Privacy Policy
Obsidian Systems (Pty) Ltd (hereon referred to as Obsidian) has created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate its firm commitment to privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how Obsidian handles your personal information and applies it to www.obsidian.software.
In compliance with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information bill, including transparency, accountability, and choice regarding the collection and use of your personal information Obsidian’s site follows the policy as stated below.
Processing means broadly anything done with the Personal Information, including collection, usage, storage, dissemination, modification or destruction (whether such processing is automated or not).
Some of the obligations under POPI are to:
- only collect information that you need for a specific purpose
- apply reasonable security measures to protect it
- ensure it is relevant and up to date
- only hold as much as you need, and only for as long as you need it
- allow the subject of the information to see it upon request
Collection and Use of Personal and Non-Personal Information
In compliance with applicable law, Obsidian collects information from different points on its sites and is the sole owner of the information collected.
Obsidian may collect and store the following personal information, or any other information specified in this Privacy Policy:
- Contact information, such as your name, email address, and other information that you provide by filling out our web forms; this includes information provided at the time of registering, posting material, or requesting services
- Billing information, such as credit card numbers and billing address
- Unique identifiers, such as username or password
Obsidian also collects the following non-personal information, if you provide it:
- Information about your business, such as company name, company size, and business type
- Demographic information, such as age, education, gender, interests, and postal code
- Details of transactions based on your activities on the site, and the fulfilment of our orders
- Correspondence with other users, blogs or social media platforms that you send through Obsidian Systems, and correspondence sent to Obsidian
- If you contact us, Obsidian may keep a record of that correspondence
As is true of most websites, Obsidian automatically gathers information about your computer, such as your IP (Internet Protocol) address, browser type, referring/exit pages, and operating system.
This may also include information collected from surveys or contests, which may include contact information and demographic information. Obsidian Systems does not sell, share, or rent this information to others for their marketing purposes without your consent. Obsidian may, in compliance with applicable law, combine your information with information lawfully acquired from other organisations, and use it to improve and personalise services, content, and advertising.
Obsidian may use this information in the following ways:
- To provide you with information, products, services, or customer support that you request from us, as specified in this Privacy Policy
- To send you an order or cancellation confirmation, or notify you about changes in service
- To carry out obligations arising from any contracts entered between us
- To allow you to participate in interactive features of Obsidian products or services when you choose to do so
- To assess your needs to determine suitable products
- To send you requested product or service information
- To prevent, discover, and investigate violations of applicable Terms and Conditions.
- To send product updates or Terms of Use information
- To respond to customer service requests
- To administer your account
- To send you a newsletter
- To send you marketing communications
- To administer contests and sweepstakes you entered, and notify you if you won
- To provide the financial services you requested
- To respond to your questions and concerns
- To improve Obsidian’s website and marketing efforts
- To conduct research and analysis
- To display content based upon your interests
- To facilitate your transactions with other users
Choice / Opt-Out
You may choose to stop receiving Obsidian’s newsletters or marketing emails at any time by following the unsubscribe instructions included in those communications, or you can contact us.
Request Information
You may at several different points on Obsidian’s websites request information. To submit a request using the forms provided on the website, you must supply contact information (e.g., name, email, phone number). This information is used by Obsidian to provide the information requested.
Testimonials
Obsidian posts customer testimonials that may contain personally identifiable information, such as the customer’s name. Obsidian obtains customer consent to post names before posting the testimonial. If you want to remove personal information that is being publicly displayed on Obsidian’s website, contact us at marketing@obsidian.co.za.
Information Obtained from Third Parties
Obsidian obtains credit information about you from an outside credit reporting agency to help us with customer authentication and credit-related decisions.
If you provide personal information about others, or if others give us your information, Obsidian will only use that information for the specific reason for which it was provided.
Information Sharing
Obsidian will share your personal information with third parties only in the ways described in this Privacy Policy. Obsidian does not sell your personal information to third parties.
Obsidian may provide your personal information to companies that provide services to help with our business activities, such as offering customer service. These companies are authorised to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services.
We may also disclose your personal information:
- With service providers under contract to help with business operations (such as fraud investigations, debt collection, affiliate and rewards programs, and co-branded credit cards);
- As required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena or similar legal process;
- When Obsidian believes in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect rights or safety, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request;
- If Obsidian is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets; in such a case, you will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on the websites of any change in ownership, or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information;
- To any other third party with your prior consent to do so.
Obsidian shares your personal information with other companies so that they can market their products or services to you. If you do not want us to share your personal information with these companies, contact us.
Obsidian makes your contact information available to other users with whom you interact to help complete the transaction.
Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing information about the user. Obsidian uses cookies on certain pages to help analyse web page flow, customise services, content, and advertising, and measure promotional effectiveness. Obsidian may use cookies, for example, to keep track of your preferences and profile information. Cookies are also used to collect general usage and volume statistical information that does not include personal information.
Important things to know about cookies:
- You may disable cookies if your browser permits. The exact procedure will vary from browser to browser, but on most browsers, the help section will tell you how to prevent your browser from automatically accepting cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether
- Obsidian offers certain features that are available only through the use of cookies
- Obsidian also uses cookies in the Member Services area to help identify you and maintain your signed-in status; cookies on Obsidian’s websites are in no way linked to any personally identifiable information
- You may encounter cookies from third parties on certain pages (for example, advertisers), but Obsidian has no access to or control over these cookies
Obsidian uses pixels, or transparent GIF files, to help manage online advertising. These GIF files are provided by Obsidian’s ad management partner, DoubleClick. These files enable DoubleClick to recognise a unique cookie on your browser, which in turn enables Obsidian to learn which advertisements bring users to Obsidian websites. The cookie was placed by Obsidian, or by another advertiser who works with DoubleClick. With both cookies and Spotlight technology, the information collected and shared is anonymous and not personally identifiable. It does not contain your name, address, telephone number, or email address. For more information about DoubleClick, including information about how to opt-out of these technologies, go to http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/index.aspx. Should person-related or person-relatable data be collected, for example using pixels or transparent GIF files, Obsidian assures that in the collection, processing, and use of such data, all privacy laws will be adhered to.
Obsidian uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (hereafter “Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however, please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
Obsidian also uses Google Analytics Demographics Reports and Remarketing to advertise online. Third-party vendors, including Google, may show Obsidian ads on sites across the Internet. Obsidian and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies and third-party cookies together to inform, optimise, and serve ads based on past visits to the Obsidian website. You may opt out of the use of cookies by visiting Google’s Advertising and Privacy page: http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html.
Log Files
Obsidian uses your IP address to help diagnose server problems, and to administer our website. Obsidian uses your IP addresses to analyze trends and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Every time you access Obsidian’s website, some data is temporarily stored and processed in a log file, such as anonymous IP addresses, the browser types, the recalled page, or the date and time of the recall. These data are only evaluated for statistical purposes, to help us diagnose problems with our servers, to administer our sites, or to improve our offer.
Web beacons
Obsidian’s webpages contain electronic images known as Web beacons (sometimes called single-pixel gifs) and are used along with cookies to compile aggregated statistics to analyze how the websites are used and may be used in some emails to let us know which emails and links have been opened by recipients. This allows Obsidian to gauge the effectiveness of our customer communications and marketing campaigns.
Links to Other Websites
The Obsidian websites include links to other websites whose privacy practices may differ from that of Obsidian. If you submit personal information to any of those sites, your information is governed by their privacy statements. Obsidian encourages you to carefully read the Privacy Policy of any website you visit.
Data Retention
Obsidian retains your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that Obsidian no longer use your information to provide you services, contact us. Obsidian will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Storage of Information; Transmission
The data that Obsidian collects from you are transferred and stored on local servers in South Africa. The data may also be processed by partners operating outside of South Africa, who work for Obsidian or one of its suppliers. Such staff may be engaged in, among other things, the fulfilment of your order, the processing of your payment details, and the provision of support services. By submitting your data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. Obsidian will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data are treated securely and per this Privacy Policy.
All information you provide is stored on a secure server. Any payment transactions will be encrypted using SSL technology. Where Obsidian has given you (or where you have chosen) a password that enables you to access certain parts of the site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. Obsidian asks you not to share a password with anyone.
Monitoring of Communications
Obsidian may review correspondence between users which is sent via Obsidian’s website, mobile application, or services to investigate violations of the Terms of Use. Obsidian will only access such correspondence if it has a basis to believe that such terms are being violated. See our Terms of Use for further information.
Security
When Obsidian collects personal information directly from you, it follows generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted: both during transmission and once received it is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL). Obsidian does its best to protect your data. Once your information is received, Obsidian uses strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore its absolute security cannot be guaranteed; any transmission is at your own risk. If you have any questions about security on the Obsidian website, contact us.
Obsidian has a company-wide commitment to your privacy. To make sure your personal information is secure, please check that you are visiting our Obsidian authorised website on the domain www.obsidian.software. Obsidian emails will only come from obsidian.co.za. Obsidian does not permit our employees to send or receive work-related emails from personal accounts or any other address. Do not share your username or password with anyone.
Additional Policy Information
Obsidian’s website includes Widgets, which are interactive mini-programs that run on Obsidian’s website to provide specific services from another company (e.g., displaying the news, opinions, music, etc). Personal information, such as your email address, may be collected through a widget. Cookies may also be set by a widget to enable them to function properly. Information collected by this widget is governed by the Privacy Policy of the company that created it.
Updating / Accessing / Amending / Correcting Personally Identifiable Information
If your personally identifiable information changes, or if you no longer desire Obsidian services, you may correct, update, amend, delete/remove, or deactivate it by making the change on the member information page for Obsidian, or by emailing marketing@obsidian.co.za, or by contacting Obsidian via telephone (RSA: +27-11-795-0200 or +27-0860-4-LINUX or visit the Contact Us page). Obsidian Customer Support is available Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm. Users have a right to access, object to, or oppose, for legitimate reasons, the processing of their data per this Privacy Policy. Obsidian will respond to your request to access within 30 days.
Note to Parents or Guardians
Minors may want to visit www.obsidian.software on the internet. However, the site is not directed at children under the age of 18, and those under the age of 18 should not provide personal data on the site unless they have received permission from their parents before submitting any personal information. Obsidian believes parents should be responsible for supervising the online activities of their children and take into account various tools that allow them to provide their children with a controlled, child-friendly internet. These tools are designed to preclude children from releasing personal information online without the permission of their parents. If Obsidian becomes aware that a minor has submitted information on its site, Obsidian reserves the right to request proof that the parent or guardian has permitted use by the minor of the site; otherwise Obsidian reserves the right to delete the relevant information and the minor’s registration on the site.
Notification of Privacy Policy Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to Obsidian’s information practices. If any material changes are made Obsidian will notify you on the websites before the change becomes effective. You are encouraged to periodically review this page for the latest information on this Privacy Policy and Obsidian’s practices.
How to Contact Us
Obsidian is responsible for the personal data collected from users of this website and determines the purposes and means by which such personal data are used, subject to applicable law.
If you have any questions about the Obsidian Privacy Policy or the practices of this site, please contact Customer Support via email.
Obsidian Systems
Unit 5 Randpark Ridge Office Park
2 Ateljee Street
Johannesburg, Gauteng 2194
South Africa
marketing@obsidian.co.za