Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

SA Matric Course Finder ("the App") is a free tool that helps South African matric students discover university courses they qualify for. This policy explains how we handle your information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), 2013.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect only what is needed to match you with courses:

• Subject names and marks — to calculate your APS and check course requirements
• NBT scores (optional) — to check National Benchmark Test requirements
• Chat messages — if you use our AI assistant, your conversation is stored to provide continuity
• Province/study preferences — to filter results to your preferred area
• Email address (optional) — only if you choose to create an account to save your results

We do not collect your ID number, physical address, phone number (unless you contact us via WhatsApp), financial information, or school name.

3. Why We Collect It

Your information is used solely to:

• Calculate your APS score and match you with qualifying courses
• Provide personalised course recommendations via our AI assistant
• Save your results so you can return later (if you create an account)

We will never sell your data, share it with universities without your explicit consent, or use it for marketing purposes.

4. Users Under 18

Most of our users are matric students aged 17–18. If you are under 18, we recommend that your parent or guardian is aware that you are using this service. By using the App, you confirm that a responsible adult is aware of your use.

We apply extra care with data from younger users: we collect the minimum information needed, store it securely, and automatically delete it after our retention period.

5. How We Store Your Data

• All data is stored securely on Supabase (cloud database) with encryption at rest and in transit
• The App is served over HTTPS at all times
• Database access is restricted using Row Level Security — you can only access your own data
• API keys and secrets are stored in server-side environment variables, never exposed to browsers

6. How Long We Keep It

We retain your data for 90 days from your last save or update. After this period, your data is automatically deleted by a daily cleanup process. Each time you save your progress, the 90-day clock resets. You can also delete all your data at any time using the button in the footer of the main page.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of all data we hold about you
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Deletion — ask us to delete all your data at any time
• Object — withdraw consent for us to process your data

To exercise any of these rights, use the "Delete all my data" button in the footer of the main page, or contact us at the email below.

8. Third-Party Services

• Supabase — database hosting (data stored in cloud infrastructure)
• Vercel — web hosting (no personal data stored)
• Anthropic (Claude) — AI assistant responses (conversation data is sent to generate responses but not retained by Anthropic for training)

9. Cookies & Tracking

We use only essential cookies for authentication sessions. We do not use advertising trackers, analytics cookies, or any third-party tracking scripts.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify users via a notice on the App. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or want to exercise your data rights, contact our Information Officer: