POPIA and your personal information

In a world where our personal information is collected constantly, it's reassuring to know you have rights over it, and that there are rules organisations must follow to protect it.

What it is

POPIA, the Protection of Personal Information Act, is South Africa's law governing how organisations collect, use, store, and share your personal information - including sensitive information like health and mental health records. It gives you rights such as knowing what information is held about you, requesting access to it, asking for corrections, and, in most cases, requiring your consent before it's shared. Organisations that handle your data, including workplaces and health platforms, must have safeguards in place and can only use your information for the purpose it was collected for.

Signs to notice

• Feeling uneasy about who has access to your personal or health information.
• Uncertainty about what a workplace, app, or service does with your data.
• Worry about confidentiality when using EAP or counselling services.
• Reluctance to be open in a workplace wellbeing programme because you're unsure how private it really is.

What helps

• Ask directly. Any organisation handling your information should be able to explain, in plain language, what they collect and why.
• Read privacy notices, even briefly - reputable services will have one that's accessible, not buried in legal jargon.
• Know that mental health support through a workplace EAP, like Cleared Mind, is designed to be confidential - your employer typically only receives anonymised, aggregated usage data, not details of your sessions.
• You can request access to your own information, or ask for it to be corrected or deleted, under POPIA.
• If something feels off, you can raise it directly with the organisation's information officer.
• Give yourself permission to ask questions before sharing sensitive details - it's a reasonable thing to do.
• Cleared Mind never shares the content of your counselling conversations with your employer without your explicit, informed consent.

When to reach out for help

Reach out if you believe your personal information has been misused, shared without your consent, or if a workplace's use of your data is affecting your trust or wellbeing.

Getting help in South Africa

• The Information Regulator of South Africa oversees POPIA compliance and can receive complaints - reachable via inforegulator.org.za.
• Legal Aid South Africa for advice if you believe your rights have been breached.
• Cleared Mind is POPIA-first by design - your conversations with our EAP counsellors are handled with care and confidentiality, and you're welcome to ask us directly how your information is protected.