Privacy Policy

Valentina Cortini Interior Design is a South African interior design studio specializing in creating luxurious, accessible spaces for homeowners and businesses.

For the purposes of POPIA, Valentina Cortini is the "Responsible Party" who determines the purpose and means of processing your personal information.

We may collect the following types of personal information:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Contact details: Name, surname, email address, phone number, and physical address.
• Enquiry information: Details you provide when you contact us through our website forms, email, or phone regarding design projects.
• Project information: Information about your design preferences, property details, and project requirements.
• Communication history: Records of our communications, including emails, messages, and notes from consultations.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, and device identifiers.
• Usage data: Pages you visit, time spent on pages, links clicked, and referral sources.
• Cookie data: Information collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies (see our Cookies section below).

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Social media: If you interact with our social media pages, we may receive information about you based on your privacy settings on those platforms.
• Service providers: Information from payment processors, analytics providers, or marketing partners (only as necessary to provide services).

We collect personal information through:

• Website forms: When you complete our contact form, consultation request form, or newsletter signup.
• Direct communications: When you email us, call us, or communicate via social media.
• Service engagement: When you engage our interior design services and during the course of our professional relationship.
• Cookies and analytics tools: Automatically as you navigate our website.

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

Under POPIA, we process your personal information based on one or more of the following lawful grounds:

• Consent: Where you have given us explicit consent (e.g., for marketing communications).
• Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you (e.g., providing design services).
• Legal obligation: Where we need to comply with a legal obligation (e.g., retaining records for tax purposes).
• Legitimate interest: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these do not override your rights (e.g., improving our services).

We may share your personal information with the following categories of third parties:

6.1 Service Providers

• Cloudinary: For image hosting and optimization.
• Google Analytics: For website analytics and usage tracking.
• Email service providers: For managing our communications.
• Payment processors: For handling transactions (if applicable).
• Website hosting providers: To keep our website operational.

6.2 Professional Partners

• Suppliers and vendors (only as necessary for your design project).
• Contractors and tradespeople (with your knowledge and consent).

6.3 Legal and Regulatory Authorities

• When required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights.

Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us:

• Remember your preferences and settings.
• Understand how you use our website (via Google Analytics).
• Improve website functionality and performance.

Types of Cookies We Use:

You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

Manage Cookie Preferences

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it, including:

• SSL/HTTPS encryption on all data transmitted through our website.
• Secure hosting with reputable providers.
• Access controls limiting internal access to personal information.
• Regular security assessments of our systems.

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but will promptly notify you in the event of a data breach as required by POPIA.

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including:

• Enquiry information: Retained for up to 2 years after your last contact, unless we establish a client relationship.
• Client project information: Retained for the duration of our contract plus 5 years for legal and tax purposes.
• Marketing data: Retained until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe.
• Website usage data: Retained in accordance with our analytics provider's retention policies.

As a data subject under South African law, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Officer using the details in Section 15. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe as required by POPIA.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

With your consent, we may send you marketing communications about our services, design inspiration, and special offers.

Opting Out

You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by:

• Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email.
• Replying "STOP" to any SMS message (if applicable).
• Contacting us directly at [email protected]

We will process your opt-out request within 10 business days. Please note that even if you opt out of marketing communications, we may still send you transactional messages related to our services (e.g., project updates, service notices).

Our website and services are not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us, and we will take steps to delete such information.

Your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside South Africa where our service providers are located (e.g., Cloudinary, Google). When we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• Transferring only to countries with adequate data protection laws; or
• Using contractual protections (standard contractual clauses) approved by relevant authorities.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy.
• Post a notice on our website for significant changes.
• Where appropriate, notify you directly.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our data practices, or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Information Officer:

We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within 30 days. If your request is complex or you have made multiple requests, we may take longer to respond, but we will notify you of any such delay.