Effective date: 05/11/2023
This Privacy Policy describes how My Haven App ("we", "our", or "us") collects, uses, processes, stores, protects, and shares personal information when you use our mobile safety application (the "App"). The App is designed to enhance personal safety through emergency alerts, real-time location sharing, and communication with trusted contacts and response services.
We are committed to transparency, lawful processing, and user control. We do not sell personal information, and we only collect and process data that is necessary to provide safety-related services, comply with legal obligations, and improve the reliability of the App.
This Privacy Policy is drafted in accordance with the Protection Of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa and, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).
You are advised to regularly check the My Haven App website for any amendments or updates.
www.myhavenapp.co.za
This Agreement was last revised on 06 January 2026
Enquiries: info@myhavenapp.co.za
Information Officer
In accordance with section 55 of the Protection of Personal Information Act, My Haven App has appointed an Information Officer responsible for compliance with POPIA.
Information Officer: P. Kaunda
Email: info@myhavenapp.co.za
1. DEFINITIONS
In this Agreement the following definitions apply:
- “Act” shall mean the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013.
- "Application" shall mean software designed to help a User perform specific tasks, and for purposes of this Agreement shall pertain to the Haven Application.
- "Child" shall mean a natural person under the age of 18.
-
"Competent Person" shall mean a person who is legally competent to consent to any action or
decision being taken in respect of any matter concerning a child.
Children’s Personal Information
The App is not intended for use by children without the consent of a parent, legal guardian, or competent person. Where personal or special personal information of a child is processed, such processing is carried out strictly in accordance with section 34 of POPIA and only where necessary to protect the child’s safety or vital interests.
We may request verification of parental or guardian consent where reasonably required.
- "Control Room" shall mean the Haven incident response coordinating call centre.
-
“My Haven App” shall mean My Haven App EMS Group, a company registered and operating in South Africa, in terms of the Companies Act, 71 of 2008, with registration number 2017/394951/07
A. Alternate words pertaining to Haven, in regard to this Privacy Policy, include “Our”, “We” and “Us”.
-
"Personal Information" shall mean personal information as defined in the Chapter 1 of the Act, including information relating to
A. the race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, national, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental health, well-being, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth of the person;
B. information relating to the education or the medical, financial criminal or employment history of the person;
C. any identifying number, symbol, e-mail address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier or other assignment to the person;
D. the biometric information of the person;
E. the individual opinions, views or preferences of the person;
F. correspondence sent by the person that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature or further correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence.
G. the views or opinions of another individual about the person; and
H. the name of the person if it appears with other Personal Information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person.
- “Processing” shall mean processing as defined in the Chapter 1 of the Act.
- “Record” shall mean record as defined in the Chapter 1 of the Act.
-
"Special Personal Information" shall mean personal information as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act, South Africa including information relating to:
A. the religious or philosophical beliefs, race or ethnic origin, trade union membership, political persuasion, health or sex life or biometric information of the person; or
B. the criminal behaviour of a data subject to the extent that such information relates
- to the alleged commission by the person of any offence; or
- any proceedings in respect of any offence allegedly committed by the person or the disposal of such proceedings.
-
"User/s" shall mean any individuals who make use of or access the Application.
A. Alternate words pertaining to the User, regarding a reader of this Privacy Policy, include “You” and “Your”.
2. LOCATION DATA
Location data is a core component of the App’s safety functionality. With your explicit consent, we may collect real-time GPS location data, background location data during active safety sessions, and last-known location information during emergency events. This information allows us to notify your emergency contacts, assist response services in locating you, and ensure accurate and timely emergency support.
Location data is only collected when you enable location permissions or activate specific safety features. You may pause, limit, or disable location tracking at any time through your device or app settings. Disabling location data may reduce the effectiveness of certain safety features.
3. USAGE DATA
We automatically collect limited usage and technical data when you interact with the App. This may include information about how you use the App, the date and duration of sessions, device type, operating system, app version, and diagnostic data such as crash logs.
This data is used solely to maintain, improve, and secure the App, identify technical issues, enhance performance, and ensure a reliable user experience. Usage data is not used for advertising or behavioural profiling.
4. Cross-Border Transfers
Where personal information is transferred outside South Africa, My Haven App ensures that such transfers comply with section 72 of POPIA and that the recipient is subject to laws, binding corporate rules, or contractual obligations that provide an adequate level of protection.
5. SENSATIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION
Due to the nature of a safety application, we may process sensitive personal information, including emergency incident details, distress signals, panic alerts, and audio or message recordings generated during emergencies if you have enabled such features.
Sensitive personal information is processed only when necessary to protect life, provide emergency assistance, or comply with legal obligations. This data is subject to heightened security safeguards, restricted access, and limited retention periods unless required by law (around 5 years for FIC/SARS), contract or consent, in accordance with POPIA and GDPR requirements.
Subject to consent, we collect personal information/special personal information from the following entities:
- a. Natural person over 18
- b. Natural personas under the age of 18, we collect special personal information with the consent of the parent, legal guardian or competent person
- c. Registered application users and
- d. People who send enquiries or requests to out contact email address.
Personal information that may be collected by My Haven App includes:
- a. First and last name
- b. Age
- c. Country of residence
- d. Location information
- e. Province
- f. Physical address
- g. Mobile phone number
- h. Email address
My Haven App collects and processes personal information that is provided tot them by users and or parents, guardians and/or competent person in the following instances:
- a. On registration of the application and associated services
- b. Upon use of the application
- c. Upon requesting emergency assistance; and
- d. Via correspondence via email, fax, telephone and post
6. LAW BASIS FOR PROCESSING (POPIA & GDPR)
We process personal information based on one or more lawful grounds, including your consent, the necessity to perform a contract with you, compliance with legal obligations, protection of legitimate interests related to safety and security, and the protection of your vital interests in emergency situations.
Where consent is required, you may withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal.
7. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Personal information is used exclusively to operate and provide the App’s safety services, respond to emergencies, communicate with users and designated contacts, maintain system security, improve functionality, and comply with applicable laws and regulations. We do not use personal information for unrelated commercial purposes. My Haven App collects information in order to:
- A. to identify the User to effect the Application registration process;
- B. to provide information to emergency response operators when assistance is requested;
- C. to re-confirm user information whenever the User logs onto a new device;
- D. to communicate with the User;
- E. to verify the User's identity;
- F. to process and respond to any complaint made by You;
- G. to enable ease of use of the Application;
- H. to assess the performance of the Application and emergency response service;
- I. to engage in legitimate electronic communications and transactions with You;
- J. to provide feedback on any related enquiries;
- K. to direct marketing communications are only sent where consent has been obtained or where permitted by law. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe option or contacting us directly
- L. to update our records and keep Your contact details up to date;
- M. to comply with any law, rule, regulation, lawful and binding determination, decision or direction of a regulator, or in cooperation with any governmental authority of any country.
We are also able to use the information collected, including the voice recordings, to improve our internal technical and business processes. We research users' habits, measure traffic patterns taken together, analyse trends, administer the Application, track users' actions and gather broad demographic information.
In some instances, My Haven App may also collect sensitive information about users, such as information about their racial or ethnic origin. Consent is obtained for the collection of such information.
8. DATA SHARING
We only share personal information in limited and controlled circumstances. In emergency situations, information may be shared with your designated emergency contacts, security providers, medical responders, or law enforcement authorities where necessary to protect life or prevent serious harm. We may also share data with trusted third-party service providers who assist with hosting, infrastructure, analytics, or notifications, provided that such parties are contractually bound to process data securely and only on our instructions.
Personal information may also be disclosed where required by law, court order, or regulatory authority. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information under any circumstances.
9. DATA SECURITY
We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include encryption of data in transit and at rest, secure server environments, access controls, and regular security reviews.
While we strive to protect all personal information, no system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users are encouraged to take reasonable steps to protect their accounts and devices.
10. DEVICE PERMISSIONS
The App may request access to certain device features, including location services, camera, microphone, contacts, and notifications. These permissions are requested only when necessary for safety-related functionality and are clearly explained at the time of request. You may manage or revoke permissions at any time through your device settings, though doing so may limit certain features of the App.
11. GOOGLE PLAY PROTECT AND APPLE APP STORE COMPLIANCE
The App complies with Google Play Protect policies and Apple App Store privacy requirements. This includes clear disclosure of data practices, minimal data collection, secure handling of sensitive and location data, and respect for user consent and control.
12. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLIGIES
The websites, we may use “cookies”, which are small text files that are stored on your computer or internet enabled equipment when you visit certain online pages that record your preferences. We may use cookies to track your use of our Website and its features. We may also use cookies to monitor traffic, improve the Website and make it easier and/or more relevant for your use.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but, if you prefer, you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. By not accepting cookies you may not be able to access certain information and certain features on the site may not function as intended.
This website uses the following cookies:
- DoubleClick: We may use re-marketing codes to log when users view specific pages, allowing us to provide targeted advertising in the future.
- Facebook: We use re-targeting codes to log when users view specific pages, allowing us to provide targeted advertising in the future.
- Google AdWords: Using Google AdWords code we are able to see which pages helped lead to contact form submissions. This allows us to make better use of our paid search budget.
- Google Analytics: This cookie allows us to see information on user website activities including, but not limited to page views, source and time spent on website. The information is depersonalised and is displayed as numbers, meaning it cannot be tracked back to individuals. This will help to protect your privacy. Using Google Analytics we can see what content is popular on our website, and strive to give you more of the things you enjoy reading and watching.
- Twitter: We use re-targeting codes to log when users view specific pages, allowing us to provide targeted advertising in the future.
You can opt out of off-site and third-party-informed advertising by adjusting your cookie settings. Opting out will not remove advertising from the pages you visit, but, instead, opting out will result in the ads you see not being matched to your interests. Please visit: http://www.aboutcookies.org for more information on cookies, or to find out how to disable them.
13. USER RIGHTS
In accordance with POPIA and GDPR, you have the right to access your personal information, request correction or updating of inaccurate data, object to certain types of processing, request restriction of processing, and request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal and safety-related retention requirements. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) or an applicable supervisory authority
14. DATA DELETION AND PAUSING
You may request the deletion of your personal information through the App or by contacting us directly. Certain information may be retained where required by law or where necessary for legitimate safety or operational purposes. You may also pause location tracking, disable permissions, or temporarily suspend account activity at any time.
15. DATA OWNERSHIP
You retain ownership of your personal information at all times. We act as a responsible party or data controller for the purposes of providing safety services and only process personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.
16. TRANSPERANCY AND USER CONTROL
We are committed to clear, open, and honest communication about how personal information is processed. Users are provided with meaningful control over their data and will be notified of any material changes to this Privacy Policy.
17. THIRD-PARTY LINKS
The App may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties and encourage users to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
18. NO SALE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We explicitly confirm that personal information is never sold, monetized, or shared for advertising purposes. Trust and user safety are fundamental to our operations.
Breach Notification Procedure (POPIA section 22) - Security Breach Notification:
In the event of a data breach that may compromise personal information, My Haven App will notify affected users and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA, and will take immediate steps to mitigate any potential harm.
19. INDEMNITY
You agree to indemnify and hold My Haven App, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, suppliers and members harmless from and against any claims, damages, actions and liabilities, including without limitation, loss of profits, direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, arising out of My Haven App’s reliance on Your Personal Information should Your Personal Information contain any errors, inaccuracies, or be irrelevant to the use of the Application.
20. CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal information, you may contact us at:
Email: info@myhavenapp.co.za
Organization: My Haven App
We will handle your requests or complaints confidentially.
By using the app, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this privacy policy.
Emergency Services Disclaimer
While My Haven App is designed to enhance personal safety, it does not replace official emergency services. Availability of response may depend on network connectivity, device settings, and third-party service providers.