Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 3 June 2026 · Last Updated: 3 June 2026

1. Introduction

Lolawe Fashions ("we", "us", "our") is a South African fashion boutique. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you contact us through WhatsApp, visit our website at lolawefashions.com, or interact with us through any other channel.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

Name — when you introduce yourself in our WhatsApp conversations
Phone number — your WhatsApp number, which we receive when you contact us
Delivery or collection details — when you arrange a purchase
Payment proof — bank reference numbers, amounts, and screenshots of EFT transfers that you choose to send us
Messages — the content of conversations you have with our AI-powered WhatsApp assistant and human staff
Product preferences — sizes, colours, and items you have asked about

2.2 Information collected automatically

Conversation timestamps — when messages were sent and received
Language preference — detected from your messages (English, Portuguese, or Amharic)
Website analytics — basic visit information if you browse our website (page views, country, no personal identifiers)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information only for the following purposes:

To respond to your enquiries — our AI-powered assistant uses your messages to provide product information, prices, sizing, availability, and order assistance
To process your orders — we use your name, phone number, address, and payment proof to fulfil purchases
To send you product photos and updates — when you ask about specific items, or when you opt in to a restock waitlist
To verify payments — we use payment proof images to confirm EFT transfers (the boss reviews these manually before approving)
To improve our service — we analyse anonymised conversation patterns to make our AI assistant more helpful, but never to single you out
To comply with legal obligations — including tax record-keeping under South African law

4. Third-Party Service Providers

Lolawe Fashions uses third-party platforms to deliver its WhatsApp customer service. These providers process your information on our behalf under strict data protection terms:

Meta Platforms (WhatsApp Business API) — to send and receive WhatsApp messages. Governed by the WhatsApp Business Privacy Policy.
Anthropic PBC (Claude AI) — to power the AI assistant's understanding and replies. Governed by the Anthropic Privacy Policy. Anthropic does not use customer messages to train its models when accessed through API.
DeepSeek AI — used alongside or instead of Anthropic for natural-language understanding. Governed by the DeepSeek Privacy Policy.
Railway, Vercel, and GitHub — for hosting our backend, website, and code. None of these providers receive identifiable customer message content beyond what is necessary to operate the service.

We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to any third party for marketing or other commercial purposes.

5. How Long We Keep Your Information

Conversation history — kept indefinitely so we can give you continuity of service (recognising returning customers, remembering your preferences). You may request deletion at any time.
Payment proof images and records — kept for 5 years as required by South African Revenue Service (SARS) for tax purposes.
Order and delivery records — kept for 5 years for legal and accounting compliance.
Restock waitlist entries — kept until the product comes back in stock and you are notified, or until you reply "STOP" to opt out (whichever is first).

6. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the right to:

Be informed about what personal information we hold about you
Request access to a copy of your personal information
Correct or update information that is inaccurate or out of date
Object to the processing of your information for direct marketing purposes
Request deletion of your information, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records
Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe we have mishandled your information

To exercise any of these rights, please WhatsApp us at +27 63 959 7776 or email harrisonhe.01150@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.

7. How We Protect Your Information

All data transmission between you and our service is encrypted in transit (HTTPS / TLS, plus WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption for messages).
Customer profile data, payment proofs, and order records are stored on access-controlled servers operated by Railway and our infrastructure providers.
Only the Lolawe Fashions owner and authorised technical staff have access to customer data.
We use industry-standard practices, but no system on the internet is 100% secure — please use common sense (do not send us your bank login, ID number, or other sensitive information unless required for a specific transaction).

8. Children's Privacy

Lolawe Fashions sells products intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. International Customers and Data Transfers

Lolawe Fashions serves customers across South Africa and SADC countries. Some of our service providers (Meta, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Vercel, GitHub) are based outside South Africa. Where we transfer your information across borders, we ensure equivalent levels of protection through standard contractual clauses and the providers' own privacy commitments.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date at the top. Significant changes will also be announced via our WhatsApp broadcast (only if you have previously opted in).

11. Contact Us

Lolawe Fashions
WhatsApp: +27 63 959 7776
Email: harrisonhe.01150@gmail.com
Website: https://lolawefashions.com