Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how CitizenHelp (“we”, “our”, or “us”), operating at citizenhelp.co.za, collects, uses, and protects information when you visit our website. Please read this policy carefully.

Last updated: June 2026

1. Who We Are

CitizenHelp (citizenhelp.co.za) is an independent South African information website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any South African government department. We provide free guides to help South Africans navigate government services.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

If you use our contact form, you voluntarily provide us with your name, email address, and the content of your message. We use this information solely to respond to your enquiry. We do not add you to mailing lists without your explicit consent.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit citizenhelp.co.za, certain information is automatically collected by our web server and third-party services:

• Log data: Your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and date/time of visit. This is standard web server logging.
• Cookies: Small text files placed on your device. See the Cookies section below for full details.
• Analytics data: Aggregate data about how visitors use our website, including page views, session duration, and navigation paths.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected to:

• Respond to messages and enquiries you send via our contact form
• Understand how visitors use our website and improve our content
• Serve relevant advertisements through Google AdSense
• Monitor and prevent fraudulent or abusive use of the site

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties, except as described in this policy.

4. Cookies

CitizenHelp uses cookies and browser storage. A cookie is a small file placed on your device when you visit a website. Cookies allow websites to recognise your device and remember certain information.

Cookies and Storage We Use

• Cookie consent preference (cookie_consent):When you respond to our cookie consent banner, we store your choice (“accepted” or “rejected”) in your browser's localStorage. This is a first-party storage item used solely to remember your preference and avoid showing the banner on every page visit. It contains no personal information.
• Analytics cookies: We may use Google Analytics or similar services to understand how visitors interact with our website. These cookies collect anonymised data such as how many people visit, which pages are most popular, and how long people spend on the site.
• Google AdSense advertising cookies: Google AdSense uses cookies and similar technologies to serve advertisements based on your interests, including your prior visits to this site and other websites across the internet. These are third-party cookies set by Google LLC.

Google AdSense Cookies — What They Collect

Google AdSense may collect the following types of information through its cookies:

• Pages you have visited on citizenhelp.co.za and other websites
• Advertisements you have seen or clicked on
• Your approximate location (country/region level) based on IP address
• Browser type and operating system
• A randomly generated identifier associated with your browser (not your name or personal details)

Google uses this information to serve advertisements that are more relevant to your interests. We have no direct access to or control over Google's advertising cookies. Google's privacy policy governs their use of this data and is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

How to Opt Out of Google AdSense Personalised Ads

• Visit Google's Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com to opt out of personalised advertising
• Use the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out tool at optout.networkadvertising.org
• Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent analytics tracking
• Use your browser's built-in settings to block or delete third-party cookies

How to Withdraw Your Cookie Consent

You can withdraw your cookie consent at any time by clearing the consent preference stored in your browser. To do this:

• Chrome / Edge: Open Developer Tools (F12) → Application tab → Local Storage → citizenhelp.co.za → delete the cookie_consent entry, then reload the page
• Firefox: Open Developer Tools (F12) → Storage tab → Local Storage → citizenhelp.co.za → delete the cookie_consent entry, then reload the page
• Safari: Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data → search for citizenhelp.co.za → remove data
• Clearing all browser cookies and site data for this site will also reset your preference

After withdrawing consent, the cookie consent banner will reappear on your next visit.

5. Third-Party Advertising — Google AdSense

CitizenHelp uses Google AdSense to display advertisements on our website. Google AdSense is an advertising service provided by Google LLC. Google uses cookies and web beacons to serve ads based on your interests.

Google's privacy policy governs the collection, use, and sharing of data by Google through AdSense. You can review Google's privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites. We have no control over the cookies placed by Google AdSense.

6. Third-Party Links

Our guides contain links to government websites (sassa.gov.za, nsfas.org.za, sars.gov.za, dha.gov.za, labour.gov.za, and others) and third-party websites (job portals, educational resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. When you follow a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.

7. Children's Privacy

CitizenHelp does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. Our website is intended for use by adults seeking information about South African government services. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Data Retention

Messages submitted via our contact form are retained only as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry and for record-keeping purposes, typically no longer than 12 months. Analytics and log data are retained in aggregate, anonymised form.

9. Your Rights Under POPIA

CitizenHelp is committed to complying with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), South Africa's primary data protection legislation. Under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access: You may request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy of that information.
• Right to correction: You may request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
• Right to deletion: You may request that we delete personal information we hold about you, subject to certain exceptions permitted by law.
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances, including for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where we process your personal information based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
• Right to complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your rights under POPIA have been infringed. Contact the Information Regulator at inforeg.org.za or by email at inforeg@justice.gov.za.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us via our Contact page or email info@citizenhelp.co.za. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe as required by POPIA.

10. Security

We take reasonable precautions to protect your information. Our website is served over HTTPS (secure connection). However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make significant changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights regarding your personal information, please contact us via our Contact page or email us at info@citizenhelp.co.za.