Disclaimer: Know Your Candidate (KYC) is a proprietary digital platform and product offering of VO Properties (Pty) Ltd, trading as VOB Technologies.
1. Who we are and what this policy covers
1.1 This Privacy Policy explains how VO Properties (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2021/366076/07), trading as VOB Technologies (we, us, our), processes personal information on knowyourcandidate.co.za (the Platform). We are the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Responsible party | VO Properties (Pty) Ltd, trading as VOB Technologies |
| Information Officer | Nozipho Mbatha |
| Address | Suite No 9, No 2 Residency Road, Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, 3370 |
| Telephone | +27 76 570 9550 |
| info@knowyourcandidate.co.za (subject line: “Privacy”) |
1.2 This policy applies to everyone who uses the Platform: Voters who search for candidates, submit a Canvass My Vote request or report a profile, and Candidates who claim and pay for a Verified Profile.
1.3 This policy forms part of our Terms and Conditions and is read with our Delivery and Refund Policy. Words with capital letters, such as Candidate, Canvass Lead, Election, Service Term and Verified Profile, have the meanings given in the Terms.
1.4 We process personal information only in South Africa’s 2026 Local Government Elections context described in the Terms. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for any purpose that is not set out in this policy.
2. What personal information we collect
2.1 Information about Candidates from the IEC
Every Candidate on the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) certified candidate list has a basic profile on the Platform. It shows the Candidate’s name, party, ward or council, and list position, taken from the IEC’s published list. We collect this information from a public record, as section 12(2)(a) of POPIA allows.
2.2 When a Candidate claims a profile
| Information | Why we need it |
|---|---|
| Identity number | To check, once, that you are the Candidate, against the masked identity number the IEC publishes. We do not store your identity number. It is discarded as soon as the check is done. |
| Name, email address, mobile number and password | To create and secure your account and to contact you about your Verified Profile |
| Photo, biography, manifesto, priorities, contact details and social media links | To publish on your profile. You choose what to share, and it is public. |
| Payment records (amount, date, reference, payer name, and Payfast’s confirmation) | To confirm payment, issue invoices, handle refunds and chargebacks, and keep financial records |
| Proof of your acceptance at checkout (date, time, version of the Terms and payment reference) | To record what you agreed to |
| If a party pays for you: the party’s name, contact person and payment records | To link the payment to your profile |
We never receive or store your card details. Card and instant EFT payments are processed by Payfast.
2.3 When a Voter uses Canvass My Vote
- Your first name, surname, email address and mobile number.
- Your date of birth, only to confirm you are 18 or older. We never give your date of birth to anyone.
- Your province and municipality.
- The parties and/or Candidates you ask to canvass you. Because this shows your political views, it is special personal information under section 26 of POPIA.
- The date and time you gave consent, and the consent wording you accepted.
2.4 When anyone reports a profile
The profile you report, what you say is wrong, and your name and email address if you give them so that we can follow up.
2.5 When anyone uses the Platform
- Searches. The ward, municipality, Candidate or party you search for. If you search by address, we use the address only to place you on the ward map. We do not store it or link it to you.
- Usage and device data. Pages and profiles viewed, the approximate area you are in (derived from your IP address), the date and time, your browser and device type, and how you reached the Platform.
- Cookies. See clause 8.
We use usage data to run and secure the Platform and to produce the aggregated profile engagement and party search-interest figures shown to Candidates (clause 4.3). These figures never identify you.
3. Why we use it, and on what legal basis
3.1 Section 11 of POPIA lets us process personal information only on a lawful basis. We rely on these:
| Purpose | Information used | Lawful basis (POPIA s11) |
|---|---|---|
| Showing Candidates and party lists to Voters | IEC candidate information | Legitimate interest of Voters and the public in knowing who is on the ballot; public record |
| Verifying a Candidate’s identity before payment | Identity number (not stored) | Needed to conclude the contract; legitimate interest in preventing impersonation |
| Providing the Verified Profile, Candidate CRM and Canvass Leads | Account, profile and payment information | Performance of our contract with the Candidate |
| Releasing a Voter’s details as a Canvass Lead | Canvass My Vote information | The Voter’s express consent (see clause 3.3) |
| Producing aggregated engagement and search-interest figures | Usage data, aggregated | Legitimate interest; no individual is identified |
| Handling reports, complaints and disputes | Report and correspondence details | Legitimate interest; compliance with the Consumer Protection Act |
| Keeping financial records | Payment records | Legal obligation (tax and accounting law) |
| Securing the Platform and preventing fraud | Usage and device data, account activity | Legitimate interest; obligation to secure information (s19) |
| Responding to the IEC, the Information Regulator, a court or the police | Whatever is lawfully required | Legal obligation |
3.2 We will not use your personal information for a new purpose that is not compatible with the purpose we collected it for, unless you consent or the law allows it (section 13 and 15 of POPIA).
3.3 Political views (special personal information)
3.3.1 A Canvass My Vote request shows which parties or Candidates you want to hear from, and so reveals your political persuasion. Section 26 of POPIA prohibits processing this information unless an exception applies. We process it only with your express consent (section 27(1)(a)), which you give by ticking the consent statement on the Canvass My Vote form.
3.3.2 That consent is specific: it allows us to give your name, email address and mobile number only to the Candidates you chose and, where you chose a party, to that party’s Verified Candidates for your ward and council, so that they can canvass your vote in the Election. It does not allow any other use.
3.3.3 You may withdraw your consent at any time (clause 10). Withdrawing does not affect processing that took place before you withdrew.
3.3.4 We do not record, infer or show anyone your political views from your searches or the profiles you view. Engagement and search-interest figures given to Candidates are aggregated and shown only for an area where at least 10 people have used the Platform.
3.4 Direct marketing
We do not send you marketing from us or anyone else unless you have opted in. Every marketing message we send will tell you how to opt out, as section 69 of POPIA requires. Contact from a Candidate you chose through Canvass My Vote is made on the basis of your request, not our marketing; you can stop it at any time by telling that Candidate or us.
4. Who we share personal information with
4.1 The public. Candidate profile information is published on the Platform. Anything a Candidate adds to their profile, including contact details, can be seen by anyone.
4.2 Candidates who receive Canvass Leads. We release a Voter’s name, email address and mobile number only to the Candidates that Voter chose and, where the Voter chose a party, to that party’s Verified Candidates for the Voter’s ward and council PR list. Once released, each Candidate is a separate responsible party for that information under POPIA and must use it only as clause 10 of the Terms allows. We cannot recall details already released.
4.3 Candidates who receive aggregated figures. Candidates see aggregated profile engagement and party search-interest figures in their Candidate CRM. These never identify a Voter.
4.4 Parties. A party that pays for its Candidates’ Verified Profiles receives payment records for those profiles only. It gets no access to a Candidate’s account, Candidate CRM or Canvass Leads unless the Candidate authorises it.
4.5 Our service providers (operators). We use providers to run the Platform, and they process personal information only on our instructions and under written agreements that require them to keep it confidential and secure (sections 20 and 21 of POPIA):
- Payfast, to process card and instant EFT payments;
- our website hosting and database providers;
- email and SMS delivery providers;
- mapping and address-lookup providers, to place an address on the ward map; and
- website analytics and security providers.
4.6 Professional advisers, such as our attorneys, auditors and accountants, under a duty of confidentiality.
4.7 Authorities. The IEC, the Information Regulator, the National Consumer Commission, the South African Revenue Service, the police or a court, but only where the law requires us to, or to protect someone’s safety or our legal rights.
4.8 A successor. If the Platform is sold or transferred, the buyer may receive personal information, but only to continue the same services under this policy.
4.9 Separation from our other work
VO Properties (Pty) Ltd, trading as VOB Technologies, also provides consulting and technology services to other clients, which may include political parties. Personal information collected on the Platform is kept separate from that work. It is not shared with, made available to, or used for any client of ours, including any political party, except through the Canvass Lead process in clause 4.2 to the Candidates and parties a Voter has chosen. Access to Platform data is limited to the people who run the Platform.
5. Information sent outside South Africa
5.1 Some of our service providers, including hosting, email and analytics providers, may store or process personal information outside South Africa.
5.2 We transfer personal information outside South Africa only where section 72 of POPIA allows it, for example where the recipient is bound by law, binding corporate rules or a written agreement that gives protection substantially similar to POPIA, or where the transfer is needed to perform our contract with you.
6. How long we keep it
6.1 We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose we collected it for, or as the law requires (section 14 of POPIA). Then we delete or destroy it, or de-identify it so that it can no longer identify you.
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Candidate identity number | Not kept. Discarded as soon as the verification check is done. |
| Canvass My Vote requests | Until 90 days after the IEC declares the final result of the Election, then deleted, or sooner if you withdraw your consent |
| Candidate account and Candidate CRM | For the Service Term (until 90 days after the Results Date). After that, the profile reverts to IEC information only. |
| Candidate-supplied profile content | Archived for up to 12 months after the Service Term, or longer if you sign up for a post-election service |
| Payment records, invoices and proof of acceptance at checkout | 5 years, as tax and company law requires |
| Reports and complaints | 12 months after they are resolved |
| Identifiable usage data | 90 days |
| Aggregated figures | Indefinitely, because they do not identify anyone |
6.2 We may keep information for longer if the law requires it, or if we need it to deal with a dispute, complaint, chargeback or legal claim, but only until that matter is finalised.
7. How we protect it
7.1 We take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage and unauthorised access or use (section 19 of POPIA). These include:
- encrypted (TLS) connections across the Platform;
- access to Platform data limited to the people who need it, with individual logins;
- passwords stored in hashed form, never as plain text;
- identity numbers never stored;
- card payments handled by Payfast, so that we never see card details; and
- regular review of our security measures and of our service providers’ safeguards.
7.2 Breaches. If we have reasonable grounds to believe your personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, we will notify the Information Regulator and you as soon as reasonably possible, as section 22 of POPIA requires. We will tell you what happened and what you can do to protect yourself.
7.3 No system is completely secure. Please keep your login details secret and tell us at once if you think your account has been compromised.
8. Cookies
8.1 Cookies are small files stored on your device. We use:
- essential cookies, to keep you logged in, keep checkout secure and remember your choices; and
- analytics cookies, to understand how the Platform is used.
8.2 We use analytics cookies only with your consent, given through the cookie notice on the Platform. You can change your choice at any time, or block cookies in your browser, although some features may then not work.
8.3 We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not allow third parties to track you on the Platform for advertising.
9. Children and automated decisions
9.1 Children. The account, payment and Canvass My Vote features are only for people aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through them. If we learn that a person under 18 has submitted a Canvass My Vote request, we will delete it without releasing it.
9.2 Automated decisions. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal consequences for you or affect you to a substantial degree (section 71 of POPIA). The identity check in clause 2.2 only matches your identity number against the IEC list; if it fails, you may contact us and a person will review it.
10. Your rights
10.1 Under POPIA you have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you, and for a copy of it (section 23);
- ask us to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading or unlawfully obtained (section 24);
- object to processing based on our legitimate interest (section 11(3));
- withdraw your consent at any time, including your Canvass My Vote consent; and
- complain to the Information Regulator.
10.2 How to make a request. Email info@knowyourcandidate.co.za with the subject line “Privacy request”, or write to our Information Officer at the address in clause 1.1. We may ask you to confirm your identity before we act. We will respond within 30 days.
10.3 Requests for a copy of your own information are free. Requests for other records are dealt with under the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000, as set out in our PAIA Manual.
10.4 If you withdraw your Canvass My Vote consent, we will stop releasing your details and tell the Candidates who received them that you have opted out. Each of them must then stop contacting you.
10.5 We may refuse a request where the law allows it, for example where we must keep payment records for tax purposes. We will tell you why.
10.6 The Information Regulator. If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal information or your request, you may complain to the Information Regulator:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Website | www.inforegulator.org.za |
| enquiries@inforegulator.org.za | |
| Telephone | 010 023 5200 |
| Address | Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191 |
11. Changes to this policy
11.1 We may update this policy. We will post the updated version on the Platform with its effective date. If a change materially affects how we use your personal information, we will also email Candidates with an active Verified Profile and, where we have your email address, Voters who have an active Canvass My Vote request.
11.2 We will not use personal information already collected for a new purpose without your consent.
12. Contact us
For any question about this policy or your personal information, contact our Information Officer, Nozipho Mbatha, at info@knowyourcandidate.co.za or +27 76 570 9550.
Effective date: 14 October 2026. Version 1.0.
Keep a copy of the Privacy Policy for your records.
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