Privacy Policy
We take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights in relation to it, in plain language.
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.
CloudScale Consulting
Company Registration: 2022/874901/07
VAT Number: 4480310319
Data controller contact: [email protected]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:
Data: Your name and email address when you contact us via email.
Purpose: To respond to your enquiry and provide support.
Legal basis: Legitimate interest / contractual necessity.
Data: Email address and billing information collected by PayPal at checkout.
Purpose: To process your subscription payment, issue receipts, and manage renewals.
Legal basis: Contract performance.
Note: Payment card details are entered directly into the PCI-DSS compliant checkout operated by PayPal (our payment provider) and are used only to process your payment. In line with PCI DSS, your full card number is not stored by CloudScale Consulting or PayPal. PayPal's privacy policy applies to data handled at checkout: paypal.com/privacy/merchant.
Data: This website does not use third party analytics, tracking pixels, or cookies beyond those strictly necessary for operation. No Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or similar services are installed on cloudscale.consulting.
Legal basis: N/A, we do not track visitors on this website.
Data: Data processed by our plugins (SEO metadata, security logs, analytics, backups) is stored entirely within your own WordPress database on your own server.
Note: We do not receive, access, or store any data from your WordPress installation. Your data does not leave your server unless you explicitly configure cloud backup destinations (S3, Google Drive, etc.) within the plugin settings.
3. Third party services
We use the following third party services in the delivery of our products:
- PayPal: payment processing. PayPal collects billing information and securely processes your card details at checkout without storing the raw card number. Their privacy policy is at paypal.com/privacy/merchant.
- 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 PayPal). 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 us and our payment provider PayPal in accordance with applicable 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.
PayPal 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:
CloudScale Consulting
Company Registration: 2022/874901/07
VAT Number: 4480310319
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://cloudscale.consulting
Anything here that is unclear, or that you want in writing differently, ask.
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