How I handle your information.

I collect very little, and nothing without you knowing.

This page explains what personal information this website handles, why, and what you can do about it. It is written to follow South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

This is a personal website, and I’m the person responsible for it.

I’m Amukelani Shiringani, a product designer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Under POPIA I am the “responsible party” for any personal information handled through this site.

You can reach me about anything on this page at amushiringani@gmail.com.

It depends on what you do here.

When you only browse

I don’t run analytics or advertising, and the site sets no tracking cookies. Your browser keeps one short-lived note while a tab is open so that page changes can fade smoothly. It holds nothing about you and is gone when you close the tab.

Like every website, this one is delivered by other companies’ servers, and they see the technical details your browser sends, such as your IP address. They are listed under “Who else is involved” below.

When you email me

I receive your email address, your name if you give it, and whatever you write. I use it to reply and to carry on the conversation.

When you use the project request page

The estimate is worked out inside your browser. To send me a request, email me; that is the only way it reaches me.

When you give me a testimonial

• Your first name and surname
• Your email address, so I can confirm it is you and so you can ask me to change or remove it
• Your company or institution, and your role
• How we worked together, if you tell me
• The testimonial itself
• A link to your LinkedIn profile and a photo, only if you choose to give them
• A record of what you agreed to, and when

What I do with a testimonial, and what I don’t.

I ask people I have worked with for a few words about what that was like. I only publish them with clear permission, given through the testimonial form.

What is shown

• Your words, with your name, your role and your company or institution
• Your photo, only if you said yes to that
• A link to your LinkedIn profile, only if you gave one

What is never shown

• Your email address
• Anything you tell me that you ask me to keep private

Where it can appear

On this website. If you also tick the second box on the form, I may quote it in other places where I present my work: my CV, my LinkedIn profile, proposals and talks. If you leave that box empty, it stays on this website only.

Changes to your words

I may shorten a testimonial or fix a typo. I will not change what you meant, and I will email you the version I plan to publish before it goes up.

Changing your mind

You can ask me to edit or remove your testimonial at any time, for any reason, by emailing amushiringani@gmail.com. I will take it off this website promptly, and within 14 days at the latest. Where I have quoted it elsewhere, I will remove it from everything I control. I can’t recall copies that other people have already saved or shared, such as a PDF of my CV that has been sent.

You are never obliged to give a testimonial, and saying no or withdrawing later has no consequence for you.

The reason, and the legal ground, for each use.

• Testimonials: to show people considering working with me what others have said. I rely on your consent, which you can withdraw.
• Emails and enquiries: to reply to you and, if we work together, to do that work. I rely on your request and on our agreement.
• Records of consent: to be able to show that permission was given, which the law expects of me.

I don’t sell personal information, I don’t use it for advertising, and I don’t make automated decisions about anyone.

A few companies help deliver this site and my email.

• Vercel hosts this website and keeps standard server logs.
• Google Fonts, Fontshare and cdnjs (Cloudflare) deliver the typefaces and animation code. Your browser fetches these from them directly.
• Google (Gmail) provides my email inbox, where enquiries and testimonial forms arrive.
• FormSubmit carries the testimonial form from this site to my inbox. It passes the message on; I don’t use it for anything else, and nothing from the form is stored on this website.
• LinkedIn, only if you allowed me to quote your testimonial there.

These companies store information on servers outside South Africa, mainly in the United States and Europe. By sending me information you understand that it will be held there. I only use well-established providers that commit to protecting the information they hold.

No longer than there is a reason to.

• A published testimonial: for as long as it is published. When it is removed, I delete your photo and details and keep only a short note that permission was given and later withdrawn.
• Email conversations: for as long as they are useful to the conversation or the work, and for as long afterwards as tax or contract law requires for client work.
• Server logs: kept by the hosting company for its own short retention period.

Under POPIA you can ask me for any of these, free of charge.

• To know what personal information I hold about you, and to get a copy
• To have it corrected if it is wrong or out of date
• To have it deleted
• To object to how I am using it
• To withdraw any permission you gave me

Email amushiringani@gmail.com and I will respond within a reasonable time, and no later than 30 days.

If you are not happy with how I have handled something, you can complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa. Its contact details are at inforegulator.org.za. I would appreciate the chance to put it right first.

Reasonable care, honestly described.

The site is served over an encrypted connection. Testimonials and emails are kept in my own email account, and I don’t share access to it. No system is perfectly secure, so if something ever goes wrong with information about you, I will tell you and the Information Regulator, as the law requires.

If this page changes, the date at the top changes with it.

If a change affects something you have already agreed to, such as where a testimonial may appear, I will ask you again instead of assuming.

Questions about any of this: amushiringani@gmail.com.