Privacy Policy

Introduction

At Cognira Rush, we understand that your privacy is fundamental to your trust in our budgeting platform. This comprehensive privacy policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our services at cognirarush.com. We're committed to being transparent about our data practices and ensuring you have complete control over your personal information.

Our privacy practices comply with applicable South African data protection laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), as well as international privacy standards. We believe in privacy by design, meaning that privacy considerations are built into every aspect of our service from the ground up.

Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

When you create an account with Cognira Rush, we collect information that you voluntarily provide to us. This includes your name, email address, phone number, and any other details you choose to share. For our budgeting services, you may also provide financial information such as income ranges, expense categories, and financial goals to help us customize your experience.

Automatically Collected Information

Like most online services, we automatically collect certain information when you visit our website. This includes your IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, and how you interact with our platform. We use this information to improve our services, ensure security, and provide you with a better user experience.

Information Type	Purpose	Retention Period
Account Information	Service provision and account management	Until account deletion
Financial Data	Budget planning and financial insights	2 years after account closure
Usage Analytics	Service improvement and security	12 months
Communication Records	Customer support and service quality	3 years

Financial Information

As a budgeting platform, we may collect financial information that you choose to share with us. This could include income information, expense categories, savings goals, and debt information. We want to be absolutely clear that we never require you to share actual bank account numbers, passwords, or other sensitive financial credentials. All financial information is provided voluntarily and is used solely to help you manage your budget more effectively.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for several key purposes, all designed to provide you with the best possible budgeting experience. First and foremost, we use your information to deliver our core budgeting services, including creating personalized budget plans, tracking your financial progress, and providing insights into your spending patterns.

• Service Delivery: Creating and maintaining your budget plans, generating financial reports, and providing personalized recommendations
• Communication: Sending you important updates about your account, responding to your inquiries, and providing customer support
• Security: Protecting your account from unauthorized access, detecting fraudulent activity, and maintaining the security of our platform
• Improvement: Analyzing usage patterns to improve our services, developing new features, and enhancing user experience
• Legal Compliance: Meeting our legal obligations, including tax reporting requirements and regulatory compliance

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We believe in keeping your information private and secure. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. However, there are specific circumstances where we may need to share your information, and we want to be completely transparent about these situations.

Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who help us deliver our services to you. These might include cloud hosting providers, email service providers, analytics tools, and customer support platforms. All of these providers are carefully selected and are required to maintain the same level of data protection that we do. They can only use your information for the specific services they provide to us and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose.

Legal Requirements

In certain circumstances, we may be required to disclose your information to comply with legal obligations. This could include responding to court orders, legal processes, or government requests. We may also share information when we believe it's necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others, or to investigate potential fraud or security issues.

Business Transfers

If Cognira Rush is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. In such cases, we would notify you before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Data Security

Protecting your personal information is our top priority. We implement comprehensive security measures to safeguard your data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Our security approach includes both technical and organizational measures designed to protect your information throughout its lifecycle.

We use industry-standard encryption to protect your data both in transit and at rest. All communication between your browser and our servers is encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols. Your personal information is stored on secure servers with restricted access, and we regularly update our security measures to address emerging threats.

• End-to-end encryption for all data transmission
• Secure data centers with 24/7 monitoring
• Regular security audits and penetration testing
• Multi-factor authentication for account access
• Employee training on data protection and security best practices
• Incident response procedures for potential security breaches

While we implement robust security measures, no system is completely immune to security risks. We continuously monitor for potential vulnerabilities and work with security experts to maintain the highest standards of data protection. In the unlikely event of a security incident, we have procedures in place to quickly identify, contain, and address the issue while keeping you informed throughout the process.

Your Privacy Rights

As a user of Cognira Rush, you have comprehensive rights regarding your personal information. We believe in giving you complete control over your data, and we've made it easy for you to exercise these rights through your account settings or by contacting our support team.

Access and Portability

You have the right to access all personal information we hold about you. You can view most of this information directly in your account dashboard, but if you need a complete copy of your data, you can request it from us. We'll provide your information in a structured, commonly used format that you can easily transfer to another service if you choose.

Correction and Updates

If any of your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to correct it. You can update most of your information directly through your account settings. For information that can't be updated directly, you can contact our support team, and we'll make the necessary corrections promptly.

Deletion and Erasure

You have the right to request deletion of your personal information. You can delete your account at any time through your account settings, which will remove most of your personal information from our systems. Some information may be retained for legal or legitimate business purposes, such as fraud prevention or regulatory compliance, but we'll explain what information is retained and why.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy. Our retention periods are based on the type of information, the purpose for which it was collected, and our legal obligations.

Account information and financial data are typically retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterward to allow you to reactivate your account if needed. Usage data and analytics information are generally retained for shorter periods and are often anonymized or aggregated to protect your privacy while still allowing us to improve our services.

When we no longer need your personal information, we securely delete or anonymize it according to our data retention schedule. If you have questions about how long we retain specific types of information, please don't hesitate to contact us.

International Data Transfers

While Cognira Rush is based in South Africa, we may use service providers located in other countries to help us deliver our services. When we transfer your personal information internationally, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information according to the same standards we maintain locally.

We only work with international service providers who demonstrate adequate data protection standards and who agree to protect your information according to this privacy policy. Any international transfers are conducted using approved transfer mechanisms, such as standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions.

Children's Privacy

Cognira Rush is designed for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 18, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our systems.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided personal information to us, please contact us immediately so we can address the situation appropriately.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we'll update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy and notify you through your registered email address or through a notice on our platform.

For significant changes that materially affect your privacy rights, we'll provide more prominent notice and may require your consent before the changes take effect. We encourage you to review this privacy policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.