Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

HEALTHSPAN ("we", "our", or "us") is operated by Expand Health (Pty) Ltd, located at 1st Level, Hudson Building, 30 Hudson St, De Waterkant, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa. We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and applicable data protection laws.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit healthspanforum.co.za or interact with our community.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following personal information:

• Identity data: Full name, professional title, field of expertise
• Contact data: Email address, LinkedIn profile
• Professional data: Institution, HPCSA number (for healthcare professionals)
• Usage data: Pages visited, time on site, browser type (anonymous analytics only)
• Communication data: Messages sent via our contact form or email

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Processing membership applications and managing community access
• Sending event notifications, session recordings, and insights (with consent)
• Responding to inquiries and providing support
• Improving our website and community experience
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on one or more of the following lawful grounds under POPIA:

• Your consent (e.g. newsletter subscription, application form)
• Legitimate interest in operating and improving our community
• Compliance with a legal obligation

5. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share information with:

• Service providers who assist in operating our platform (e.g. Supabase for data storage) under strict confidentiality
• Law enforcement or regulatory authorities when required by law

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by law. Subscriber and application data is retained for a maximum of 3 years from your last interaction, after which it is securely deleted.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion of your personal information (right to erasure)
• Object to the processing of your personal information
• Withdraw consent at any time (without affecting prior processing)
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@expand.health.

8. Cookies

Our website uses essential cookies required for the site to function correctly. We do not use tracking or advertising cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though this may affect site functionality.

9. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Our data is stored securely on Supabase infrastructure with encryption at rest and in transit.

10. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites (e.g. Instagram, LinkedIn). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices: