The Bold Desk (“The Bold Desk”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information we collect, process and store. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, the lawful basis for processing, who we share it with, and your rights under applicable data-protection law, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.
This Policy also covers information we receive when you contact us through WhatsApp, the WhatsApp Business Platform, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, or any other Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) service. By contacting us on these channels you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.
1. Who we are
The Bold Desk provides medical billing (Rhino & Panacea), accounting (Sage), debtors & creditors management, personal-assistant services and AI business automation to healthcare practices and businesses, primarily in South Africa.
- Operator: The Bold Desk
- Location: Pretoria, South Africa
- Email: info@thebolddesk.co.za
- Phone / WhatsApp: +27 61 527 5545
2. Information we collect
2.1 Information you give us
- Identification details: full name, job title, practice or company name.
- Contact details: email address, telephone number, WhatsApp number, postal or physical address.
- Communication content: messages, voice notes, images, documents and attachments you send us via email, our contact form, phone, or WhatsApp.
- Service information: details about your practice or business needed to provide billing, accounting or automation services.
2.2 Information collected automatically
- Website usage data: IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited and referral URL.
- Cookies and similar technologies used to operate and improve the website.
2.3 Information from WhatsApp, Meta and third parties
When you message us on WhatsApp or a Meta-operated channel, we receive the phone number or profile identifier you message from, your profile name (if you set one), message content and the timestamps of your messages. Meta processes this data according to its own WhatsApp Privacy Policy and Meta Privacy Policy. We only receive what Meta makes available to business accounts; we do not receive your WhatsApp contacts, social graph, or unrelated account data.
3. How we use your information
We process personal information only for specific, lawful purposes:
- To respond to enquiries and provide quotations.
- To deliver the services you have engaged us for, including billing, accounting and automation work.
- To communicate with you about your account, invoices, appointments and service updates.
- To send transactional notifications via WhatsApp Business (e.g. appointment reminders, payment confirmations) where you have opted in.
- To comply with legal, regulatory, tax and accounting obligations.
- To improve our website, services and customer experience.
- To prevent fraud, abuse and unauthorised access.
4. Lawful basis for processing
We rely on one or more of the following lawful bases under POPIA and equivalent legislation:
- Consent — where you have explicitly opted in (e.g. to receive WhatsApp notifications).
- Contract — where processing is necessary to deliver services you have requested.
- Legal obligation — where we must retain records under tax, accounting or healthcare regulations.
- Legitimate interest — to operate, secure and improve our business, provided your rights are not overridden.
5. How we share information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:
- Service providers who help us operate, such as hosting providers, email providers, accounting and medical-billing software vendors (Sage, Rhino, Panacea) and the WhatsApp Business Platform operated by Meta.
- Professional advisors such as auditors, lawyers and accountants where required.
- Regulators and authorities where disclosure is required by law, court order or regulatory request.
- Successors in the event of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, subject to equivalent protections.
All third parties are required to safeguard personal information and process it only for the purpose we specify.
6. International transfers
Some of our service providers (including Meta) operate servers outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred across borders, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or the provider’s binding corporate rules, in line with section 72 of POPIA.
7. How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Policy, or for the period required by law (e.g. South African tax and accounting legislation generally requires records to be kept for at least five years). WhatsApp messages and attachments are retained only for as long as needed to service the related enquiry or client engagement.
8. Your rights
Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion of information we no longer need to retain.
- Object to processing or withdraw consent, including opting out of WhatsApp notifications by replying STOP or contacting us.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa (inforegulator.org.za).
To exercise any right, email info@thebolddesk.co.za.
9. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration and disclosure. No transmission over the internet is fully secure, so we encourage you to use strong passwords and avoid sending sensitive data over unsecured channels.
10. Children
Our services are directed at businesses and healthcare practices and are not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with information, please contact us so we can remove it.
11. Cookies
Our website uses a minimal set of cookies to provide essential functionality and to analyse traffic. You can disable cookies through your browser settings; doing so may limit certain features of the site.
12. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be posted on this page with a revised “Effective date”. Material changes will be communicated by email or via a prominent notice on our website.
13. Contact us
Questions, requests or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our handling of personal information should be directed to:
- The Bold Desk, Pretoria, South Africa
- Email: info@thebolddesk.co.za
- Phone / WhatsApp: +27 61 527 5545