1. Who we are
Paws Chommie ("we", "us", "our") is a platform operated by Chommie.site that helps South African animal welfare centers manage their animals, donations, public profiles, and stray reports. This policy explains what personal information we collect through paws.chommie.site and the dashboards and public pages hosted on it, and how we handle it.
Individual welfare centers using Paws Chommie are separately responsible for how they use the information their own dashboard gives them access to — for example, contacting an adopter or a donor. This policy covers what Paws Chommie itself collects and does as the platform provider.
2. Information we collect
We collect different information depending on how you use the platform:
- Welfare centers: name, email, phone/WhatsApp number, physical address, NPO and PBO registration numbers, and PayFast merchant credentials, when you register a center and manage its dashboard.
- Donors: name, email, phone number, and donation amount, when you donate to a center through the platform.
- Adopters: name, phone/WhatsApp number, email, and any details you choose to share about your home, when you apply to adopt an animal.
- People reporting a stray animal: your name, phone/WhatsApp number (optional), and the location and description you provide.
We do not ask for or store South African ID numbers, banking details, or card numbers — payment card details are handled directly by PayFast, not by us. See Section 6.
3. How we use it
- To operate the platform — creating accounts, showing animal listings, processing adoption applications and stray reports
- To process donations and generate Section 18A tax certificates on a center's behalf
- To communicate with you about your account, an application, a donation, or a report
- To keep the platform secure and prevent abuse of public, unauthenticated forms
- To improve the platform based on how it's actually used
We do not sell personal information to third parties, and we do not use donor or adopter information for advertising.
4. Our legal basis for processing
Under POPIA, we process personal information on one or more of these grounds: your consent (for example, submitting a donation or application form), because it's necessary to provide the service you've asked for, to comply with a legal obligation (such as issuing a valid Section 18A certificate), or for our legitimate interests in operating and securing the platform.
6. Donations & payment information
When you donate to a center, your payment is processed directly by PayFast into that center's own PayFast merchant account. Paws Chommie never receives or stores your card details. We do store the donor name, email, phone number, and donation amount you provide, in order to generate your donation record and Section 18A certificate.
7. Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including scoping every center's data separately at the database level and validating donation notifications cryptographically before marking a payment complete. No online system is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.
8. How long we keep information
We keep donation records for as long as required for tax and accounting purposes (including Section 18A compliance), and other records for as long as your center account is active plus a reasonable period afterward, unless you ask us to delete specific information sooner and we're not legally required to retain it.
9. Your rights under POPIA
You have the right to ask what personal information we hold about you, to request that it be corrected or deleted, to object to how it's processed, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. You can also lodge a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator if you believe your information has been mishandled.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@paws.chommie.site.
Our Information Officer is Emmerentia Janse Van Vuuren, hello@paws.chommie.site / +27 84 878 5842.
11. Children's information
Paws Chommie is intended for use by adults managing or supporting animal welfare organisations. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children, and adoption applications should be submitted by an adult.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We'll update the "Last updated" date above when we do, and significant changes will be communicated to registered centers.
13. Contact us
Questions about this policy or your personal information can be sent to hello@paws.chommie.site or +27 84 878 5842.
Registered address: 3 Camelot Close, George South, George, Western Cape, 6529.