Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, and protected when you visit lourensweyer.com, www.lourensweyer.me, or any page under those domains (the "Site"). The Site is operated by Lourens Weyer ("I", "me"). I'm based in South Africa, so this policy is written to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), and to align with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for visitors from the EU/UK.
1. What I collect
I only collect what's necessary to run the Site and respond to you:
- Contact form submissions — your name, email, and message, submitted through the contact form. These are sent to my inbox via Formspree.
- Analytics data — if you accept cookies, Microsoft Clarity records anonymous usage data such as page views, click patterns, and an anonymised session replay. Clarity does not capture passwords or form field contents.
- Server / request metadata — when you load any page, Cloudflare (my hosting provider) automatically records IP address, user agent, and request timestamps for abuse prevention and uptime. This is standard for any website.
I do not collect sensitive personal information (health, financial, political, religious, or biometric data).
2. Why I collect it (legal basis)
- To respond to you — if you send a message via the contact form (legitimate interest / consent).
- To understand site usage — analytics, only with your consent.
- To keep the Site secure and available — server metadata (legitimate interest).
3. Third parties I use
- Cloudflare — hosting and CDN. Cloudflare privacy policy.
- Formspree — processes contact form submissions. Formspree privacy policy.
- Microsoft Clarity — anonymous analytics, loaded only if you accept cookies. Microsoft privacy statement.
- Google Fonts — serves fonts. Google may log the IP address that requests the font file. Google privacy policy.
4. How long I keep it
- Contact form messages: as long as needed to respond and for a reasonable follow-up period (typically up to 24 months), unless you ask me to delete them sooner.
- Analytics data: retained by Microsoft Clarity per their policy (typically 13 months).
- Server metadata: Cloudflare retains logs per their standard retention.
5. Your rights
Under POPIA and GDPR you have the right to:
- Access the personal information I hold about you.
- Request correction of any inaccurate information.
- Request deletion of your information ("right to be forgotten").
- Object to processing or withdraw consent (for analytics, just click "Decline" or clear cookies).
- Lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator (inforegulator.org.za) or, if you're in the EU/UK, your local data protection authority.
To exercise any of these rights, email lourensweyer@gmail.com.
6. International transfers
Cloudflare, Formspree, Microsoft Clarity and Google Fonts may process data outside South Africa (typically in the EU and US). These providers have their own safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses, EU-US Data Privacy Framework) to protect international transfers.
7. Security
The Site is served over HTTPS with a Cloudflare-managed TLS certificate. I don't run any server-side application, so there's no database of visitor data on the Site itself — contact submissions go directly to Formspree and my email inbox.
8. Children
The Site is not directed at children under 13 and I don't knowingly collect their information.
9. Changes to this policy
If I update this policy, the new version will appear here with an updated "Last updated" date.
10. Contact
Questions or requests related to your personal information: lourensweyer@gmail.com.