Legal

Privacy Policy

In accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA)

Last updated: 1 March 2025

Contents

  1. 1. Who we are
  2. 2. What personal information we collect
  3. 3. Why we collect your information
  4. 4. How we use your information
  5. 5. Sharing your information
  6. 6. How long we keep your information
  7. 7. How we protect your information
  8. 8. Your rights under POPIA
  9. 9. Special personal information
  10. 10. Children
  11. 11. Cookies
  12. 12. Changes to this policy
  13. 13. Contact us

1. Who we are

Connect ("we", "us", "our") is a South African Muslim marriage platform operated by Connect. We are committed to protecting your personal information and processing it responsibly in accordance with POPIA.

Information Officer: Ismail Hendricks
Email: privacy@connect-nikah.co.za
Address: Crawford, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

2. What personal information we collect

We collect the following categories of personal information when you register and use Connect:

Identity information

Your display name, age, gender, marital status, nationality and profile photo.

Location information

Your province and city or town within South Africa.

Religious information

Your religious level, sect, prayer frequency and related lifestyle preferences. This is special personal information under POPIA — see Section 9.

Identity documents

A copy of your South African ID, Smart ID card or passport, collected only when you apply for our optional verified badge (Premium+ members only).

Communications

Messages you send and receive on Connect, structured introduction answers and meeting requests.

Account information

Your email address, subscription plan and payment history (payment card details are never stored by Connect — they are handled by PayFast).

Usage information

How you interact with the platform, including profile views, saved profiles and last active time.

3. Why we collect your information

We collect personal information only for the following lawful purposes:

  • To create and manage your account
  • To match you with compatible marriage prospects
  • To enable secure messaging between members
  • To verify your identity for the verified badge (if requested)
  • To process subscription payments via PayFast
  • To send you notifications about your account activity
  • To comply with our legal obligations
  • To improve and maintain the platform

4. How we use your information

Your information is used strictly within the Connect platform. We do not use your personal information for advertising or sell it to third parties for marketing. Your profile is only shown to other registered Connect members. Religious information is used solely to calculate match compatibility and display your profile to compatible seekers.

5. Sharing your information

We share your personal information only in the following limited circumstances:

Other Connect members

Your profile information is visible to other registered members as part of the matching service. You control what you share on your profile.

Your wali (guardian)

If you link a wali to your account, they will have read-only access to your messages and contact requests as permitted by you.

Supabase

Our database and authentication provider. Your data is stored securely on Supabase servers in the EU (Ireland). Supabase is GDPR compliant.

PayFast

Our payment processor for subscription payments. PayFast is a South African PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway. We never store your card details.

Resend

Our email delivery provider, used to send you transactional notifications. Only your email address is shared.

Legal authorities

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order or to protect the safety of our members.

6. How long we keep your information

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account:

  • Your profile and messages are deleted within 30 days
  • ID verification documents are deleted immediately
  • Payment records are retained for 5 years as required by South African tax law
  • Anonymised usage data may be retained for analytics

7. How we protect your information

We implement the following security measures to protect your personal information:

  • All data is transmitted over HTTPS with TLS encryption
  • Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text
  • Profile photos are blurred by default until you choose to reveal them
  • ID verification documents are stored in a private, access-controlled storage bucket
  • Database access is controlled via row-level security policies
  • Multi-factor authentication is available for all accounts

8. Your rights under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

Right to access

You can request a copy of all personal information we hold about you.

Right to correction

You can update your personal information at any time from your profile settings.

Right to deletion

You can delete your account and request erasure of your personal information.

Right to object

You can object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Right to complain

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

Information Regulator of South Africa
Website: inforegulator.org.za
Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

9. Special personal information

Connect collects religious information (sect, religious level, prayer practices) and identity documents, which are classified as special personal information under POPIA. We collect this information only with your explicit consent, which you provide when you register and complete your profile. This information is used solely for the purpose of matching you with compatible marriage prospects and verifying your identity. You may choose not to provide this information, though it may limit the accuracy of your matches.

10. Children

Connect is strictly for users aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that a user is under 18, their account will be immediately suspended and their personal information deleted. If you believe a minor has registered on Connect, please contact us immediately.

11. Cookies

Connect uses essential cookies only — specifically authentication session cookies required to keep you logged in. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels or third-party analytics cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings but this will prevent you from logging in to Connect.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by displaying a notice on the platform. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. Continued use of Connect after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, want to exercise your rights, or wish to make a complaint, please contact our Information Officer:

Connect
Information Officer: Ismail Hendricks
Email: privacy@connect-nikah.co.za
Address: Crawford, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

We will respond to all requests within 30 days as required by POPIA.

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