Privacy Policy — Chatport

Chatport is a product of Central Studio (Pty) Ltd (Registration No. 2021/916757/07, VAT No. 4800304463), South Africa.

Last updated: 10 July 2026

This policy explains how Chatport collects, uses, shares and protects personal information, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). By using Chatport you agree to this policy.

1. Who we are

Chatport is a WhatsApp messaging gateway operated by Central Studio (Pty) Ltd ("Chatport", "we", "us"). We connect a business's WhatsApp number to their systems so they can send and receive WhatsApp messages, notifications and automated replies.

• Responsible party: Central Studio (Pty) Ltd t/a Chatport
• Information Officer: Kyle Siebert
• Contact: hello@chatport.co.za

2. The two roles we play

Chatport handles personal information in two different capacities, and it matters which is which:

• As a responsible party — for information about our customers (the businesses who subscribe to Chatport): the account, billing and contact details we need to run the service and bill you.
• As an operator (processor) — for the message data our customers send and receive through us (their end-customers' phone numbers and message content). Here the business is the responsible party; we only process this data on their documented instructions to deliver the service, and we do not use it for our own purposes.

3. Information we collect

From the businesses who use Chatport

• Account and contact details — name, business name, email address, phone number.
• The WhatsApp number(s) you connect and related configuration.
• Billing information — processed securely by our payment provider (Paystack); we do not store your full card details.
• Support communications you send us.

Processed on your behalf when you use the gateway

• Message content sent and received through your connected number.
• Recipient and sender phone numbers, timestamps and delivery/read status.
• Any media (images, documents, voice notes) passed through the gateway.

Automatically, for security and reliability

• Technical logs — IP address, request metadata, API usage, error and delivery logs.
• Basic website analytics when you visit chatport.co.za.

4. How we use information

We use personal information to:

• Set up, run and maintain your Chatport connection and dashboard.
• Route, send and receive your WhatsApp messages and report delivery status.
• Process subscription payments and send invoices and service notices.
• Provide support and respond to your requests.
• Keep the service secure — detect abuse, fraud and technical faults.
• Meet our legal, tax and regulatory obligations.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use the message data we process on your behalf for advertising or for training unrelated products.

5. WhatsApp and Meta

Chatport delivers messages over WhatsApp, which is operated by Meta Platforms, Inc. When a message travels through WhatsApp, Meta processes it under its own terms and privacy policy. Your use of WhatsApp through Chatport is also subject to the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy and Meta's terms. See WhatsApp's Privacy Policy.

6. Who we share information with

We share personal information only as needed to run the service:

• Meta / WhatsApp — to deliver your messages.
• Paystack — to process subscription payments securely.
• Infrastructure providers — reputable hosting, database and network providers (e.g. Vercel, Cloudflare) that run our platform under confidentiality and data-processing terms.
• Professional advisors and authorities — where required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety.

Each provider acts as our operator and may only use the information to provide their service to us.

7. Cross-border processing

Some of our providers process data on servers outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred across borders, we ensure it is protected by adequate safeguards and comparable protection, as required by POPIA.

8. How we protect information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal information, including encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), signed and verified webhooks, access controls and monitoring. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and will notify you and the Information Regulator if a breach affecting your data occurs, as the law requires.

9. How long we keep information

• Account and billing records — for as long as your subscription is active, and afterwards only as long as needed for legal, tax and accounting purposes.
• Message logs — retained for a limited operational period to provide delivery reporting and support, then deleted or de-identified. As the responsible party for your end-customers' data, you may instruct us to delete it sooner.
• On termination of your subscription we delete or return your data on request, keeping only what the law requires.

10. Your rights

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you and request access to it.
• Ask us to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant or no longer needed.
• Object to processing in certain circumstances.
• Withdraw consent where we rely on it (this won't affect processing already carried out).
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

To exercise any of these, email hello@chatport.co.za and we'll respond within a reasonable time.

11. Children

Chatport is a business tool and is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect their personal information.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll post the new version here with an updated "Last updated" date, and for material changes we'll let account holders know.

13. Contact us

Chatport (Central Studio (Pty) Ltd)
Email: hello@chatport.co.za · Web: chatport.co.za

You may also contact South Africa's Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za · POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za