Privacy & POPIA Notice

1. Purpose and scope

This Notice governs personal information processed through BookLaunchIQ websites, accounts, publishing services, Marketplace, Store, checkout, Library, support, marketing and associated operations.

South African POPIA is the primary privacy baseline. Additional foreign privacy rights apply only where the relevant law legally applies.

2. Responsible party

The responsible party is Kagoboso Industries Investments (Pty) Ltd T/A BookLaunchIQ, a private company registered in South Africa under registration number 2016/303542/07. Its public business address and address for formal legal notices/service are Setlopo Utlwanang, Mahikeng, South Africa. The Information Officer is Kamogelo Segapo, reachable through support@booklaunchiq.co.za.

3. Categories of data subjects

BookLaunchIQ may process information relating to account holders, authors, customers, prospective users or customers, rights complainants, support contacts, authorised business representatives and service-provider contacts.

4. Information BookLaunchIQ may process

Information may include name and contact information; account and authentication identifiers; author and publishing-profile information; manuscripts and submitted content; book metadata, covers and publication records; approvals; Marketplace and Store listings; cart, order and transaction records; payment-provider references and status; Library entitlements and delivery evidence; support correspondence; rights complaints; marketing preferences; device/browser/network/security information; and system records needed for security, fraud prevention and legal compliance.

BookLaunchIQ does not claim to store full payment-card credentials entered into a payment provider's own payment interface.

5. Sources

Information may come directly from the data subject, an authorised representative, platform activity, commissioned payment or service providers, authorised publishing or distribution integrations, rights complainants, security systems, or lawful public sources where legitimately required.

6. Purposes

BookLaunchIQ processes information for account authentication, publishing workflow, manuscript processing, author approval, product and listing preparation, Store operations, payment verification, Library delivery, customer support, fraud/security, rights complaints, legal obligations, service communications, authorised marketing and lawfully deployed service improvement.

7. Lawful processing

Depending on the context, processing may be based on consent, performance of a contract, steps requested before a contract, legal obligations, protection of legitimate interests of the data subject, or legitimate interests of BookLaunchIQ or a third party where lawful. Not all processing depends on consent.

8. Mandatory and voluntary information

Some information is optional. If information necessary for an account, publishing service, transaction, rights request or legal obligation is not provided, BookLaunchIQ may be unable to provide the relevant service.

9. Manuscripts and author material

Intellectual-property ownership is distinct from personal-information processing. Authors retain ownership subject to the Terms, and authors must have lawful authority for personal information included in material they submit.

10. Payment information

Payment providers may directly process sensitive payment credentials. BookLaunchIQ may receive transaction references, status, amount, currency and other evidence needed to verify, fulfil and reconcile a transaction.

11. Sharing and processors

BookLaunchIQ may use verified categories of providers for hosting, database and storage infrastructure; authentication; payment processing; communications; security and monitoring; and commissioned publishing or distribution services. It may disclose information to professional advisers, regulators or law enforcement where legally required. The current processor inventory is maintained as an operational compliance record and will be updated when services change.

12. International transfers

As a global digital platform, BookLaunchIQ may use providers or process information outside South Africa. International transfers must comply with applicable POPIA requirements and other transfer rules that legally apply.

13. Retention

Retention is category-sensitive and linked to account/service necessity, publishing obligations, customer entitlements, transaction/accounting/tax requirements, fraud/security, disputes, regulatory duties and legitimate audit evidence. Information is not retained indefinitely without a lawful purpose.

14. Security

BookLaunchIQ uses reasonable, appropriate technical and organisational safeguards. No internet service can promise absolute security.

15. Security compromise

BookLaunchIQ will respond to personal-information security compromises in accordance with applicable law, including required notifications where applicable.

16. Data-subject rights

Where applicable, a data subject may request confirmation/access, correction, deletion or destruction, object to processing, withdraw consent where consent is the basis, opt out of direct marketing, complain to the Information Regulator, and exercise other statutory rights. POPIA includes conditions concerning accountability, processing limitation, purpose specification, further processing, information quality, openness, security safeguards and data-subject participation.

17. Exercising rights

Requests may require reasonable identity verification. Privacy and information-access requests may be directed to Kamogelo Segapo, Information Officer, through support@booklaunchiq.co.za. PAIA may apply to certain access requests.

18. Direct marketing

Optional electronic marketing is distinct from necessary service communications. Optional marketing must not be bundled into purchase acceptance, and an accessible opt-out will be provided where electronic marketing is used.

19. Cookies and tracking

BookLaunchIQ currently uses essential functionality needed for authentication and cart/session operation. This Notice does not claim a non-essential advertising or analytics tracker where none has been verified as deployed. The approach will be updated if tracking changes.

20. Automated and AI processing

BookLaunchIQ may use automation or AI-assisted functionality in publishing-related services. It does not represent that legally significant decisions are made solely by automated means unless that is actually disclosed for the relevant service.

21. Children

BookLaunchIQ is not positioned as intentionally collecting children's information without appropriate authority. Where legally required, parental or guardian authority must be obtained.

22. International users

South Africa remains the primary privacy baseline; mandatory foreign rights are respected where they legally apply.

23. Complaints

A privacy concern may be raised through the published BookLaunchIQ support channel. A data subject may also complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa through its official website: https://inforegulator.org.za/.

24. Changes

Material changes will be versioned and dated before becoming effective.