Privacy notice
Last updated: 10 October 2026 · Version PN-v1.2-web (web changes: separate opt-in for ad measurement, shorter quiz) · Cookie notice CN-v1.2-web
DRAFT for practitioner review. This text is not approved yet.
This notice tells you how we use your details. It follows the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
Who is responsible
SortMyCover is a service of Lead Velocity (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2025/637858/07, 210 Amarand Avenue, Pegasus Building 1, Menlyn Maine, Pretoria 0184. We are the responsible party for the details you give us. That means we decide how they are used, and we must keep them safe.
We connect you with authorised financial services providers. We do not give financial advice, compare products or quote premiums.
What we collect and why
- From you on our page, form or WhatsApp: your name and surname, WhatsApp number (checked because you chat to us from it), contact number, age band, monthly budget band, how you want to meet, and the time you book. Only if you choose to tell us: what you pay now (as a band), your income band, and another email address.
- Your email: we send a one-tap code or link to check it, and we use it for your Microsoft Teams invite and call details. We never use it for marketing, and we never send it to Meta.
- Whether you smoke (only if you choose to answer): this is special personal information about your health. We ask for it only with your clear consent, and we use it only to brief the adviser named in our message before your call (POPIA sections 26 and 27). You can skip the question, and you can withdraw consent at any time by replying STOP or telling us. We never use it for ads and never send it to Meta.
- Only if you give it: another number to call, a backup number, and the best time to reach you.
- Automatically: the ad or link you came from, your device type, your IP address and cookies.
- Your chats with our WhatsApp assistant.
- From the adviser, after your call: how the call went (for example, attended or missed), a 1 to 5 rating of the call and a short note. The adviser may also leave a short voice note. A transcription service turns it into text (we will name it here before adviser voice notes are switched on). We do not keep the recording. We keep only the text, after we remove any health or ID details. We use all of this to improve our ads and our questions, and to settle no-show replacements under our agreement with the adviser.
We do not ask for your ID number, bank details or exact income. If you send health details or an ID number in chat, we remove them from our records. We tell the adviser only that you have a question for them.
We use your details to:
- route your request to one adviser;
- pass your details to the adviser you agreed to;
- book your call and send reminders on WhatsApp;
- send a calendar invite (your email, only for the invite);
- reach you on your backup number if your first number fails (only for that);
- keep a record that you agreed, and a list of people who opted out;
- measure and improve our ads, using your coded (hashed) number, ad and page events, and the adviser’s 1 to 5 rating as a number (see the Pixel section below);
- improve our ads and questions, and settle lead replacements with the adviser, using the adviser’s outcome, rating, note and voice-note text.
Who we share it with
One adviser. One authorised financial services provider gets your details. It is the one named when you agreed, or named in our first WhatsApp to you. That message shows their name, practice and FSP number. From then on the adviser is also responsible for your details. We never sell your details. We never give them to anyone else to market to you.
Service providers who work for us. They may use your details only to give us their service.
| Provider | What they do for us | Where data may go |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | Hosts our website pages (it sees your IP address and browser details when you load a page; your form answers go to our booking system, not Vercel) | United States, served from a global network |
| Hostinger | Hosts our booking and messaging systems | To be confirmed before our booking system opens |
| Supabase | Holds our database | Ireland (EU) |
| Meta (WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram) | Sends our WhatsApp messages. Runs our ads. Measures our ads. We send your coded (hashed) number, your IP address and browser type as they are, and, after a call, the adviser’s 1 to 5 rating as a number. We never send your email, the adviser’s note, or what was said. | United States and Ireland |
| Transcription service (named here before adviser voice notes are switched on) | Turns the adviser’s voice note about your call into text. We do not keep the recording. | Named with the service |
| Anthropic | The AI model that helps our WhatsApp assistant reply | United States |
| Calendar and video calls for some advisers, and website tools | United States and other countries where Google operates | |
| Microsoft | Email, calendars and Teams | South Africa and other Microsoft regions |
| Twilio | Checks that a number is a mobile. Sends SMS backup. | United States |
| Paystack | Takes payments from advisers (not from you) | South Africa and other countries where Paystack operates |
Some of these providers may keep data outside South Africa. When that happens, we only use providers that are bound by law or by a written agreement to protect it to a standard like POPIA. Section 72 of POPIA asks for this.
Meta Pixel and ad measurement
Our website uses the Meta Pixel. Our systems also use Meta’s Conversions API. They tell Meta when someone views our page, sends the form or books a call.
If you give the optional consent, the Pixel sets two cookies, _fbp and _fbc. They last about 90 days. We also keep the ad link you came from in your browser, so your enquiry keeps its source.
Before we send your number to Meta, we code (hash) it. Meta can match it but cannot read it. We never send your email to Meta. We also send your IP address and browser type as they are. After a call, we send the adviser’s 1 to 5 rating of the meeting as a number. We never send what was said.
We use this to measure our ads, to stop showing ads to people who already talk to us, and to find similar people. We never use your details to send you ads by message.
You can turn off ad measurement for this browser. See the control below.
Our own page counts
We also count visits ourselves, on our own server, with no outside tool. When a page opens, and when someone reaches a step of the quiz, the page sends us one small note: the page name, the step number and a random code. We add it to a daily total and keep no copy of the note. We do not store your IP address, browser type, answers or any detail that names you. The random code lives in your browser’s session storage and is gone when you close the tab. We do not send these counts when your browser says Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, or when you have turned ad measurement off below.
Cookies and browser storage
Cookies are small files a website keeps in your browser. We also keep a few small notes in your browser’s own storage. This table covers both.
| Name | Set by | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
_fbp | Meta Pixel | Measures which ads bring visitors | About 90 days |
_fbc | Meta Pixel, when you click an ad | Links your visit to the ad you clicked | About 90 days |
Ad source (utm_*, fbclid) | SortMyCover, in your browser | Remembers which ad or link you came from, so your enquiry keeps its source | Until you send the form or clear your browser |
smc_ads | SortMyCover, cookie on sortmycover.co.za | Remembers your ad-measurement choice on every SortMyCover page: 1 means you gave the optional consent, 0 means you opted out | 1 year, or until you change it |
Session data (includes a random visit code, smc_sid) | SortMyCover | Keeps the form and booking working, and lets us count a visit once | Until you close the page |
Ad measurement is off until you say yes. The Meta Pixel does not load, and no Meta cookie is set, unless you choose "I give" in the separate optional ad-measurement choice on the booking form. Choosing it is never needed to book a call. If you choose "I give", we remember that for a year on sortmycover.co.za and its subdomains. We do not show a cookie pop-up.
DRAFT, open question (Q3). The practitioner has not yet said whether an opt-in or a notice with an off switch is required in South Africa. The site is built as opt-in, with one setting that can change to notice mode.
How to opt out
Turn off ad measurement for this browser
The button saves the cookie smc_ads (set to 0) for sortmycover.co.za and all its subdomains, so it also applies on our campaign pages.
Checking your setting…
When it is off, the Meta Pixel does not run, and no new Meta cookies are set. The site still works. Meta cookies already in your browser stay until they expire, unless you clear them. You can also block cookies in your browser settings. The choice is saved only in this browser. If you clear your browser data or use another browser, you need to choose again.
Stop messages
You can stop us contacting you at any time. Reply STOP to any WhatsApp, or email hello@sortmycover.co.za with the word STOP. We stop at once and tell the adviser. You can also register with the National Consumer Commission opt-out registry. Its enforcement and bulk effect start between December 2026 and May 2027. Once it applies to us, we will check our records against it, and a registered block will win even if you agreed before.
How long we keep it
Our system deletes records on these dates every night.
- Your details, messages, booking and the adviser’s feedback about your call: 12 months after our last contact with you. Then we delete them.
- Your email (only if you gave it for a video call): deleted with your other details.
- Voice notes from the adviser: we do not keep the recording. We keep the text with your other details.
- Answers in a WhatsApp chat you did not finish: deleted after 72 hours.
- Form entries that do not fit our criteria: deleted within 24 hours.
- Your consent record and any opt-out: 5 years, as proof.
- If you say “No thanks” or STOP: we keep a coded (hashed) copy of your number on our block list, so we never message you again. We delete your other details on the dates above.
- Backups: overwritten every 30 days.
Automated checks and our AI assistant
Our system checks your answers against fixed criteria (age band and budget band). If they do not fit, we close politely and do not pass your details on. You can ask a person to look again. Reply PERSON on WhatsApp, or email hello@sortmycover.co.za.
Our WhatsApp assistant uses AI. It can answer questions about the call and help you book. It never gives advice. Type “person” at any time to reach a human.
Your rights
You may:
- ask what details we hold about you, and get a copy;
- ask us to correct or delete them;
- object to how we use them;
- take back your consent at any time;
- complain to the Information Regulator.
We answer within 30 days. We may ask you to prove who you are first. If you ask us to delete your details, we also tell the adviser. The adviser must delete them unless a law says they must keep a record.
Information Officer and contact
Information Officer: Jonathan West
Deputy Information Officer: Kgomotso Pule
Email: hello@sortmycover.co.za
Phone: +27 10 976 5618
Postal address: 210 Amarand Avenue, Pegasus Building 1, Menlyn Maine, Pretoria 0184
Complaints
Email hello@sortmycover.co.za, or send COMPLAINT on our WhatsApp. We reply within 48 hours. See also complaints.
Complaints about an adviser’s advice go to the adviser’s own complaints process. If it is not solved, you can go to the FAIS Ombud.
You can also complain to the Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za, complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za.
Age and changes
Our service is for people 18 and older. If we change this notice, we change the date at the top. For big changes, we also say so on our page.