Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

CloudScale Consulting ("we", "us", "our") is a technology consultancy and software product business. We are the data controller for any personal information collected through this website and our products.

2. What data we collect and why

We collect only the data we genuinely need. Here is what we collect and the lawful basis for doing so:

3. Third-party services

We use the following third-party services in the delivery of our products:

• → Paddle.com: payment processing and merchant of record. Paddle collects billing information and handles tax compliance. Their privacy policy is at paddle.com/legal/privacy.
• → Anthropic / Google: AI API providers used optionally within our plugins via your own API key. When you use AI features, your content is sent to the AI provider under your account. Their privacy policies apply: anthropic.com/privacy and policies.google.com/privacy.
• → Cloudflare: our website and DNS provider. Cloudflare may process request metadata (IP addresses, request headers) for security and performance purposes. Their privacy policy is at cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.

We do not sell your personal data to any third party and we do not share it beyond what is necessary to deliver the services described above.

4. Cookies

This website does not use tracking or advertising cookies. The only cookies that may be set are strictly necessary session cookies required for the checkout process (set by Paddle). No cookie consent banner is required for our own website content.

Our Site Analytics WordPress plugin is designed so that the websites using it also require no cookie consent banner: all data is stored server-side with no client-side tracking cookies.

5. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• → Support correspondence: retained for up to 2 years after the enquiry is resolved.
• → Billing records: retained by Paddle in accordance with their legal obligations (typically 7 years for tax purposes).
• → Subscription data: retained for the duration of your subscription and for 12 months after cancellation for legal and tax compliance.

6. Your rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• → Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• → Rectification: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• → Erasure: request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal obligations to retain certain records.
• → Portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• → Objection: object to processing of your data based on our legitimate interests.
• → Restriction: request that we restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority in your country.

7. International transfers

CloudScale Consulting is based in South Africa. If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, your data may be transferred to and processed in South Africa. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with applicable data protection law.

Paddle.com processes data in accordance with GDPR-compliant standard contractual clauses where required.

8. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, or alteration. This website is served over HTTPS. Support emails are handled via secure email.

No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. While we use commercially reasonable measures, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Applicable law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

Where applicable, this policy also complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR for users in those jurisdictions.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We will notify active customers of material changes by email where required by applicable law.

Continued use of our website or products after changes are made constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

For any privacy query, data access request, or complaint, please contact us: