AI Animation Academy
Privacy notice
How Digital Characters (Pty) Ltd handles personal information on academy.digitalcharacters.africa, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Our main website has its own privacy policy.
The short version. We collect what we need to run your membership and teach you — nothing for advertising. We don't sell your information and there are no analytics or tracking pixels on the Academy. Card details go to PayFast, never to us.
What we collect and why
| Information | Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email, optional WhatsApp number, password (stored only as a one-way hash) | To run your account, sign you in and contact you about your membership | Contract with you |
| Plan, payment dates and amounts, PayFast references, tax invoices | Billing, tax invoices and our accounting/VAT records | Contract; legal obligation (tax law) |
| Your confirmation that access starts immediately, with date, time and IP address | Proof of consent under the ECTA | Legal obligation; legitimate interest |
| Lessons opened and completed, live classes joined, coaching bookings | Your progress, certificates, and checking the 7-day refund conditions | Contract; legitimate interest |
| Work you submit (links, files, notes) and our feedback | Teaching and feedback; the members' showcase if selected | Contract |
We set one cookie: a sign-in cookie that keeps you logged in. Your light/dark choice is stored in your own browser.
Who else handles it
- PayFast (South Africa) — processes card payments and subscriptions.
- Bunny.net (Slovenia, EU) — hosts and streams the course videos. When you play a video, Bunny receives your IP address.
- Google Meet — live classes. Google's own privacy terms apply in the meeting.
- Hostinger — the server the Academy runs on (United Kingdom), and our email host for account emails.
Where information leaves South Africa, it goes to countries with data-protection laws comparable to POPIA (the EU and the UK).
How long we keep it
- Account and learning records: while you're a member and for 2 years after your membership ends (so you can rejoin and keep your certificates), then deleted on request or at that point.
- Payment records and tax invoices: 5 years, as the Tax Administration Act and VAT Act require.
- Submitted work: until you delete your account or ask us to remove it.
Your rights
You can ask us what we hold, to correct it, to delete what we don't need to keep by law, or to stop using it. Email info@digitalcharacters.africa. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za.
Under-18s
Members under 18 need a parent or guardian to agree to these terms and to manage payment.
Security
The Academy runs over HTTPS. Passwords are stored as one-way hashes, videos are delivered with signed, expiring links, and the database is backed up nightly. If a breach is likely to affect you, we'll tell you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
Digital Characters (Pty) Ltd
The Media Mill, 7 Quince Street, Mill Park, Johannesburg 2092, South Africa
info@digitalcharacters.africa · +27 71 595 4780