Privacy Policy

Goodbyes is a service operated by Legacy Recordings (Pty) Ltd (“Goodbyes”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

We are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy, particularly because the stories, memories, voices and images entrusted to us may be deeply personal.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information in accordance with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable laws.

It applies to visitors to https://goodbyes.co.za, customers who purchase our services, and individuals whose personal information is processed as part of our recordings and digital content.

Depending on your interaction with Goodbyes, we may process:

• Contact information: Names, email addresses, telephone numbers and billing details.
• Transaction information: Purchases, invoices, payment references, payment status and order history.
• Recording information: Audio recordings, video footage, photographs, interviews, personal stories and other materials provided during the recording process.
• Family information: Names, relationships, family histories and other information voluntarily shared in recorded stories.
• Technical information: Website usage information, IP addresses, device information and cookies, where used.
• Communications: Correspondence, enquiries, support requests and consent records.
• Optional vault information: A South African identity number, recorded permission, named message recipients and private release instructions, only where the participant chooses a sealed personal message.

Recordings may incidentally include sensitive personal information, including information about health, religious beliefs or other private matters. We will process such information only where legally permitted and appropriately authorised.

We process information to:

1. Respond to enquiries and manage bookings.
2. Process purchases and administer customer accounts.
3. Conduct in-person interviews and recording sessions.
4. Edit, produce and deliver recordings and associated digital content.
5. Communicate with customers about their orders.
6. Provide customer support and resolve disputes.
7. Maintain the safety, security and functionality of our services.
8. Fulfil accounting, tax and other legal obligations.
9. Send marketing communications where permitted by law.

We process personal information on applicable lawful grounds, which may include contractual necessity, consent, legal obligations or legitimate interests recognised by POPIA.

We recognise the importance of protecting the dignity, privacy and personal wishes of individuals participating in recordings.

Before recording identifiable participants, we will obtain appropriate permission or another valid legal basis for the recording and its intended use.

Recordings are created for the purposes agreed with the customer and participants.

We will not knowingly publish private recordings, photographs or personal stories for public marketing purposes without the necessary permission.

Customers who provide third-party photographs, recordings or personal information must have the appropriate authority to do so.

Additional recording consent arrangements may apply, particularly where children or vulnerable individuals participate.

With the participant’s agreement, chapter audio may be sent to OpenAI for speech-to-text transcription. Interviewers can review and correct the resulting draft. A transcript is not a substitute for the original recording.

Optional sealed messages require separate permission and remain separate from ordinary recordings and family sharing links. Permission to record is not permission to publish or release a sealed message.

For a chosen sealed message, an identity number is collected only with separate permission, encrypted at rest and shown masked to staff. It is intended for an authorised Home Affairs-backed status check, not public display. No such verification provider is connected at present, so deceased-status checks and release are disabled. A future release requires an authoritative matching result and administrator approval; no automatic release is currently offered.

Online payments are processed using Yoco, an independent payment services provider.

When you make a payment, relevant transaction and payment information may be processed by Yoco and its authorised payment partners.

Goodbyes does not require customers to provide complete payment card details directly to us through email or ordinary website forms.

Yoco processes information in accordance with its own privacy arrangements, which can be accessed at https://www.yoco.com/za/legal/.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect customer recordings and associated information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse and disclosure.

Access to customer recordings is limited to personnel and authorised service providers who require access to perform their functions.

Digital files may be stored or processed using third-party hosting, storage and production services, subject to appropriate safeguards.

Published recording links remain live for 12 months from the date of publishing. The download and access period is also 12 months from that date.

After the initial 12 months, continued hosting is optional and will be quoted separately for a nominal fee.

Ordinary raw recordings, source footage and production files are retained for 12 months. This ordinary retention period does not apply to separately consented sealed vault messages.

Sealed vault messages and the information needed to administer them are retained until authorised release or customer-requested deletion. Any post-release access and retention period must be agreed separately.

During an interview, pending audio may be held privately on the interviewer’s authorised device so it survives a connection interruption. The local pending copy is removed only after the server confirms successful storage. Staff must protect their device and must not use shared browser accounts for interviews.

Customers should retain their own backup copies of delivered recordings unless a separate ongoing storage service has expressly been purchased.

We may disclose information to service providers involved in payment processing, digital production, secure storage, website hosting, delivery and customer support.

Such disclosures are limited to what is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

We do not sell customers' personal information.

We may disclose information where required by law or to protect legal rights.

Where information is processed or stored outside South Africa, we will take appropriate steps to comply with POPIA's requirements for international transfers.

We may use essential cookies and, where implemented, analytics or marketing technologies.

Any non-essential tracking and related consent mechanisms will be operated in accordance with applicable law.

You may opt out of direct marketing communications using the unsubscribe facility provided or by contacting us.

We retain personal information for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, subject to legal, contractual and legitimate retention requirements.

Requests for deletion or access restriction can be submitted to hello@goodbyes.co.za.

Where deletion is legally permitted and operationally possible, we will process the request within a reasonable period and explain any information that must be retained.

Subject to POPIA, individuals may request access to relevant personal information, request corrections, object to certain processing, withdraw consent where applicable or request deletion where permitted.

You may also lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

Where a recording includes a child, we will obtain the necessary authorisation from a competent person or rely on another applicable legal basis.

Children's personal information will be subject to appropriate additional safeguards.

Responsible party: Legacy Recordings (Pty) Ltd

Trading as: Goodbyes

Email: hello@goodbyes.co.za

Website: https://goodbyes.co.za

Physical address: 89 Johannes Street, Fairland

Information Officer: Morne Kahts

Information Officer email: hello@goodbyes.co.za

Information Officer telephone: 011 463 7315

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will be available on our website. Material changes will be communicated where required by law.