What happens to a message you send us
Short version: we read it so we can answer you, we keep the useful pattern and not your identity, and we never publish anything of yours without asking first.
What you send us
When you send a suspicious message to our WhatsApp number for a Qaphela check, we receive whatever you send. That is usually a screenshot or copied text, and it may contain your phone number, the sender's number or address, and anything else visible in the message.
You do not have to send anything private. Hiding account numbers, identity numbers and unrelated conversation before you send costs you nothing and does not make the check any harder.
Why we hold it at all
We hold your submission for two separate reasons, and it is worth keeping them apart because they are treated differently.
- To answer you. We need the message itself to check it and reply.
- To improve the warnings. Knowing that a particular scam is being reported repeatedly in a particular area is what makes the weekly Qaphela warning worth reading.
The two things we keep
Your raw submission. The screenshot, the conversation and anything identifying in it. Kept for 90 days so we can follow up if you come back to us, then deleted. Only Sudo and Nikita can open it.
The scam indicators. The scam type, the wording pattern, the suspicious address or sender, the general area and the date. These carry nothing that identifies you and we keep them so the warnings stay current.
Publishing
We rebuild scam examples from scratch for the billboard and this website. We do not publish your screenshot, your conversation or your name. If a submission is unusual enough that we want to use it directly, we ask you in the same WhatsApp conversation and only use it if you say yes in writing.
Who else sees it
Nobody outside Ubuntu Guard Cyber, unless the law requires it or you ask us to involve someone. We do not sell submissions, we do not share them with advertisers, and we do not add you to a marketing list because you asked us to check a message.
The conversation itself happens on WhatsApp, so WhatsApp's own terms apply to the message in transit. That is outside our control and worth knowing.
Website analytics
This site uses Plausible, which is cookie-free and does not build a profile of you. We record which sections of the page people reach and which buttons get used. We never send message content, names, numbers, email addresses or submitted links to our analytics.
Your rights under POPIA
You can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Message the same WhatsApp number or email [email protected] and we will action it. You can also complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa.
Children
Qaphela is written for adults. We do not knowingly collect anything from a child. If a submission clearly comes from a child we answer the safety question and delete the submission.
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