Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, protect and respect your personal information in accordance with POPIA.
Contents
1. Who We Are
Smart CV Builder is a service operated by Elite CV ("we", "us", "our", "Elite CV"), a private company incorporated in the Republic of South Africa.
- Trading name: Elite CV / Smart CV Builder
- Website: smartcv.elite-cv.com
- Registered address: Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2196
- Privacy contact: [email protected]
We are the Responsible Party as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA"). This means we determine the purpose and means of processing your personal information and are accountable for doing so lawfully.
2. Information We Collect
Information you provide directly
- Account information: name, email address, password (stored encrypted)
- CV content: work history, education, skills, achievements, professional summary, and any other information you choose to include in your CV
- Cover letter content: any personal or professional information you include in your cover letter
- Payment information: billing name and email address. Card and banking details are processed directly by PayFast and are never stored by us.
- Communications: any messages you send us via email, live chat (Tawk.to), or support forms
Information collected automatically
- Usage data: pages visited, features used, time on site, clicks
- Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system
- Analytics data: collected via Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Microsoft Clarity
- Advertising data: collected via Facebook Pixel, Google Ads, and LinkedIn Insight Tag (subject to your cookie consent)
- Chat data: if you use our live chat, Tawk.to may collect conversation data and your IP address
Free ATS CV Scanner
When you use our free ATS CV Scanner, you may upload your CV and/or cover letter. These documents are processed to provide you with your analysis results. Please see Section 4 for our AI processing disclosure.
3. How We Use Your Information
| Purpose | Legal Basis Under POPIA |
|---|---|
| Creating and managing your account | Necessary to perform our contract with you |
| Building, storing, and delivering your CV and cover letter | Necessary to perform our contract with you |
| Processing your once-off payment via PayFast | Necessary to perform our contract with you |
| Sending your purchase confirmation and download link | Necessary to perform our contract with you |
| Providing the free ATS CV Scanner service | Legitimate interest / performance of service |
| Responding to your support queries | Legitimate interest in providing customer service |
| Improving our platform and user experience | Legitimate interest in product development |
| Sending marketing emails (only if you opted in) | Your explicit consent |
| Analytics and site performance measurement | Legitimate interest / your cookie consent |
| Complying with legal obligations | Legal obligation |
We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
4. AI Processing Disclosure
We use the Anthropic Claude API to power our AI analysis features, including the ATS CV Scanner. When you submit a document for analysis:
- The text content of your CV and/or cover letter is transmitted to Anthropic's API for processing
- The analysis results are returned to you on-screen
- Anthropic processes this data as our data processor under our service agreement with them
- Anthropic's Privacy Policy governs their handling of data: anthropic.com/privacy
We do not use your CV or cover letter content to train AI models. We do not share your document content with any party other than our AI service provider for the purpose of delivering your analysis.
If you do not wish your CV content to be processed by AI, please do not use the ATS Scanner feature. You may still use our CV Builder tools.
5. Third Parties We Share Data With
We share personal information only with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating Smart CV Builder. Each processor is bound by contractual obligations to process your data securely and only for the purposes we specify.
| Third Party | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| PayFast | Payment processing | Name, email, purchase amount |
| Anthropic (Claude API) | AI-powered CV and ATS analysis | CV and cover letter text content |
| Google (Analytics, Ads, GTM, Search Console) | Analytics and advertising | Usage data, cookies (with your consent) |
| Facebook / Meta | Advertising and remarketing | Usage data, cookies (with your consent) |
| Microsoft Clarity | Session recording and heatmaps | Usage behaviour (with your consent) |
| LinkedIn (Insight Tag) | Advertising analytics | Usage data, cookies (with your consent) |
| Tawk.to | Live chat support | Chat messages, IP address |
| WooCommerce | E-commerce order management | Purchase and account data |
| Local hosting provider | Website hosting and data storage | All data stored on the platform |
| Rank Math | SEO analytics | Anonymised usage data |
We may also disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or in response to a lawful request by a public authority.
6. Cross-Border Data Transfers
Your personal data is primarily stored within the Republic of South Africa on locally hosted servers.
Certain third-party service providers we use including Google, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Anthropic, LinkedIn, and Tawk.to are based outside South Africa and may process some of your data on servers located abroad. Where this occurs, we ensure that:
- The transfer is necessary to perform the service you have requested
- The recipient is subject to privacy laws, binding corporate rules, or contractual obligations that provide an adequate level of protection consistent with POPIA
- Your consent is obtained where required (e.g. for advertising cookies)
By using Smart CV Builder and accepting our Cookie Policy, you acknowledge and consent to these transfers as described.
7. Data Retention
| Data Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Account information (name, email) | For the duration of your account, plus 3 years after last activity |
| CV and cover letter content | For the duration of your account; deleted within 30 days of account closure |
| Payment transaction records | 7 years (required for financial and tax compliance) |
| ATS Scanner uploads (unregistered users) | Deleted within 24 hours of analysis completion |
| Support communications | 3 years from date of communication |
| Analytics data | As per each provider's retention settings (typically 14–26 months) |
| Marketing consent records | Until consent is withdrawn, plus 1 year |
When data is no longer required for its stated purpose, we delete or anonymise it securely.
8. Security Safeguards
We take the security of your personal information seriously. Our technical and organisational safeguards include:
- SSL/TLS encryption across all pages of the website (HTTPS)
- Encrypted storage of passwords we never store passwords in plain text
- Secure, locally hosted servers within South Africa
- Payment card details are never stored by us all card processing is handled exclusively by PayFast, which is PCI-DSS compliant
- Access controls limiting staff access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
- Regular security reviews of our platform and third-party integrations
While we implement these safeguards, no method of data transmission or storage is 100% secure. In the event of a security compromise affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required by POPIA via the eServices Portal.
9. Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:
| Right | What It Means | How to Exercise It |
|---|---|---|
| Right to access | Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you | Email [email protected] |
| Right to correction | Request that inaccurate or incomplete information be corrected | Update in your account, or email us |
| Right to deletion | Request that your personal information be deleted | Email [email protected] |
| Right to object | Object to the processing of your information for direct marketing | Unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or email us |
| Right to restrict processing | Request that we limit how we use your information in certain circumstances | Email [email protected] |
| Right to complain | Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator | See Section 13 |
We will respond to all data subject requests within 30 days. We may request proof of identity before processing your request. There is no charge for reasonable requests.
10. Cookies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on Smart CV Builder. Cookies allow us to provide a functional, personalised, and improved experience.
Our full Cookie Policy sets out all cookies used, their purposes, and how to manage your preferences. You can change your cookie settings at any time via the Cookie Settings link in our website footer.
Non-essential cookies (Analytics, Advertising, Preferences) are only placed after you have provided your explicit consent via our cookie consent banner.
11. Children's Privacy
Smart CV Builder is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under the age of 18.
If you are under 18 and wish to use our services, you must obtain verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian before providing any personal information. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a minor without appropriate consent, we will delete such information promptly. Please contact us at [email protected] if you believe this has occurred.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
- Display a notice on our website for a reasonable period
- Send an email notification to registered users where the changes are significant
Your continued use of Smart CV Builder after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
13. Contact & Complaints
Information Officer
Email: [email protected]
If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concern, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator:
- Website: www.inforeg.org.za
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001