Smart Protea App and OAMI and Protea Metering Websites Privacy Policy

1.         Introduction

You have reached us by visiting www.proteametering.co.za, www.oami.co.za or installing any the Smart Protea app, or by using any of our other online or offline services (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy and the use of the Smart Protea app, www.proteametering.co.za client website or www.oami.co.za website is only intended for clients of Protea Metering (Pty) Ltd. Please contact Protea Metering if you are interested in making use of their services.

Protea Metering is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy policy explains our collection, use, disclosure, retention, and protection of your personal information, as well as your rights to your data under South African and International Law, including but not limited to EU Directive 2002/58/EC and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003 (“CAN-SPAM”), and the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to any third-party websites, services or applications, even if they are accessible through our Services. We may refer to Protea Metering (Pty) Ltd herein as “we” or “us”. Also, please note that, unless we define a term in this Privacy Policy, all capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms of Service. Please make sure that you have read and understand our Terms of Service. Where we are required to identify a data controller pursuant to regulation, Protea Metering is the designated controller of the data collected. The Smart Protea app, www.proteametering.co.za and www.oami.co.za websites are developed and maintained by Power Systems Projects (Pty) Ltd. No data is collected by Power Systems Projects.

 

This Privacy Policy describes:

·       the information we collect, how we collect such information and the purposes of our collection;

·       how we use and with whom we share such information;

·       how you can access and update your information; and

·       how we protect the information we store about you.

 

2.         Information We Collect

When you interact with our Services, we may collect and store information from you directly as described below:

 

 2.1       Registration Information

If you create an Account, you will be required to provide your name, e-mail address, cell phone number, a password and other information that helps us confirm that it is you accessing your account. We may do this through in-App or onscreen dialog boxes. We may also send you an OTP (one-time PIN code) for security reasons before you can access your account. You will not be able to use the Smart Protea App unless you are an existing client of Protea Metering and have registered via the secure www.oami.co.za website. When you register an account, your personal information is stored on a secure and encrypted database server kept and managed by Protea Metering.  

Your user profile is only accessible by yourself. It is your responsibility to keep your login username and password safe. Protea Metering will endeavour to keep your login username and password safe on our server and inaccessible by any third parties. Your Username will not be public.

We do not access your contacts, e-mail addresses, media or any personal information on your devices.

 

2.2       Payment Information

When you give a “top-up” instruction via the Smart Protea App or the OAMI website, the instruction is sent to a secure server where the transaction is completed by SagePay, a secure third-party financial service provider. All communication with SagePay is encrypted. No banking or credit card information is ever transmitted to or from the Smart Protea app. Communication between the OAMI website and our server is encrypted.

You will only be able to make use of the Smart Protea “Top Up” function if you have given explicit written permission to Protea Metering that you want to function activated. Please contact Protea Metering for more information.

Protea Metering does not collect any credit card information. When you make a credit card payment from the OAMI website, you will be forwarded to SagePay, the payment processing service provider, and they may collect your name, phone number, e-mail address, mailing address, billing address, and complete credit card information that enables them to receive your payment. Please note that purchases from third parties may also be subject to additional policies.

 

2.3       Information Collected by Customer Support

When you ask for assistance from our Customer Support team, we will collect and store the contact information you provide (generally your name and e-mail address), information about your App/Website usage or activity on the App/Website, and your username or account number. We will also store the correspondence and any information contained within.

 

2.4       Push Notifications & SMS or E-mail Notifications

With your consent we or our service providers may send push notifications to your mobile device to provide account status updates and other relevant messages. You can adjust the types of notifications you receive and when you receive them by editing your App settings, notification settings or your web profile settings. We or our service providers may also send SMS or E-mail notifications to your mobile device to provide Account updates and other relevant information.

We make us of Google’s Firebase platform to send push notifications. Visit https://firebase.google.com for more information.

 

2.5       Technical and Usage Information

When you access our Services, we may collect (i) certain technical information about your mobile device or computer system, including IP Address, mobile device ID (IDFA, Google Advertising ID or other identifiers), and the version of your operating system; and (ii) usage statistics about your interactions with the App or website. If you activate the in-App notification settings, we will create and assign to your device an identifier that is similar to an account number. We may collect the name you have associated with your device, device type, country, and any other information you choose to provide, such as username or e-mail address.

Smart Protea app users will note that we do not access or collect your mobile device’s contacts, media, messaging applications, social network identities or any other personal details on your mobile device. We do not display ads, nor do we collect or make use of the “Android advertising ID”.

 

2.6       Location Information

Protea Metering does not explicitly collect or store any location information when you use our Services. Third parties (such as Google Play or Sagepay) may collect and store information about your location. Please visit third-party websites for more information.

 

3.         How We Collect Your Information

We may collect information about you in any one or more of the following ways:

3.1       Communications Features

We may use, record and store archives of all communications on Protea Metering’s servers to protect the safety and well-being of our clients and Protea Metering’s rights and property in connection with the Services. 

 

3.2       Cookies and Automated Information Collection

Internet cookies are small text files that are placed on your web browser or computer by web servers. A cookie is created when you first visit a site that wants to store information.

The Smart Protea App does not make use “cookies” explicitly. However, the app may use third party code and libraries that use “cookies” to collect information and improve their services. You have the option to either accept or refuse these cookies and know when a cookie is being sent to your device.

We use Session Cookies on the Protea Metering and OAMI website to monitor aggregate usage and web traffic routing on our Services and to customize and improve our Services and give you timed access to your account. Unlike persistent Cookies, session Cookies are deleted when you log off from the Services and close your browser. Although most browsers automatically accept Cookies, you can change your browser options to stop automatically accepting Cookies or to prompt you before accepting Cookies. Please note, however, that if you don’t accept Cookies, you may not be able to access all portions or features of the Services. Some third-party services providers that we engage may also place their own Cookies on your device. Note that this Privacy Policy covers only our use of Cookies and does not include use of Cookies by such third parties.

We wish to inform you that whenever you use the Smart Protea App, in a case of an error in the app we collect data and information (through Google Play’s third-party products) on your phone called Log Data. This Log Data may include information such as your device Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, device name, operating system version, the configuration of the app when utilizing the App, the time and date of your use of the Service, and other statistics.

Neither the Smart Protea App nor the OAMI or Protea Metering websites make use of “Web Beacons” (also known as web bugs, pixel tags or clear GIFs) or “Flash Cookies” under any circumstances.

We do not display ads, nor do we collect or make use of the “Android advertising ID”.

 

4.         How We Use the Information We Collect

In general, we collect, store and use your information to provide you with an experience relevant only to you. For example, we may use information collected from you in any one or more of the following ways:

We use your personal information to fulfil a contract with you and provide you with our Services, to comply with our legal obligation, protect your vital interest, or as may be required for the public good. This includes:

-          to create Accounts and allow use of the OAMI and Protea Metering websites or Smart Protea App;

-          to enable communications;

-          to provide technical support and respond to user inquiries;

-          to prevent, detect, mitigate, and investigate fraud or potentially illegal activities, and enforce our Terms of Service;

-          to provide other services requested by you as described when we collect your information;

-          to notify users of updates, or updates to our Terms of Service or this Privacy Policy; and

We use your personal information to pursue our legitimate interests where your rights and freedoms do not outweigh these interests. We have implemented controls to balance our interests with your rights.

We will never give your personal information to any external marketer and it will not be used for marketing purposes.

 

5.         Sharing of Your Information

We may share your information (in some cases personal information) with third parties in the following circumstances:

 

5.1       Third Party Service Providers

We will provide your information to third party companies to perform certain services, including but not limited to payment processing, e-mail and SMS delivery or hosting services. We direct all such third-party service providers to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed to them and to not use your information for any purpose other than to provide services on Protea Metering’s behalf.

Here is a link to the Privacy Policies for all our third-party service providers:

Google Firebase (Push Notifications) - https://policies.google.com/privacy

Vodacom (SMS notifications) - https://www.vodacom.co.za/vodacom/terms/privacy-policy

SagePay (Top-up & Credit Card Payments) - https://www.sage.com/za/legal/privacy-and-cookies

 

5.2       Advertising of Third-Party Products and Services

We do not actively share personal information with third party advertisers for their direct marketing purposes under any circumstances.

Neither the OAMI website nor the Smart Protea App contains any third-party advertisements.

 

5.4       Safety, Security and Compliance with Law

Your information may be disclosed: (i) when we have a good faith belief that we are required to disclose the information in response to legal process (for example, a court order, search warrant or subpoena); (ii) to satisfy any applicable laws or regulations; (iii) where we believe that the OAMI and Protea Metering websites or Smart Protea are being used in the commission of a crime, including to report such criminal activity or to exchange information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction; (iv) when we have a good faith belief that there is an emergency that poses a threat to the health and/or safety of you, another person or the public generally; and (v) in order to protect the rights or property of Protea Metering, including to enforce our Terms of Service.

 

5.5       Sale or Merger

In the event that Protea Metering undergoes a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, change of control, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, we may transfer all of your information, including personal information, to the successor organization in such transition.

 

6.         Our Policies Concerning Children

Our Services are intended for clients of Protea Metering. Only legal entities can sign a contract with Protea Metering, therefore it would be illegal for a minor to make use of the OAMI website or Smart Protea App. While the content of the OAMI Website and the Smart Protea App are intended for a general audience with no age restrictions or limitations, neither are intended for Children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from users deemed to be children under their respective national laws. If we learn that we have collected PII of any child, we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible. We recognize a special obligation to protect personal information obtained from young children.

 

If you are aware of a minor that registered on the OAMI website, please contact us at info@proteametering.co.za as soon as possible and we will delete all personal information of that account.

 

7.         How to Control Your Information

Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, individuals residing in the EU and other territories that have adopted GDPR compliance or comparable regulation have a right to:

-          Access your user data

-          Correct the data you have provided to us

-          Have information provided to you in a portable format

By South African law we must keep all financial information for a minimum of 5 years. If you are no longer a client of Protea Metering, you can request your collected personal information to be removed from our database after a period of 5 years from the date your contract with Protea Metering ended.

If you no longer wish to make use of the OAMI website or Smart Protea App you can either de-register by following the onscreen prompts or you can send us an e-mail at info@proteametering.co.za and you will no longer receive said communication.

You may send an e-mail to info@proteametering.co.za with your request to exercise any of the rights identified above. Please make sure you include your first name, last name, e-mail address, complex name and unit number as well as your account number in the body of the e-mail. We will respond to your request within seven (7) days. Please note that certain records, for example those pertaining to payments or customer service matters, will be retained for legal and accounting purposes. If you have sent or posted content through the Services, we may not be able to delete it.  Accounts created on the OAMI website are considered active until we receive a user request to deactivate them either via the website or a written instruction.

 

8.         Opt Out Options

Opting out of Communications: You can choose to opt out of receiving notification e-mails or SMSs from Protea Metering by changing your notification settings on your account on the OAMI website or the Smart Protea App. Please note that once we receive your request, it may take an additional period of time for your opt-out to become effective.

 

9.         Security of Your Information

It is important that you protect and maintain the security of your Account and that you immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your Account. We encrypt the transmission of all information on the OAMI website using secure socket layer technology (“SSL”).

While we take many precautions against possible security breaches of our Services, no website or Internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. Although we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data while it is being transmitted through our Services; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we have procedures and security features in place to try to prevent unauthorized access.

 

10.       Changes to Our Privacy Policy

Any information that is collected via our Services is covered by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. If we decide to make material changes to our Privacy Policy, we will notify you and other users by placing a notice on www.proteametering.co.za and www.oami.co.za or by sending you a notice to the e-mail address we have on file for you, and we’ll update the “Last Updated Date” above to indicate when those changes will become effective. We may supplement this process by placing notices in the Smart Protea App and on the Google Play app store. You should periodically check www.proteametering.co.za and this privacy page for updates.

 

11.       Sharing Your Information for Direct Marketing Purposes

We do not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

 

12.       Links to Other Sites

Our Services may contain links to websites and services that are owned or operated by third parties (each, a “Third-party Service”). Any information that you provide on or to a Third-party Service or that is collected by a Third-party Service is provided directly to the owner or operator of the Third-party Service and is subject to the owner’s or operator’s privacy policy. We’re not responsible for the content, privacy or security practices and policies of any Third-party Service. To protect your information, we recommend that you carefully review the privacy policies of all Third-party Services that you access.

 

14.       International Transfer

Your personal information may be transferred to, and maintained on, computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. If you’re located outside South Africa and choose to provide your personal information to us, we may transfer your personal information to South Africa and process it there.

 

15.       Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy and/or practices, please send an e-mail to info@proteametering.co.za.

Protea Metering (Pty) Ltd

+27 12 804 1039

80 Rauch Avenue, Georgeville, Pretoria