Link-up is built and operated in South Africa, and we take our obligations under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") seriously. This page explains how we apply each of POPIA's eight processing conditions and how you can exercise your rights as a data subject.
Our role
Link-up South Africa is the responsible party for the personal information we collect through the app. We have appointed an Information Officer who is registered with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
The eight conditions for lawful processing
1. Accountability
Our Information Officer ensures we comply with POPIA. Internal policies, staff training, and supplier agreements support this commitment.
2. Processing limitation
We only collect personal information that is necessary to deliver and improve the Service, and we obtain your consent or rely on another lawful ground before processing it. You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions.
3. Purpose specification
Personal information is collected for specific, explicitly defined purposes — primarily to operate Link-up, match you with other users, verify identities, and keep the platform safe. These purposes are described in our Privacy Policy.
4. Further processing limitation
We do not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the original purpose for which it was collected, unless you consent or the further processing is permitted by law.
5. Information quality
We take reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we hold is complete, accurate, and up to date. You can update most of your personal information directly in the app.
6. Openness
We tell you what information we collect, why we collect it, and who we share it with through this page, our Privacy Policy, and just-in-time prompts in the app. We have registered our processing activities with the Information Regulator as required.
7. Security safeguards
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unauthorised access, and unlawful processing. These include:
- Encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest for sensitive data;
- Strict access controls and audit logging for staff who access user data;
- Vendor due-diligence and written contracts with any operators who process data on our behalf;
- A documented incident-response process and breach-notification procedure.
If a security compromise involving your personal information occurs, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as soon as reasonably possible, in line with section 22 of POPIA.
8. Data subject participation
You have the right, free of charge in most cases, to:
- Confirm whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy;
- Request that inaccurate, irrelevant, or excessive information be corrected or deleted;
- Object, on reasonable grounds, to the processing of your personal information;
- Withdraw any consent you have previously given;
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe we have not handled your personal information lawfully.
Cross-border transfers
Some of our service providers process personal information outside South Africa. Where this happens, we comply with section 72 of POPIA by relying on:
- Recipients in jurisdictions with comparable data-protection laws; or
- Binding contractual safeguards equivalent to POPIA's protections.
Direct marketing
We will only send you direct marketing communications if you have opted in or are an existing customer for similar products. Every marketing communication includes an unsubscribe link.
Exercising your rights
To make a request, send an email to privacy@linkup.co.za with the subject line "POPIA request" and a description of what you would like us to do. We will respond within the time frames required by POPIA. You may also use the official Information Regulator forms (Forms 1, 2, and 3 under PAIA, and Form 1 under POPIA) where applicable.
Information Officer
Information Officer
Link-up South Africa
Email: privacy@linkup.co.za
Information Regulator (South Africa)
JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
Website: inforegulator.org.za