Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes how Dralvon Health (Pty) Ltd, trading as Dralvon and registered under Company Registration No. 2019/456123/07, collects, uses, stores and discloses personal information in connection with dralvon.info. It is written for readers based in South Africa and is intended to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). This policy applies to visitors browsing the site, to readers who contact us, and to anyone whose information reaches us through the contact form referenced on the contact page. A copy of this policy in an alternative accessible format can be requested at [email protected].
1. Scope of this policy
This policy covers the personal information Dralvon Health (Pty) Ltd processes as the responsible party in relation to dralvon.info, including information collected automatically when a page loads and information a reader chooses to submit. It does not cover the practices of external websites we link to, nor services operated by third parties under their own privacy notices, even where we reference those services on our contact page. It also does not extend to information exchanged with our editorial team through channels outside this website, such as postal correspondence sent directly to our Durban address, which is handled under the same principles but is not automatically logged in our website systems.
2. Personal information we collect
When a reader contacts us, we may receive a name, an email address, a telephone number where voluntarily provided, and the content of the message itself. When a reader simply browses the site, our hosting and analytics systems automatically record technical information such as an IP address, browser type, device category, the pages viewed, the date and time of the visit, and the page that referred the visitor to our site. We do not knowingly collect financial account details, government identity numbers, or health information through this website, and we ask readers not to include such information in messages sent to us.
3. Purpose of processing
We use the information described above to respond to enquiries, to maintain the security and technical stability of dralvon.info, to understand in general terms which pages are read and for how long, to keep an internal record of correspondence for quality and consistency purposes, and to meet record-keeping obligations that may apply to a South African company. We do not use personal information collected through this website to build individual behavioural profiles for advertising targeting, and we do not sell personal information to third parties.
4. Legal basis for processing
Where a reader submits information voluntarily, such as through the contact form, our basis for processing is the consent given at the point of submission. Where information is processed to keep the website secure and technically functional, our basis is our legitimate interest in operating a reliable platform, weighed against the reader's own interests and reasonable expectations. Where a specific request requires us to retain a record for a defined period, for example to document a correction made to published content, our basis is compliance with a legal obligation or the exercise of a legitimate business record-keeping interest recognised under POPIA.
5. Retention periods
General correspondence, including questions about published nutrient content, is retained for 24 months from the date the matter is closed, after which the record is deleted from active systems. Security and access logs generated by normal website traffic are retained for a maximum of 12 months and are then purged automatically. Records connected to a consent decision, such as an acceptance of optional cookies, are retained for 36 months or until consent is withdrawn, whichever occurs first. Correspondence that results in a factual correction to a published page is retained for 5 years to document the change, consistent with our general approach to editorial record-keeping described in our Disclaimer.
6. Your rights under POPIA
A reader whose information we hold may request confirmation that we process their information, may request a description of that information and its source, may request correction of information that is inaccurate or incomplete, may request deletion of information no longer required for the purpose it was collected, and may object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interest. Requests should be sent in writing to [email protected] with enough detail for us to locate the relevant record. We aim to acknowledge a request within 5 business days and to provide a substantive response within 30 calendar days, and we may request limited identity confirmation before releasing information, consistent with POPIA's security safeguards.
7. Third-party processors we use
We engage a limited number of service providers to help operate dralvon.info, each acting as an operator on our behalf within the meaning of POPIA. These include a website hosting and content-delivery provider that stores the site's files and serves pages to visitors, a transactional email provider that delivers messages sent from and to [email protected], and a website analytics provider that supplies aggregated visit statistics without identifying individual readers by name. Each provider is engaged under written terms that restrict their use of information to the service they perform for Dralvon Health (Pty) Ltd, and none is authorised to use reader information for their own independent purposes.
8. Cookies and similar technologies
This website uses a small number of cookies, described in full in our separate Cookie Policy. In summary, a session cookie named dralvon_session supports basic page navigation and expires when the browser is closed. A preference cookie named dralvon_consent records a reader's cookie choice for up to 12 months. Where a reader accepts optional analytics, a cookie named dralvon_analytics_id is set for up to 13 months to support aggregated visit statistics. No cookie used on this site links directly to a reader's name or contact details without their separate, voluntary submission of that information through the contact form.
9. International transfers of personal information
Some of the processors listed in section 7 operate infrastructure located outside South Africa, including within the European Union. Where personal information is transferred to, or accessed from, a location outside South Africa, we rely on contractual safeguards with the relevant processor, such as data processing agreements incorporating standard contractual protections, and we assess whether the destination country has a data protection framework that offers a level of protection substantially similar to POPIA before relying on that transfer mechanism. Readers may request further detail about a specific transfer by writing to [email protected].
10. Security measures
We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures appropriate to the nature of the information we hold, including transport encryption between a reader's browser and our servers, access controls limiting which staff can view correspondence records, and regular review of the small number of third-party processors described above. No website can be made completely free of risk, and we encourage readers not to send sensitive personal information, such as identity numbers or financial account details, through the contact form, since email is not always a fully secure channel.
11. Children's information
This website is directed at adult readers in South Africa and is not designed to collect personal information from children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from a person we understand to be under the age of 18 without the involvement of a parent or guardian, and any such information identified in our systems will be deleted once we become aware of it. A parent or guardian who believes a child has submitted information through the contact form is welcome to contact [email protected] so that the record can be located and removed.
12. Complaints procedure
A reader who is not satisfied with how we have handled their information is welcome to raise the matter with us first, in writing, at [email protected], so that we can investigate and respond. We aim to acknowledge a complaint within 5 business days and to provide a substantive response within 30 calendar days. If a reader remains dissatisfied after receiving our response, they may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa, the independent body responsible for overseeing compliance with POPIA, at their published contact channels.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our processing activities, in the service providers we use, or in applicable law. Where a change is significant, we will update the effective date shown in the revision history below and, where appropriate, highlight the change on this page. We encourage readers who have an ongoing interest in how their information is handled to review this page periodically.
14. Revision history
2 September 2026: this policy was substantially expanded to add named retention periods, a dedicated international transfer section, named cookies with lifespans, and a clearer description of third-party processors. 18 April 2026: the section on children's information was added following a general review of the site's audience and content. 4 November 2025: the original privacy notice was first published alongside the launch of dralvon.info. Readers relying on an earlier printed or saved copy of this page should compare it against the version published at this address, since only the current version reflects our present practices.