Privacy Policy

What we collect

When you search or verify an institution: nothing. Searching the registry requires no account, no sign-up, and no personal information from you.

When you submit an enquiry to an institution (“Enquire now”): your name, contact details (phone or email), and your message. This is sent to the institution you're enquiring about, so they can respond to you directly.

When you submit a review of an institution: your display name, star rating, and written review. Reviews are moderated before publishing.

When you report a concern about a listing (“Report an issue”): whatever contact details and details you choose to provide. You may submit a report anonymously if you prefer not to give contact details, though we may not be able to follow up with you in that case.

When an institution claims or manages a listing: the institution's admin staff provide an email and password to create an account, plus whatever institution details (photos, description, fees) they choose to publish.

When you log a complaint: your name, contact details, the nature of your complaint, and whatever details you provide.

When you visit the site: an approximate country, inferred from your network connection (not your exact location, and not browser GPS) or set by your own choice using the country selector, stored in a small cookie so search results default to your country next time. This is never shared with third parties and is only used to pick a sensible starting point for your search — you can change it at any time with one click.

What we don't collect

We do not require an account to use the core verification search. We do not track you across other websites. We do not sell personal information to third parties, ever.

Where institution data comes from

The registry itself (school and institution names, registration numbers, status, and contact details) is sourced from official government registries (such as South Africa's Department of Basic Education), not submitted by individuals. We periodically update this data as governments publish new registry information.

How long we keep information

• Enquiries and reports are retained to allow institutions and our moderation team to review and act on them, and are not routinely deleted, though status can be marked resolved/closed.
• Institution admin accounts persist for as long as the institution maintains an active listing.
• We do not use raw deletion of user-submitted content; records may be marked as closed, resolved, or flagged rather than erased, to preserve a reliable audit trail — this protects both parents and institutions from disputed or fraudulent claims.

Your rights

Under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and comparable frameworks, you have the right to:

• Request confirmation of what personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of information you've submitted — where we can technically delete it outright, we will; where our systems are designed to preserve an audit trail (for example, to protect against disputed or fraudulent claims), we will de-identify or anonymize your information instead of erasing the record entirely, and explain why upon request
• Lodge a complaint with us directly (see Log a Complaint), or with South Africa's Information Regulator

Contact

For any privacy question or request, contact us at complaints@verifyschool.com or +27 68 628 7976.