Your Data Matters

Privacy Policy

At OVCC, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and applicable South African data protection laws.

Transparent • Secure • POPIA-Compliant

Last updated: June 2026

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

All Users

Identity information: full name and email address.
Contact details: phone number and location (country and city).
Account credentials: encrypted passwords and authentication tokens managed via Firebase Authentication.
Device and usage data: IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, session duration, and activity logs.
Communication data: messages submitted through contact forms, newsletter subscriptions, and bug reports.
Cookies and tracking data: session cookies, preference cookies, and analytics identifiers (see Section 7).

Learners

Educational records: enrolled courses, lesson progress, assessment results, and completion history.
Session data: scheduled and completed tutoring sessions, attendance, and session feedback.
Parent or guardian contact details where the learner is a minor.

Tutors (during onboarding and ongoing use)

Professional information: qualifications, years of teaching experience, subjects taught, grade levels, and teaching methodology.
Identity documents: government-issued ID (e.g., South African ID or passport) uploaded for verification purposes.
Academic records and certificates: qualification documents and certificates submitted as part of the application review.
Portfolio or CV: uploaded documents demonstrating professional background and experience.
Professional references: names and contact numbers of up to three references provided voluntarily.
Date of birth: collected to verify that tutors meet the minimum age requirement of 18 years.
Profile biography: a short professional summary written by the tutor for their public tutor profile.

2. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account and verify your identity.
To provide, personalise, and improve educational services and the tutoring platform.
To process tutor applications, verify qualifications, and facilitate onboarding.
To schedule, host, and record tutoring sessions where consented.
To send transactional communications such as booking confirmations, account updates, and support responses via ZeptoMail.
To send newsletters and platform updates to subscribers who have opted in.
To analyse platform usage and improve features, security, and performance.
To comply with legal obligations under POPIA and other applicable South African law.
To investigate and resolve disputes, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect the rights of users.

3. How We Store Your Information

Your personal data is stored on the following infrastructure:

Firebase (Google Cloud): We use Firebase Authentication for secure sign-in and Firestore for storing account, session, and educational data. Firebase infrastructure is hosted in Google data centres that comply with international security standards.
File uploads (ID documents, certificates, portfolios): Uploaded documents are stored securely in Firebase Cloud Storage and are accessible only to authorised OVCC staff involved in the review process.
Email communications: Transactional emails are delivered via ZeptoMail (Zoho). Email content submitted through our contact and newsletter forms is processed through this service.
Data is not stored outside of these approved systems unless required by law.

4. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share information only in the following circumstances:

With your explicit consent.
With tutors or learners as needed to facilitate a booked session (e.g., sharing a learner's first name and subject with an assigned tutor).
With trusted service providers acting as operators on our behalf (e.g., Firebase/Google, ZeptoMail/Zoho) who are bound by confidentiality obligations.
To comply with legal obligations, court orders, or lawful requests from South African regulatory authorities.
To protect the safety, rights, or property of OVCC, our users, or the public where disclosure is necessary and lawful.

5. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Some of our service providers (including Google/Firebase and Zoho/ZeptoMail) process data in data centres outside South Africa. Where such transfers occur, we ensure that adequate safeguards are in place consistent with the requirements of POPIA Section 72, including contractual protections and compliance with internationally recognised data protection standards.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, disclosure, or destruction, including:

Encryption of data in transit using TLS/HTTPS.
Firebase security rules restricting database and storage access to authenticated and authorised users only.
Cryptographic session token management for authenticated user sessions.
Role-based access controls limiting staff access to personal data to those with a legitimate need.
Regular review of security configurations and access permissions.

While we take all reasonable precautions, no system is completely secure. You should also take steps to protect your account credentials and notify us promptly of any suspected unauthorised access.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

In accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Right to correction: request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected.
Right to deletion: request that your personal information be deleted, subject to legal retention obligations.
Right to object: object to the processing of your personal information for specific purposes.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
Right to lodge a complaint: if you believe your rights have been violated, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforeg.org.za.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at info@ovccapp.com.

8. Cookies & Tracking

We use the following types of cookies on the OVCC platform:

Essential cookies: required for authentication and core platform functionality. These cannot be disabled.
Preference cookies: store your settings and preferences to improve your experience.
Analytics cookies: help us understand how visitors interact with the platform so we can improve it. No personally identifiable information is shared with analytics providers.

You can manage or disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings. For more detail, see our Cookie Policy.

9. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Tutor application documents (ID, certificates, portfolios) are retained for the duration of the tutor's active engagement with OVCC and for a reasonable period thereafter for audit and compliance purposes. You may request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us; requests are subject to any overriding legal retention obligations.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will notify registered users by email and update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Our Information Officer

For any questions, data access requests, or privacy concerns, please contact our Information Officer:

Email: info@ovccapp.com

Phone: +27 73 199 1032

Organisation: Online Varsity College Connect (OVCC), South Africa

Have Questions About Your Privacy?

We're here to help. Reach out to our Information Officer for any privacy-related inquiries, data access requests, or concerns about how your information is used.