Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Money Pod (moneypod.co.za) is a South African financial calculator platform providing free informational tools for South Africans. This Privacy Policy governs the collection, use, and storage of personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), 2013 (Act 4 of 2013) and applicable international data protection standards.

By accessing or using our service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

2. Information we collect

A. Directly provided data (optional)

We do not require you to create an account or provide any personal information to use our calculators. If you choose to use the PDF export feature, you may provide:

• Email address — used exclusively to deliver your requested PDF report. See section 4 for full details.

B. Automatically collected technical data

When you visit our site, certain technical information is automatically collected by us or through third-party services (such as Google Analytics and Google AdSense):

• Device information — browser type, operating system, and referring URL
• Usage data — pages viewed, features used, and date/time of access
• IP address — processed by third-party services only; we do not store it in personally identifiable form

C. Anonymous calculator usage data

For platform improvement, we collect anonymous session data that cannot be linked back to you:

3. How we use your information

• To provide services — to operate and maintain our financial calculator tools
• For PDF delivery — if you submit an email address, we use it only to transmit the requested PDF report
• To improve the website — we analyse anonymous usage data to optimise site performance and features
• For advertising — Google AdSense may display relevant advertisements to help us maintain a free service

4. PDF export — our commitment on email data

If you request a PDF export of your calculator results, you will be asked to provide your email address. Here is exactly how it works:

1. 1. Your email is used only to generate and send the PDF report to your inbox
2. 2. Once the PDF has been successfully delivered, your email address is permanently deleted — it is not retained, linked to any profile, or stored in any long-term database
3. 3. Your email is never added to any mailing list, sold, shared with partners, or used for any marketing purpose

5. Cookies and tracking technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and measure site performance.

• Session cookies — required for the calculator to function (e.g. remembering which step you are on). These expire when you close your browser.
• Analytics cookies — anonymous aggregate usage data via Google Analytics. Never linked to a personal identity.
• Advertising cookies (Google AdSense) — Google AdSense uses third-party cookies to personalise the ads shown to you based on your browsing activity. By using this site, you consent to these cookies for advertising purposes.

You have the right to manage or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Disabling cookies may affect certain features of our website.

6. Data sharing and third parties

We do not sell your personal information. We may share data with the following parties only for service provision or legal compliance:

• Google AdSense — displays personalised advertisements. Google uses cookies and tracking pixels subject to Google's own Privacy Policy.
• Google Analytics — processes anonymised usage data to provide aggregate statistics about site performance.
• Partner referrals — when you click a partner link, you leave Money Pod. We share only standard referral tracking (that you arrived from moneypod.co.za) and never share your calculator inputs or results.
• Infrastructure providers — trusted third parties who help us operate and maintain the technical infrastructure of the website.

7. Security measures

We implement security measures including SSL/TLS encryption, firewalls, and access controls to protect your data from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. No internet transmission is completely secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

8. User accounts

When user accounts become available, the following will apply:

• We will collect only the minimum personal information required: email address and hashed password
• Saved scenarios will be stored under your account and visible only to you
• Anonymous analytics will remain fully decoupled — no linkage between your session data and your identity
• You will have the right to download all your data and to permanently delete your account and all associated data (POPIA §23)

9. Your rights under POPIA

As a South African data subject, you have the right to:

• Request access to any personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
• Request deletion of personal information (right to erasure)
• Object to the processing of your personal information
• Opt out of non-essential cookies and tracking via your browser settings or Google's ad settings
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator at inforegulator.gov.za

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on this page with a new effective date. By continuing to use the website after we publish an updated policy, you signify your acceptance of those changes.

11. Contact us

For any privacy-related query, access request, or complaint, please contact us. We will respond within 30 days in accordance with POPIA requirements.