Privacy Policy

What this policy covers

This explains what personal information we collect when you order a book, why we collect it, and how we look after it. We handle your information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

Who is responsible

The responsible party is Kneo Mokgopa, who runs Retold Studio. Kneo Mokgopa is also the information officer. For any question about your information, or to make a request under POPIA, email kneo.mokgopa@gmail.com or WhatsApp +27 76 420 1910.

What we collect

We collect the name of the person the book is for and your name as the gifter, your email address, your WhatsApp number, your delivery address if you choose courier, the photos you upload, and the stories and details you write for each page.

Giving us this information is voluntary, but we cannot make the book without it. Until you send your order, your draft and its photos are saved only on your own device.

Why we collect it

We use this information to make your book, to contact you about your order, and to deliver it to you. We do not use it for anything else without asking you.

How we store it

Once you submit your order, your information and photos are stored with our cloud database provider on servers in the European Union. Connections to this site are encrypted, links to your photos are private and time-limited, and access is limited to us. We do not sell your information to anyone.

This site does not use advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not send marketing.

Who we share it with

We share only what is needed to fulfil your order, with providers who process it on our instructions: the cloud service that stores your order and photos, the image service that generates a watercolour from each photo (Nano Banana, Gemini's image generation tool), an image service that prepares the illustrations for print, the service that sends order emails, the company that hosts this site, our printing partner, and the courier if you choose delivery.

Some of these providers process information outside South Africa, in the European Union and the United States. We send each one only what its part of the job needs, and we do not share your information for marketing.

Your photos

We use your photos only to create your book. By uploading them you confirm that you have the consent of the people shown, or of a parent or guardian where the person is a child. We keep the originals so we can reprint if you need another copy. If you would like us to delete them, tell us and we will.

How long we keep it

We keep your order details and photos for as long as you may want a reprint and for as long as the law requires us to keep business records. When we no longer need them, we delete them. You can ask us to delete your information at any time, and we will do so unless we are required to keep certain records.

Your choices

You can ask to see the information we hold about you, to correct it, to object to how we use it, or to delete it. Email us and we will help.

If you are not happy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.

If something goes wrong

If your personal information is ever accessed unlawfully, we will tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires, and explain what happened and what we are doing about it.

Contact

For any privacy question, email kneo.mokgopa@gmail.com or WhatsApp +27 76 420 1910.