accutrak is based in South Africa and operates internationally. Your personal information may therefore be transferred to, stored in, or accessed from countries other than your own, including where our service providers (such as Meta) operate.
Where we transfer personal information outside South Africa, we do so only where the conditions of section 72 of POPIA are met - for example, where the recipient is subject to a law or agreement that provides an adequate level of protection, where the transfer is necessary to perform a contract, or where you have consented.
09 How we keep it secure
We maintain appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration and disclosure, having regard to generally accepted information security practices. These measures include:
- access controls, authentication and role-based permissions for our systems;
- encryption of data in transit and, where appropriate, at rest;
- network segmentation and protection of on-premise and cloud environments;
- logging and monitoring of system access and usage; and
- secure deletion or destruction of records when they are no longer required.
If we become aware of a security compromise affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA.
10 How long we keep it
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, contractual, accounting or reporting requirements. When information is no longer required, we securely delete or de-identify it.
Records relating to WhatsApp notifications (such as opt-in/opt-out status and delivery logs) are kept for as long as you remain an active recipient and for a reasonable period afterwards to demonstrate compliance.
11 Deleting your data
You can ask us to delete the personal information we hold about you at any time. This includes the WhatsApp phone number and notification records we process to send you operational messages.
- Stop notifications: reply STOP to any WhatsApp notification, or adjust your preferences in the relevant Accutrak product, to stop receiving messages.
- Request deletion: email us at info@accutrak.co.za with the subject line “Data deletion request”, or contact our Information Officer using the details in the Contact & complaints section below.
We will action verified deletion requests without undue delay, and ordinarily within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we may retain a limited amount of information where the law requires us to do so (for example, to comply with legal, accounting or regulatory obligations). Where we process personal information as an operator on behalf of a customer, we will refer your request to that customer, who is the responsible party for that data.
12 Your rights
Subject to POPIA and applicable law, you have the right to:
- request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you, and access to that information;
- request that we correct or delete personal information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or unlawfully obtained;
- object, on reasonable grounds, to the processing of your personal information;
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
- not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing; and
- lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (see below).
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. Our Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) manual sets out the process for access requests and is available on request.
14 Children’s information
Our products, websites and notification services are intended for use by businesses and their authorised personnel. They are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information relating to children. If you believe a child’s information has been provided to us, please contact us so that we can address it.
15 Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology or legal obligations. The policy published on this page applies to your interactions with us. Material changes will be communicated through our usual channels where appropriate.
16 Contact & complaints
If you have questions about this policy, wish to exercise your rights, or want to make a complaint about how we handle your personal information, please contact our Information Officer:
Accutrak (Pty) Ltd
4 Verdi St, Hartbeespoort, 0216,
South Africa
The Information Regulator (South Africa)
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa), whose current contact details are published at inforegulator.org.za.