Privacy Notice
Your privacy, plainly.
What this site actually handles, why, and what is still being confirmed.
Who is responsible
VALHALLA WITHIN is an independently run personal initiative, not a registered company or charity. Under POPIA (section 1 definitions), the person who decides why and how personal information is processed can be a "responsible party" even without being incorporated — this is subject to legal review. No claim is made that any exemption applies. The identifying and contact details that must legally be disclosed here will be confirmed with a South African legal adviser before this notice is approved. To be confirmed: responsible party identification details required by law To be confirmed: Information Officer and privacy contact method
The short version
- You can use every public page without an account. There is no public sign-up.
- There are no public forms, comments, messages or story submissions, so we don't collect personal stories from visitors.
- Your Inner Compass and Forge choices, tasks and timers stay in your browser's temporary memory only. They are not sent to us, saved, added to web addresses or used for analytics, and they disappear when you reset or leave.
What is processed, and why
- Technical request data (all visitors). To deliver pages and keep the service secure, our hosting and database providers receive standard technical details such as IP address, browser type, pages requested and times. These may appear in provider security and access logs. To be confirmed: how long these logs are kept
- Web fonts. The site's typefaces are currently loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser contacts Google's servers, which receive your IP address and browser details. To be confirmed: whether to keep this or host fonts ourselves
- Platform analytics and cookies. We don't add advertising or analytics trackers, and never track mental-health choices. Our website platform may record basic visit statistics or errors. To be confirmed: exact provider analytics and any cookies set
- Staff accounts. Authorised editorial staff sign in with an email and password. Their email, sign-in records and role, plus which account made each edit, are stored by our sign-in and database provider. A staff sign-in session is kept in that person's browser storage. To be confirmed: how long staff records are kept after someone leaves
- Published content and images. Quotes, stories, encouragement messages and poster images published editorially are stored so they can be shown to visitors. Poster images are re-saved before upload to remove hidden photo details such as location.
The lawful basis for each kind of processing is still being reviewed. To be confirmed: processing bases
Health information
Information about someone's mental health is treated as special personal information under POPIA. This site is designed not to collect it from visitors. We do not ask for, store or score any health details through our tools.
Stories about real people
Some pieces are written by VALHALLA WITHIN itself (for example, the founding story) and are labelled as editorial. Our editorial policy requires that a story about a real person's lived experience is only published with their documented permission and appropriate review, and that the person may use a pseudonym. Consent records are kept offline, not on this site; the site only keeps a simple note that consent was confirmed.
Who else is involved
- Our website platform and its cloud database, sign-in and file storage provider (Lovable Cloud).
- Google Fonts (see above).
- Links to outside organisations, such as SADAG helplines, take you to their own sites, which have their own privacy practices.
These providers may store or process data outside South Africa. A cross-border transfer assessment is pending. To be confirmed: hosting region and full list of sub-processors
Keeping information secure
Only authorised editorial accounts can edit or publish, and this is enforced by database rules, not just hidden buttons. Draft content isn't visible to the public, and poster images are only shared through short-lived links once published. No system is perfectly secure; how we would handle and report a security incident is being finalised. To be confirmed: incident process
Your rights
Under POPIA you may ask whether we hold personal information about you, ask to see it, and ask for it to be corrected or deleted. You may also object to certain processing and complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa (inforegulator.org.za). Because visitors don't have accounts, we usually hold very little that identifies you. To be confirmed: how to make a request
Changes
This draft will be updated once the open items above are confirmed. See also our Terms of Use.
VALHALLA WITHIN is not a crisis, clinical or emergency service. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department. Find support now.