Privacy Policy

Last Updated: April 2026

1. Introduction

Teachable Machine (PTY) LTD (“we”, “us”, or “the Company”) operates the website www.teachablemachine.co.za. This policy sets out how we collect, use, and protect your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) 4 of 2013 and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 68 of 2008.

2. Information Officer

In terms of POPIA, the designated Information Officer is:

  • Name:Johann Oosthuizen
  • Designation:Managing Director
  • Physical Address:Erf 20358, Noetzie, Knysna, 6570, South Africa
  • Email:help@teachablemachine.co.za

3. Categories of Information Collected

We collect and process the following personal information:

  • Account Information:Full name, email address, and company details (for B2B users).
  • Financial Information:Payment details processed through secure third-party gateways (quoted in ZAR).
  • User Assets (Training Data):Images, audio, or datasets uploaded to train machine learning models.
  • Communication Data:All emails, attachments, and records of correspondence stored via Google Workspace.
  • Technical Data:IP addresses, browser cookies, and usage telemetry.

4. Purpose of Processing

We process your information for the following reasons:

  1. Service Delivery: To provide SaaS machine learning tools and educational content.
  2. Communication: To provide support and transactional updates via Google Workspace.
  3. AI Improvement: To optimize the performance of the platform (using anonymized metadata).
  4. Legal Compliance: To fulfill tax, audit, and statutory obligations under South African law.

5. Transborder Data Flows (POPIA Section 72)

To provide high-performance cloud services, your personal information is transferred to and stored on servers located outside the Republic of South Africa:

  • Hostinger (United States):Our primary web hosting and database provider.
  • Google Cloud (Global/USA):Utilized for intensive machine learning processing and model storage.
  • Google Workspace (Global/USA):Utilized for corporate email, document storage, and customer support logs.

Compliance Guarantee: We ensure that these third-party providers are subject to laws or binding agreements that provide an adequate level of protection substantially similar to POPIA. By using our services, you expressly consent to this transborder transfer.

6. Special Personal Information & Biometrics

6.1 User Responsibility: Our platform allows for the processing of images and audio. If a User uploads assets containing human faces or voices, they are processing Biometric Information under POPIA.

6.2 Warranty: The User warrants that they have obtained the necessary consent from any data subject whose biometric information is included in the User Assets. Teachable Machine (PTY) LTD acts as an Operator in this context and processes such data only on the instruction of the User.

7. Data Security

In accordance with the 2026 AI Security Guidelines, we implement:

  • Encryption:Data is encrypted at rest and in transit (TLS 1.3).
  • Access Control:Strict multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative access to Google Cloud and Workspace.
  • Integrity:Regular vulnerability scans of the Hostinger environment.

8. Data Retention

8.1 We do not retain personal information longer than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected, unless required by law (e.g., 5 years for financial records).

8.2 Account Closure: Upon account termination, personal data is flagged for deletion and purged from our active Google Cloud and Hostinger databases within 12 months.

9. Your Rights as a Data Subject

You have the right to:

  1. Access: Request a copy of the records we hold about you (see our PAIA Manual).
  2. Correction: Request the correction or deletion of inaccurate or outdated data.
  3. Objection: Object to processing for direct marketing purposes.
  4. Complain: Lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator (inforeg@justice.gov.za).

10. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies to manage user sessions and platform performance. Users may manage their cookie preferences via our 2026-compliant Cookie Consent Banner; however, disabling certain cookies may impact the functionality of the SaaS tools.