Who I am
Adam Berger is an independent web designer and developer based in Woodmead, Sandton, Johannesburg. For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), I am the responsible party and Information Officer. You can reach me at adam@adam-berger.com or on +27 76 169 7916.
What I collect
- Enquiry form: your name, business name, phone number, and anything else you choose to give me, such as your email address, current website and message.
- AI assistant: the messages you send, and which page of this site you sent each one from, so it can answer questions about that page. The conversation is kept in your browser for the current tab only and is cleared when you close it; I don't store it. If you choose to send me a brief, your details and the recent conversation are sent to me with it.
- Website check: the website address you check, and the results. If you open the full report, your name, business name and email or WhatsApp number, which reach me like an enquiry, with your results.
- WhatsApp, email and calls: what you send me when you contact me directly.
- Technical information: my hosting provider keeps standard server logs, such as IP addresses and browser types, to keep the website secure and working. To stop abuse, the assistant and forms also keep short-lived, anonymised counts of requests per visitor.
- How the website is used: the pages you visit, how you found the site (for example a search engine or an AI assistant), your type of device and browser, your approximate location (country and city, worked out from your IP address), and clicks and scrolling, including recordings of how pages are used. What you type into forms and the assistant is hidden in these recordings. I only link this to your name and contact details if you send me an enquiry or a brief: then it goes with your enquiry, so I can see how you found the site and which pages you looked at.
The website uses one first-party cookie to count visits and recognise a returning browser. Your browser also keeps a short note of how you first found the site and the pages you've viewed; it stays on your device unless you send me an enquiry. I don't use advertising cookies, and I don't sell or rent personal information.
Why I use it
I use your information to reply to you, prepare your homepage preview or quote, provide the services you ask for, keep this website secure, and understand how people use it so I can make it better. I rely on your consent when you contact me, and on my legitimate interest in responding to your request. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
Who I share it with
I share personal information only with service providers who help me run this website, and only as much as they need:
- Formspree delivers enquiry form submissions and assistant briefs to my inbox.
- Supabase stores my record of enquiries, calls and clients, so I can follow up and keep track of our work together.
- Anthropic processes messages sent to the AI assistant so it can reply. It doesn't use them to train its models.
- Google runs the speed test in the website check (PageSpeed Insights). It receives the website address you check, not your personal details.
- Cal.com books your preview call and sends the confirmation and reminder emails. Google Meet hosts the call itself.
- MailerLite sends new blog posts to people who sign up for them by email. You can unsubscribe from any email.
- Vercel hosts this website and checks that form submissions, website checks and assistant messages come from a real browser rather than a bot.
- PostHog measures how the website is used, as described above.
These providers are based outside South Africa, mainly in the United States. I use providers that are bound by data protection terms offering protection comparable to POPIA. I may also disclose information where the law requires it.
How long I keep it
I keep enquiries for as long as I need them to deal with your request, and no longer than 12 months if no work follows. Recordings of how pages are used are deleted after 30 days. If you become a client, I keep your information for as long as we work together, and financial records for as long as the law requires.
Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- ask what personal information I hold about you, and get a copy;
- ask me to correct or delete it;
- object to me using it, or withdraw your consent;
- complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za.
To make a request, email adam@adam-berger.com. I'll respond within 30 days.
Changes and contact
If I change how I handle personal information, I'll update this notice and the date at the top. Questions about privacy are welcome at adam@adam-berger.com.