Privacy Policy — RegisterTap

POPIA Compliant · Last updated: August 2026

In plain English: RegisterTap records school attendance using NFC wristbands. We collect the minimum data necessary to make this work. We never sell data, never use it for advertising, and never share it outside your school without your permission.

1. Who We Are

RegisterTap ("we", "us", "our") is a South African school attendance management platform. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information when you use the RegisterTap mobile app or admin web portal.

As a data processor under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), we act on the instructions of the school (the data responsible party / controller) and process personal information only for the purposes set out in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

Category	Data collected	Why
Learners	Full name, student number, grade, class section, NFC wristband ID	To identify and record attendance
Attendance records	Date, time, class, status (present / excused / absent)	To build the attendance register and reports
Parents / Guardians	Email address, phone number	Absence notification emails and SMS alerts only
Teachers	Full name, school email address, class assignment	Authentication and attendance attribution
School Admins	Name, email, school name	Account management and school configuration
Device / Technical	Anonymous crash reports, app version	Stability and bug fixing only

    Children's data: Learner data relates to persons under 18. The school acts as the responsible party under POPIA. We process this data strictly on the school's instruction and do not use it for any other purpose.
  

3. How We Use Your Information

Record and display daily attendance registers for teachers and administrators
Send automated absence notifications to parents/guardians by email
Generate attendance reports and analytics for the school's admin dashboard
Allow teachers to manage their timetables and class lists within the app
Enable the school to export attendance data for compliance reporting (e.g. SA-SAMS)
Authenticate users and maintain account security

We do not use personal information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to school attendance management.

4. How We Store and Protect Your Data

All data is stored in Google Firebase / Firestore, hosted in data centres that comply with international security standards (ISO 27001, SOC 2). Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256).

Each school's data is isolated by a unique schoolId in the database — one school cannot access another school's data
Teachers can only see data for their own classes; admins can see all school data
NFC wristband IDs are stored as opaque unique identifiers — they contain no personal information on their own
Attendance logs are stored locally on the teacher's device first (offline-first) and synced to the cloud when an internet connection is available

5. Data Retention

Attendance records: Retained for 3 years from the date of recording, or as required by the school's own retention policy, whichever is longer
User accounts: Retained while the school's subscription is active. Deleted within 30 days of account closure on request
Learner data: Removed at the end of each academic year unless the learner re-enrols, or upon written request from the school

6. Sharing of Information

We never sell personal information. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

Within the school: Teachers and administrators see the data for their school only
Parents / Guardians: Receive automated absence notification emails or SMS messages only — they do not have direct access to the app or database
Service providers: Google Firebase (data storage and authentication), Resend (transactional email delivery). Both are bound by data processing agreements
Legal requirement: If required by South African law, court order, or regulatory authority

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, you have the right to:

Access personal information we hold about you or your child
Correct any inaccurate or incomplete information
Request deletion of personal information (subject to legal retention obligations)
Object to the processing of your personal information
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact your school's RegisterTap administrator first. For product help, use the Setup Guide in the admin portal or teacher app.

8. Device Permissions

Permission	Why it is needed
NFC	Core feature — reads NFC wristbands to record attendance. Only active during a register session.
Camera	Optional — lets teachers photograph their printed timetable for automatic schedule setup. Never used for surveillance.
Files / Storage	Optional — lets teachers import CSV class lists and timetables from their device. Only the specific file selected is read.
Internet	Required — syncs attendance logs to the school's secure database in real time.

9. Third-Party Services

Google Firebase — authentication and database (Firebase Privacy Policy)
Resend — transactional email for absence notifications (Resend Privacy Policy)

Neither of these providers is permitted to use school data for their own purposes beyond providing the service to RegisterTap.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify school administrators by email and update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of RegisterTap after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact Us

RegisterTap
South Africa
Self-service help: Setup Guide
For data-related queries, requests, or complaints please contact your school's registered administrator first.

To lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg