Privacy policy

Who we are

Praato is a trading name of DataGroup Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Reg. no. 2021/707457/07), based in Johannesburg, South Africa (“we”, “us”, “our”). Praato is business messaging for businesses: we help a business set up WhatsApp with Meta, and give it the Praato portal and the WhatsApp API to talk to its customers.

This policy explains what personal information we collect when you visit praato.com, message us, or use Praato; why we collect it; and what your rights are under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”).

When you visit this site

This site sets no cookies and runs no analytics or advertising trackers. It has no forms, so it does not ask you for any personal information. Your visit is not tracked.

When you message us

The “Message us on WhatsApp” button opens WhatsApp. When you message us, we receive your WhatsApp number and the messages you send.

We use them for one purpose: to reply to your enquiry and, if your business decides to use Praato, to help you get started. We do not use your number for bulk messages, cold calling, or any purpose unrelated to your enquiry.

When your business uses Praato

If your business uses Praato, we hold the information we need to provide the service and bill you: your business’s details, the details your team members use to sign in to the Praato portal, and the messages between your business and your contacts.

The messages and your contacts’ details belong to your business. We handle them on your business’s behalf, only to provide Praato. Under POPIA, your business is the responsible party for this information and DataGroup is your operator: we process it only on your instructions.

The Praato portal and the information in it are stored in Microsoft Azure data centres in South Africa.

Who we share it with

WhatsApp messages pass through Meta Platforms, Inc. (the operator of WhatsApp), which processes them in line with its own privacy policy.

Card payments for the Business tier are made through Paystack. This site is hosted on Microsoft Azure.

We do not sell your information or share it with any other third party.

How long we keep it

We keep your information until you ask us to delete it. If you would like it removed, email us at privacy@datagroup.co.za and we will delete it within 7 business days. Our data deletion page explains how in more detail.

If your business stops using Praato, we keep its messages and contacts’ details for 30 days, so you can export them, and then delete them. We keep invoices for 5 years, as South African tax law requires.

Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

• Access: ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: ask us to correct information that is wrong.
• Deletion: ask us to delete your information (see above).
• Objection: object to us processing your information.
• Complaint: complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have handled your information unlawfully.

To use any of these rights, email us at privacy@datagroup.co.za.

Information Regulator

If you are not satisfied with our answer to a complaint, you can contact the Information Regulator of South Africa:

• Website: www.inforegulator.org.za
• Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

Contact us

Questions about this policy? Email us at privacy@datagroup.co.za. We are based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle your personal information, we will update this page and the date at the top. We encourage you to read this policy from time to time.