Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 23, 2025

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1. Introduction

Mechanics of Business ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit and use our website, located at  www.mechanicsofbusiness.org

By using our Website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Website.

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2. Information We Collect

We may collect various types of information from and about users of our Website, including:

a. Personal Information (Directly Provided by You): This is information that can be used to identify you personally. We may collect this when you: * Register for an account: Such as your name, email address, password. * Contact us: Via contact forms, email, or phone, which may include your name, email address, phone number, and the content of your message. * Subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications: Your email address. * Purchase our services or products: Billing information, payment details (though payment processing is typically handled by third-party secure payment gateways, we do not directly store your full credit card details). * Participate in surveys or promotions: Information you provide in response to surveys or during promotional activities. * Submit User Content: Any personal information included in comments, reviews, or forum posts.

b. Usage Data (Automatically Collected): When you access the Website, we may automatically collect certain information about your device, Browse actions, and patterns, including: * Your IP address. * Browser type and version. * Operating system. * Referring/exit pages. * Date and time of your visit. * The pages you view on our Website. * The time spent on those pages. * Unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

c. Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Website and hold certain information. * Cookies: Small data files placed on your device. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Website. * Other Tracking Technologies: Beacons, tags, and scripts are used to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Website.

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3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for various purposes, including:

• To provide and maintain our Website and services: Including to process your transactions and manage your account.

• To improve our Website: By understanding how users interact with our site, we can enhance user experience and functionality.

• To communicate with you: To respond to your inquiries, send you service-related announcements, and provide customer support.

• For marketing and promotional purposes: To send you newsletters, updates, and promotional materials about our services, which you can opt out of at any time.

• To personalize your experience: To present content and offerings tailored to your interests.

• To monitor usage: To detect, prevent, and address technical issues and ensure the security of our Website.

• For legal compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

• For internal analytics: To conduct research and analysis to improve our business operations.
   

4. Sharing and Disclosure of Your Information

We may share your personal information in the following situations:

• With Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party companies and individuals who perform services on our behalf (e.g., website hosting, data analysis, payment processing, email delivery, customer service). These third parties have access to your personal information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

• For Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal information may be transferred. We will provide notice before your personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

• For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or a government agency). This includes complying with legal obligations, protecting and defending our rights or property, preventing or investigating possible wrongdoing in connection with the Website, protecting the personal safety of users of the Website or the public, and protecting against legal liability.

• With Your Consent: We may disclose your personal information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.
   

5. Data Security

The security of your personal information is important to us. We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

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6. Data Retention

We will retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as for legal, tax, accounting, or other legitimate business purposes).

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7. Your Data Protection Rights (South Africa - POPIA Compliance)

As a data subject in South Africa, you have certain rights under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) No. 4 of 2013, concerning your personal information. These rights include:

• The Right to Be Informed: You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal information. This Privacy Policy serves that purpose.

• The Right of Access: You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you.

• The Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.

• The Right to Erasure (Deletion/Destruction): You have the right to request the deletion or destruction of your personal information under certain circumstances.

• The Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information under certain circumstances.

• The Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information under certain circumstances.

• The Right to Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another controller.

• Rights in Relation to Automated Decision Making and Profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affects you, unless certain exceptions apply.

• The Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your rights under POPIA have been violated.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the contact details provided in Section 10 below. We may require specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal information (or to exercise any of your other rights).

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8. Children's Privacy

Our Website is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18 ("Children"). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from Children. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Child has provided us with personal information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from Children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

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9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

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10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or if you wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:

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consult@mechanicsofbusiness.org

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