Legal
What we collect, and what we don’t.
Last updated: 15 July 2026
DefinedSelf is a free chart tool operated by Auto Alpha Advisory. This policy explains what personal information we handle under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) — and, more to the point, how little of it we keep. There is no account, no login, and no database of your birth details.
1. Who is responsible
The responsible party (in POPIA terms) is Auto Alpha Advisory, which operates DefinedSelf. The head of Auto Alpha Advisory acts as its Information Officer for the purposes of POPIA ss55–56. For any privacy question or request, email privacy@autoalphaadvisory.co.za.
2. Your birth details
The date, time and place of birth (and the optional name) you enter are used to draw your chart. They are encoded into your chart’s shareable link — the long code in the /chart address — so that anyone you send the link to sees the same chart.
When a chart page is opened, that link is sent to our host to render the page, and may appear briefly in ordinary server request logs. But we do not save your birth details to any database, account or profile, and we do not use them for anything other than drawing the chart you asked for. The only lasting copy of your details is the one inside the link you hold — so treat that link as you would any personal note, and only share it with people you’re happy to show your chart.
3. Searching for your place of birth
As you type a town or city, that text is sent to Open-Meteo’s public geocoding service to suggest matching places and to find the correct timezone and coordinates. Open-Meteo is an independent service based in the European Union; only the place text you type is sent, never your name, date or time of birth.
4. Analytics
We use Vercel Web Analytics, which is privacy-friendly and cookie-free. It records aggregate visit counts — which page was viewed, a rough country, device type, and the referring site — with no cookies, no cross-site tracking, and nothing that identifies you personally. We rely on it under our legitimate interest (POPIA §11(1)(f)) in keeping the tool working and understanding, in aggregate, how it’s used.
5. Cookies
DefinedSelf sets no cookies of its own, and uses no advertising or tracking cookies. There is no cookie banner because there are no cookies to consent to.
6. Email
You do not need to give us your email to draw your chart. A written “blueprint” delivered by email is planned but not yet available. If and when it launches, providing your email will be entirely optional and opt-in, and it would be used only to send the blueprint you requested — never sold, and never used for unrelated marketing without your separate consent (POPIA §69).
7. Who processes data for us
We rely on two service providers, each receiving only the minimum needed:
- Vercel Inc. — hosts the site and provides the cookie-free analytics above. Served from Vercel’s Frankfurt (fra1) edge for South African visitors, with infrastructure in the EU and the USA.
- Open-Meteo — provides place search, timezone and coordinate lookups (EU-based). Receives only the place text you type.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
8. Cross-border transfers (POPIA §72)
Because the providers above operate outside South Africa (in the EU and the USA), the limited data described here may be processed abroad. This is permitted under POPIA §72: each provider is bound by its own published terms affording comparable protection, and the data involved is minimal — a place name, and a chart URL — with no stored personal profile.
9. How long we keep it
Because we keep no account and no database of your birth details, there is nothing about you for us to retain. Aggregate analytics are held by Vercel in de-identified form under their retention policy. Ordinary host request logs (which may contain a chart URL) are short-lived and managed by our host.
10. Security
All traffic is served over HTTPS/TLS. Because we hold no database of birth details or contact details, there is no store of your personal information to be breached. If a reportable breach ever occurs, we will notify the Information Regulator and any affected people as POPIA §22 requires.
11. Your rights under POPIA
You have the right to:
- Access (§23) — ask what personal information we hold about you. In practice we hold none tied to your identity; your birth details live in your own chart link.
- Correction (§24) — request that inaccurate information be corrected.
- Deletion (§24) — because there is no stored profile, deleting your details means deleting the chart link you hold; simply discard it and don’t reshare it.
- Objection (§11(3)) — object to processing based on legitimate interest.
- Complaint — complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za.
To exercise any of these, email privacy@autoalphaadvisory.co.za with the subject “POPIA Request”.
12. Children
DefinedSelf is not directed at children under 18.
13. Changes
We may update this policy if the tool changes. The “Last updated” date above always reflects the current version; material changes to how data is handled will be reflected here before they take effect.
14. Contact
Auto Alpha Advisory
Privacy & POPIA requests: privacy@autoalphaadvisory.co.za
General: hello@autoalphaadvisory.co.za
DefinedSelf is a self-reflection guide, not a diagnosis or a prediction. See our Terms of Use.