Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

OurNews Online (PTY) LTD is a South African company operating a digital platform for funeral support services. Our products include OurMultimedia (photography, videography, live streaming), Imiphanga (funeral notice broadcasts), Obituary Creator, GeoFindMe, eObituary, and OurVoices. We are the Responsible Party as defined under POPIA.

2. Information We Collect

We collect only what is necessary to deliver our services. Below is a breakdown by product:

3. How We Use Your Information

• To authenticate you and maintain your account
• To deliver the specific service you requested (booking, obituary storage, notice submission)
• To respond to contact form enquiries
• To generate a shareable location link (GeoFindMe)
• To send you a waitlist notification (OurVoices, with your consent)
• To improve our platform and fix technical issues
• For marketing purposes where you have given written consent — you may opt out at any time

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate the platform. Each has its own privacy policy:

• Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Storage, Hosting): Stores your account data, content, and uploaded files. Hosted in Google data centres.
• Google Cloud Run: Runs the server-side application logic.
• Google Gemini AI: Used by Obituary Creator to assist with writing. Obituary text may be sent to Google's AI service for generation.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We may share your information with trusted service providers (listed in Section 4) solely to operate the platform, and only to the extent necessary. We may disclose information if required to do so by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of OurNews, our users, or the public.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as long as needed to provide you with our services. You may delete your account and associated data at any time by contacting us at info@ournews.co.za. Booking and transaction records may be retained for legal and accounting purposes as required under South African law.

7. Your Rights under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Be notified when your personal information is collected
• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal obligations)
• Object to the processing of your personal information
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@ournews.co.za.

8. Cookies & Local Storage

We use session cookies for authentication (to keep you signed in) and browser local storage / session storage for short-term state (such as saving your GPS fix temporarily during the sign-in flow in GeoFindMe). We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. You can clear cookies and local storage at any time via your browser settings, which will sign you out of the platform.

9. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, theft, and unauthorised access. All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Firebase Security Rules restrict database access to authenticated users for their own data. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure — while we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed at children under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of the platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.