Privacy Policy

This policy explains what personal information eTip collects when you use our website, why we collect it, and the rights you have under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

1. Who we are

eTip is currently operated as a sole proprietorship trading as "eTip", based in South Africa. Our Information Officer can be reached at info@etip.co.za for any request about your personal information.

2. What we collect

When you register, we store:

  • Your first and last name
  • Your email address, and whether you have confirmed it
  • Your South African mobile number
  • Your password, stored only as a bcrypt hash - we cannot read it, and nobody at eTip can tell you what it is
  • A postal address, if you choose to add one
  • The date you accepted our Terms and Conditions

When you verify your mobile number, we record the number, the channel you chose (WhatsApp or SMS), a hashed copy of the one-time code, and its delivery and verification status. If you verify by WhatsApp, we also keep a log of the messages we send and receive with you - including message content - so we can investigate delivery problems and prevent abuse.

As you use the site, we log sign-ins, failed sign-in attempts, password changes and administrative actions, together with the IP address and browser used, and we keep a record of every email we send you.

Wallet and tipping features are not yet available to the public, so we do not yet collect transaction information from general users. When that changes, this section will describe what we record.

3. How we use it

  • To create and run your account, and provide the service you signed up for.
  • To verify you control the mobile number you register, once you choose to verify it.
  • To keep the platform secure, detect abuse, and investigate incidents.
  • To meet our legal and record-keeping obligations.

We do not use your information for direct marketing or profiling, and we do not sell it.

4. WhatsApp Business Platform

We use the WhatsApp Business Platform, provided by Meta Platforms, Inc. ("Meta"), to send you a one-time verification code if you choose to verify your mobile number by WhatsApp, and - once enabled - to send tipping notifications you have asked for. To deliver these messages we share your mobile number and the message content with Meta; we do not use this integration to send marketing, and we do not share any other personal information with Meta beyond what a message needs to be delivered. Your use of WhatsApp itself is also governed by WhatsApp's own Privacy Policy.

5. Who else we share it with

We do not sell your information and we do not share it for marketing. We do share it with:

  • Mailgun, to deliver email - your email address and the content of our messages to you pass through their systems, which may be outside South Africa.
  • Meta / WhatsApp (see above), to deliver WhatsApp messages.
  • Google reCAPTCHA, to tell people apart from automated scripts on our forms - Google receives your IP address and interaction data for that check, under Google's privacy policy.
  • Anyone we are legally required to disclose it to.

Where a service provider processes your information outside South Africa, we only use providers who are contractually bound to protect it to a standard consistent with POPIA's cross-border transfer requirements.

6. How long we keep it

Account information is kept while your account exists. If your account is closed we normally suspend rather than erase it, so that activity stays auditable - you can ask us to erase it permanently instead, subject to any legal retention obligation. Activity and security logs are kept for 90 days. Mobile verification records and WhatsApp message logs are kept for as long as needed to support you, investigate abuse, or meet a legal requirement.

7. Your rights

Under POPIA you may:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you and why,
  • ask for a copy of it,
  • ask us to correct or update it,
  • ask us to delete it, subject to our legal retention obligations, and
  • object to our processing.

You can view and change most of your details yourself under My Details once signed in. For anything else, contact us at info@etip.co.za. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to South Africa's Information Regulator at enquiries@inforegulator.org.za or inforegulator.org.za.

8. Security

We store your password only as a bcrypt hash, store verification codes only as a hash, apply rate limiting to slow down abuse, and use TLS to encrypt data in transit. No system is completely secure - use a unique password, and contact us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

9. Cookies

We set one session cookie so the site can remember you are signed in. If you tick Remember my email we store your email address in a second cookie to save you typing it - never your password. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

10. Children

eTip is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the platform changes, particularly as tipping and wallet features launch. The date below shows when it was last updated; where a change materially affects you we will also email registered users.

12. Data Deletion Instructions

To have us delete the personal information we hold about you - including your account details and any WhatsApp verification or message records tied to your mobile number - email info@etip.co.za with the subject line "Delete my data" from the address linked to your account (or from any address, quoting your registered mobile number, if you no longer have access to it). We will confirm receipt within 5 business days and complete the deletion within 30 days, unless we are required by law or a legitimate audit obligation to keep a record - for example, we may keep an anonymised trace in our security logs, or detach rather than delete an activity record already tied to another user's transaction. You can also update or remove most of your own details at any time under My Details once signed in.

13. Contact

eTip · info@etip.co.za

Last updated 18 October 2026. Terms and Conditions · Back to home.