POPIA-aware notice

Data Protection

This page explains Clanopedia's current approach to data protection in practical terms, with South African POPIA principles in mind.

This policy is subject to formal legal review and may change as the service develops. It explains Clanopedia's current practices in plain language and is not legal advice.

Plain-language principles

Use personal data for clear product purposes, such as accounts, review, family-tree storage, CultureKit access, credits, referrals and safety.
Keep private account data separate from reviewed public cultural records.
Limit access to operational need.
Protect private family-tree information with account-scoped access.
Review sensitive public cultural claims before publishing where possible.
Be open when policies and processes change.

Practical user rights

Users may ask what personal data Clanopedia holds about them, ask for a copy, request correction of inaccurate personal data, request deletion where legally and practically possible, or question or object to a use of their personal data.

Some public contributions and review history may need to be retained or handled carefully for trust, safety, source tracking, disputes or legal reasons. Clanopedia will aim to respond in a practical and respectful way.

Private family tree protection

Family-tree people, relationships and private notes are intended to be private by default and account-scoped. They should not appear on public search, clan, surname or browse pages.

Sensitive identity information

You do not need an ID number to create an account, build a family tree, search public records or make basic heritage contributions.

If Clanopedia introduces a future verification feature that requires sensitive identity information, that process will be explained separately and used only for the stated verification purpose.

Clanopedia does not sell your personal family data.

Clanopedia does not share your personal family data with partners without a lawful basis, clear purpose and appropriate consent or safeguards.

Public contribution review

Contributions and corrections may be reviewed before a public page changes. Sending information does not mean it is correct or that it will be published. Clanopedia may correct, hide or remove public contributions for privacy, safety, legal, trust or cultural sensitivity reasons.

Reviewers should use submissions only for review and should avoid exposing private notes, submitted details or reviewer-only context publicly.

Contact channel

Use the support channel provided to you for data protection requests. A dedicated privacy contact channel will be added when available.

This POPIA-aware page is not a lawyer-approved policy and remains subject to formal legal review.