Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Z-Connect (Pty) Ltd, operated by Zetnet Mobile (Pty) Ltd ("Z-Connect", "we", "us") is the responsible party for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). This policy applies to our mobile, home internet and money services, our app and website, our WhatsApp and USSD channels, and our agents and kiosks.

Information Officer: 02 Rhodesadrift Street, Bendor, Polokwane, 0699 · +27 15 101 1336 · z-connect.net/contact (topic: "Privacy or POPIA request").

2. What we collect

• Identity and contact details: full name, ID or passport number and country, date of birth, residential address, mobile number and email address.
• Identity documents and biometric information: a photo of your ID document or passport, a selfie, and still frames taken while you face the camera.
• Proof of address: a document showing your residential address.
• SIM and device information: SIM number (ICCID), mobile number, IMSI and IMEI.
• Usage information: call, SMS and data records, balances, purchases, roaming and cell-tower-level location.
• Payment and financial information: card and payment details, transaction history and, for financial products, banking details.
• Support records: messages, call recordings and chat transcripts.
• Information from others: identity results from the Department of Home Affairs, credit bureau reports, network data from our network partners, and fraud databases.

3. Why we use it

• To register your SIM under RICA: a legal obligation.
• To provide our services, including activation, airtime, data, porting, roaming and SIM swaps: to perform our contract with you.
• To verify identity and prevent fraud and identity theft: our legitimate interest and legal obligation.
• For KYC, FICA and credit checks on financial products: legal obligation or legitimate interest.
• For billing, payments, refunds and collections: to perform our contract with you.
• For support, network management, security and analytics: our legitimate interest.
• For marketing: our legitimate interest for existing customers, and your consent for anyone else. You can opt out at any time.

4. SIM registration and your consent

Before we register a SIM, we ask for your consent on the "How we use your information" screen. This is the wording you see:

We record the date and time of your consent and the version of the wording you agreed to.

5. Your selfie and ID photo

Your selfie and ID photo are biometric information, which POPIA treats as special personal information. We process them with your consent and to meet our duties under RICA. We compare your selfie with your ID photo and with the photo held by the Department of Home Affairs, and we check that the selfie was taken live. We use them only to confirm your identity. We never use them for marketing and we never sell them.

Most checks are automatic. If an automatic check cannot confirm your details, a trained Z-Connect reviewer looks at your documents before your SIM is registered. Every time a reviewer opens a document, it is recorded.

6. WhatsApp

You can register a SIM and get support on WhatsApp. On WhatsApp, the consent in section 4 includes this notice:

Messages on WhatsApp are also handled by Meta under its own terms and privacy policy. We keep chat records only as long as we need them to complete your request. Reply STOP at any time and we will not send you messages you did not ask for. Reply HELP to speak to someone.

7. Agents

Z-Connect agents register SIMs and sell our services on our behalf. When you apply to become an agent, you see this consent:

We use an agent's information to verify their identity, decide on their application, prevent fraud, allocate SIM stock, record the registrations they do, and calculate and pay commission. When an agent registers a customer, the agent handles that customer's information on our behalf and may use it only to complete the registration.

8. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:

• The Department of Home Affairs and identity-verification partners, to confirm identity.
• Our network partners, to register, activate and run your SIM.
• Licensed financial partners, payment processors and credit bureaus, for payments and financial products.
• IT, cloud and messaging providers, under written operator agreements.
• Law-enforcement agencies and regulators, where the law requires it.
• Church and community distribution partners, with your name and contact details only, and only with your consent.

9. Where your information is kept

ID photos, selfies and documents are stored in South Africa. Some service providers, such as cloud and messaging providers including Meta, process information outside South Africa. Where they do, we use binding agreements that meet the standard required by section 72 of POPIA.

10. How long we keep it

• RICA records, including ID photos and selfies: 5 years after the SIM is deactivated, as RICA requires.
• Financial records: 5 years after the transaction, as FICA requires.
• Agent records: while the agent is active and 5 years after.
• Customer service records: 3 years. Call recordings: 1 year. Website analytics: 26 months.

After that we delete the information or make it anonymous.

11. How we protect it

We use encryption, access controls and audit records. Only trained staff who need it can see identity documents, and every access to them is recorded.

12. Your rights

You may ask to see the information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to how we use it (including for direct marketing), and withdraw your consent. Make a request through z-connect.net/contact. We reply within 30 days and may first confirm your identity.

If you withdraw your consent, we still keep the RICA records the law requires, and we cannot keep a SIM active without them.

You may complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za.

13. Changes

We may update this policy. We will tell you of material changes in the app or by SMS before they take effect.