Privacy Policy

Last updated: 28/04/2026

Ascendant Studio (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is collected and processed responsibly, lawfully, and transparently in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or engage with us.

1. Introduction

Ascendant Studio (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is collected and used properly, lawfully, and transparently.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

By using our website (www.ascendantstudio.co.za), you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Definitions

• “Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living natural person or existing juristic person, as defined in POPIA.
• “Processing” includes the collection, receipt, recording, organisation, storage, updating, retrieval, use, distribution, or deletion of personal information.
• “Data Subject” refers to the person or entity to whom the personal information relates.
• “Responsible Party” refers to the party that determines the purpose and means of processing personal information.

3. Responsible Party

The responsible party for purposes of POPIA is:

Business Name: Ascendant Studio (Pty) Ltd
Country of Residence: South Africa
Registration Number (if applicable): 2016 / 512111 / 07
Email Address: info@ascendantstudio.co.za
Telephone: +27 84 840 1131

4. Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information in the following ways:

4.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Name and surname
• Email address
• Contact number
• Company name
• Information you submit via contact or enquiry forms
• Any information submitted through contact forms, registrations, subscriptions, or enquiries
• Any information you voluntarily provide in correspondence with us

4.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device information
• Operating system
• Pages visited and usage data
• Referring URLs

5. Purpose of Processing Personal Information

We collect and process personal information for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and communicate with you
• To provide information about our services
• To improve our website’s functionality and performance
• To analyse website usage and visitor behaviour (where consent has been given)
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations
• To protect our rights, property, and legitimate interests
• To provide and operate our website and services
• To process transactions or requests
• To send marketing communications (where consent has been obtained)
• To improve website functionality and user experience

6. Lawful Basis for Processing

We process personal information based on one or more of the following lawful grounds as required by POPIA:

• Your consent
• Performance of a contract
• Compliance with a legal obligation
• Legitimate interests pursued by us, provided these do not override your rights

7. Comments

When visitors leave comments on the website, we collect the information shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to assist with spam detection and website security.

If you use the Gravatar service, an anonymised hash of your email address may be sent to Gravatar to determine if a profile image is associated with you.
Gravatar’s Privacy Policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/

Once approved, your comment and profile image may be publicly visible.

8. Media Uploads

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images containing embedded location data (EXIF GPS), as visitors may be able to extract this information from publicly available images.

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve user experience, track usage patterns, and optimise our website performance. You can manage cookies through your browser settings.

9.1 Comment Cookies

If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies are stored for your convenience and last for one year.

9.2 Login Cookies

If you visit the login page, a temporary cookie is set to check whether your browser accepts cookies.
When you log in, cookies are set to store login details and display preferences. These may last from two days up to two weeks, depending on selected options.

9.3 Publishing Cookies

If you edit or publish content, an additional cookie may be saved that contains no personal data and expires after one day.

10. Cookie Consent Management

We use a third‑party cookie consent management platform (such as CookieYes or Cookiebot) to manage user consent preferences in compliance with POPIA and other applicable data protection laws.

This platform may record:

• Consent status
• Date and time of consent
• Cookie categories accepted or declined
• Anonymised or truncated IP address

11. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this website may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles).
Embedded content behaves in the same way as if you had visited the external website directly.

These third‑party websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with their content.

12. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell or rent your personal information.

We may share your information with:

• Service providers and contractors who assist in website operations (e.g. hosting, analytics)
• Service providers and contractors who assist in the delivery of services (e.g. photographers, designers, developers etc.)
• Payment processors (where applicable)
• Regulatory authorities or law enforcement where required by law

All third parties are contractually obligated to comply with POPIA and maintain appropriate security safeguards.

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

13. Automated Processing and Spam Detection

Visitor comments and form submissions may be checked through automated spam detection services.
This processing is carried out for legitimate security and operational purposes and is limited to what is necessary.

14. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law, including:

• Comment moderation and website interaction management
• Legal, administrative, or security obligations

User account information (if applicable) may be viewed, edited, or deleted by the user at any time, except where retention is required by law.

15. Cross‑Border Transfers

If personal information is transferred outside South Africa, we ensure that:

• The recipient country has adequate data protection laws or
• Appropriate safeguards (such as contractual protections) are in place as required by POPIA

Our website is hosted on infrastructure provided by third‑party hosting providers, including Hostinger, whose servers may be located outside the Republic of South Africa, including in the European Union and other jurisdictions.

As a result, personal information submitted through this website (including contact form submissions, comments, and user interactions) may be stored and processed on servers located outside South Africa.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that any cross‑border transfers of personal information comply with section 72 of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), including ensuring that the recipient is subject to laws, binding corporate rules, or agreements that provide an adequate level of protection for personal information.

Such consent records may be processed and stored on servers located outside South Africa, subject to appropriate data protection safeguards.

16. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against:

• Loss
• Unauthorised access
• Destruction
• Misuse or disclosure

Security measures include access controls, encryption where appropriate, and secure hosting environments.

17. Your Rights Under POPIA

You have the right to:

• Access your personal information
• Request correction or deletion of your personal information
• Object to the processing of your personal information
• Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator

Information Regulator Contact Details:

The Information Regulator (South Africa)
Website: https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg
Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

18. Children’s Information

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without parental consent.

19. Marketing Communications

If you subscribe to marketing communications, you may opt out at any time by:

• Clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails, or
• Contacting us directly at info@ascendantstudio.co.za

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.

21. Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact us:

Email: info@ascendantstudio.co.za
Telephone: +27 84 840 1131