Your participation is private.
No UniteSA poll results, PDF reports or CSV exports include members' names, member numbers, email addresses, telephone numbers or South African identity numbers. Public and member-accessible results contain approved aggregate findings only. Individual written comments are never published to members or the public.
UniteSA protects personal information and respects your rights under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
For the full conditions governing use of the app, please read our Terms of Use & Privacy Notice.
Information we collect
We collect information needed to create and protect your account, manage membership and provide civic participation services. This may include your name, verified email address, membership details, organisational affiliations, participation records, optional comments and relevant account security information.
We also collect usage data to improve our services.
Depending on the service you choose, additional contact information, identity information or payment records may be processed. Where an identity-verification service is offered, separate authorisation may be required.
Where identity information is provided, we handle it through protected processes and restrict access to legitimate verification, security and duplicate-prevention purposes. Where verification services are offered, relevant details may be checked with authorised external providers. We limit retention according to the purpose and applicable law. Full identity numbers are not displayed in normal member or administrative screens. Payment alone does not establish verified identity.
How we use your information
We use information to authenticate members, operate accounts and memberships, determine consultation eligibility, maintain accurate participation records, prevent fraud, produce reliable results, provide support and meet legal obligations.
We also use necessary authentication cookies and technical security information to keep the application working securely.
Your participation is subject to the rules and permitted response periods of each consultation.
Civic responses and results
Public and member-accessible reports contain approved aggregate findings only.
Restricted Operations CSV reports may contain individual response rows and their associated optional comments, without direct member identity fields. Access is restricted to authorised Operations personnel. These detailed records and comments are never published to members or the public.
Avoid including unnecessary personal information about yourself or others in optional comments.
A final submitted response cannot be edited or replaced. Exceptional lawful invalidation is managed through a controlled, audited process while preserving the original submission history.
Information sharing
Your personal profile information is protected. Routine UniteSA Operations member lookups display limited information, such as your name, member number, authority status and applicable membership/verification status. They do not disclose your email address, telephone number, identity number or personal demographic details.
We do not sell or provide member contact lists or identity information to consultation issuers, donors, sponsors or partner organisations.
Authorised service providers process only information needed to deliver their services. Protected information may be accessed through specifically authorised technical procedures for lawful requests, security incidents or essential operations. Routine UniteSA staff do not have access to that underlying information.
When you pay for membership, our payment provider receives the information necessary to process your transaction. This includes your payment email address, amount and transaction reference. Authorised billing personnel can view relevant transaction and receipt records through the payment provider.
Paystack automatically sends the payer its payment receipt.
We apply appropriate data-protection safeguards to authorised processing and disclosures required by law.
Communications and notifications
Ordinary account notices, verification, security and recovery messages are generated through automated platform systems and authorised providers. We may also send occasional relevant, non-promotional service updates.
We do not use verified member phone numbers for unsolicited telephone calls or marketing SMS messages. This does not prevent member-initiated verification SMS or one-time passcodes where that service becomes available.
Fundraising and other direct marketing require an appropriate lawful basis, including separate consent where required.
App and device notifications, where available, require the applicable device or browser permission. You remain in control of that permission.
You may ask to stop optional non-essential updates by contacting us.
Security and retention
UniteSA uses encrypted HTTPS connections and technical and organisational security safeguards to protect member information and restrict unauthorised access.
Information is retained for lawful operational, security, accountability, audit and recordkeeping purposes. Some completed participation records must remain protected to preserve the integrity of consultation results.
No internet service can guarantee absolute security. We investigate and respond to personal-information security compromises as required by law.
Your privacy rights and contact
Subject to applicable law, you may request access to, correction of or deletion of your personal information, object to relevant processing or withdraw optional consent where appropriate.
We may need to confirm your identity before handling a sensitive request.
For privacy, membership or information-access enquiries, email: exco@unitesa.co.za.
You may also use our existing privacy contact: privacy@unitesa.co.za.
You may also lodge a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator.
Unite SA NPC
Registration No. 2019/476955/08