POPIA: Protection of Personal Information Act (South Africa)
What POPIA covers, and what it means for your website analytics
Official name: Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Its main provisions have applied since 1 July 2020, with enforcement from 1 July 2021, and govern how personal data of people in South Africa is processed.
See all privacy lawsAt a glance
South Africa's data protection law
POPIA sets eight conditions for lawful processing, from accountability to security safeguards. Unusually, it protects companies and other organizations as well as individuals.
Who it covers
Organizations based in South Africa, or using means there to process personal data
What it means for websites
You need a lawful reason, and email marketing to non-customers needs opt-in consent
Who enforces it
The Information Regulator
Maximum fines
Fines of up to R10 million, and up to 10 years in prison for the worst offenses
Further reading
Everything you need on this law
POPIA
The official text of South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
Read the official textSouth Africa’s Information Regulator
The authority that enforces POPIA, with guidance notes and codes of conduct for businesses.
Visit the regulatorPOPIA and its regulations
The regulations and official notices that sit alongside POPIA, from the Information Regulator.
See the regulationsMore privacy laws
Guides to 14 more laws, from the GDPR to the CCPA, and what each one asks of your website.
See all privacy lawsPrivacy by default
Less data, the same insights
TWIPLA’s default Maximum Privacy Mode keeps what you collect to a minimum, wherever your visitors are:
- Visitors are counted with a one-way hash, the only identifier stored
- Reports show trends across your audience, never one person’s page history
- All data is hosted in Germany, under a Data Processing Agreement that lists every subprocessor
- An optional opt-out link lets visitors switch off TWIPLA tracking entirely
Every privacy law sets its own rules. Custom Country Data lets you choose the privacy mode for visitors from each country, so you can match it to the law that applies there.
Proof, not promises
How TWIPLA respects your South African visitors’ privacy
Privacy modes and country settings
How to choose one of four privacy modes, and set a different one for visitors by country.
Read the guideVisitor opt-out
Where any visitor can switch off TWIPLA tracking for themselves, at any time.
See the opt-outWhat to put in your privacy policy
Ready-to-use wording for describing TWIPLA in your privacy policy.
Get the wordingOur Data Processing Agreement
The processing agreement every TWIPLA customer signs, with all subprocessors listed.
Read the agreementWhy we host in Germany
Why all TWIPLA data is stored in Hetzner data centers in Germany.
Read the articleLegal disclaimer
Helpful guidance, not legal advice
This page explains the law in general terms. Laws change, and how they apply depends on your business, your visitors and how you configure TWIPLA.
Unless another mode is named, statements about compliance refer to Maximum Privacy Mode, our default setting. For advice on your situation, please consult a qualified legal professional.
Questions about how TWIPLA fits this law? Email our team at consentless@twipla.com.
