Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective 13 July 2026Last updated 13 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Qelo (“Qelo”, “we”, “us”, “our”) handles personal information. Qelo is a brand of AVROQ (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2026/735641/07), a private company registered in South Africa. AVROQ (Pty) Ltd is the responsible legal entity behind the Qelo brand and the party you contract with. Qelo builds and operates its own software and provides business messaging, automation and integration services to other organisations, including services built on the WhatsApp Business Platform, where Qelo acts as a technology provider on behalf of its business clients.

We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and, where it applies, Meta’s Platform Terms and Developer Policies. This policy covers our website at qelo.co.za and the services we provide to clients. Please read it together with our Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy and Data Deletion Instructions.

1. Who is responsible for your information

The way we handle personal information depends on the context:

  • Our website and our own business. When you visit qelo.co.za, contact us, or engage Qelo directly, Qelo is the responsible party (data controller) for that information and decides how it is processed.
  • Our clients’ WhatsApp and messaging services. When we provide WhatsApp messaging or system integration for a business client, that client is the responsible party for their customers’ personal information. Qelo acts as an operator (data processor), processing that information only on the client’s documented instructions and for the purpose of delivering the service. Each such client is responsible for its own privacy notice to its customers and for obtaining a lawful basis (including opt-in consent) to message them.

2. Information we collect

2.1 From website visitors and enquiries

  • Contact details you provide: your name, email address and the content of any message you send us through the contact form or by email.
  • Technical and usage data: limited server logs generated when pages load, such as IP address, browser type and the time of the request, used for security and to keep the site running. We use Simple Analytics, a privacy-first service that counts page views without cookies and without collecting personal information or IP addresses. We do not use third-party advertising trackers on the site.
  • Voice conversations: if you choose to talk to the voice assistant on qelo.co.za, the audio and a transcript of that conversation.

2.2 Through our WhatsApp Business and messaging services

When we operate messaging services for a business client, we process the following on that client’s behalf:

  • Business (client) account data: the details needed to set up and manage the client’s WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), phone number, display name, approved messages (message templates) and billing information.
  • End-customer data: the WhatsApp phone number and profile name of people who message the client or whom the client is permitted to contact; the content of messages, media and attachments exchanged; message delivery, read and interaction status; and anything a customer writes in a reply.

We only collect end-customer data that our client has a lawful basis to share with us, and we do not use it for our own purposes.

3. How we use personal information

  • To respond to enquiries and provide the services you or our clients have requested.
  • To send and receive WhatsApp messages and run promotions for our clients, report on their delivery, and connect and keep in step the business systems our clients ask us to integrate.
  • To set up, secure, support, maintain and improve our services and our website.
  • To bill clients and keep accurate business records.
  • To protect against fraud, abuse and security threats, and to comply with the WhatsApp Business Messaging and Commerce Policies and Meta’s platform requirements.
  • To comply with our legal obligations and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

4. Lawful basis and consent

Under POPIA we rely on one or more of the following grounds: your consent; the performance of a contract with you or our client; our legitimate interests in running and securing the business; and compliance with the law. For direct marketing and for messaging customers over WhatsApp, a valid opt-in is required, and our clients are responsible for obtaining and recording that opt-in before any messaging begins, and every recipient must be able to opt out at any time.

5. Meta and the WhatsApp Business Platform

Our messaging services are built on the WhatsApp Business Platform provided by Meta Platforms, Inc. and its affiliates (“Meta”). When messages are sent or received, they are processed through Meta’s and WhatsApp’s infrastructure and are subject to Meta’s and WhatsApp’s own terms and privacy policies (opens in a new tab). We handle any data obtained through Meta’s platform (“Platform Data”) strictly in line with Meta’s Platform Terms and Developer Policies: we use it only to provide and improve the agreed service, we do not sell it, we do not use it for advertising, and we do not transfer it to data brokers or use it for any purpose the platform prohibits.

6. Who we share information with

We do not sell personal information. We share it only as needed to run the services, with:

  • Meta / WhatsApp: as the platform that delivers the messaging services.
  • Infrastructure and hosting providers: the servers and cloud services that host our website, our software and client integrations.
  • Voice assistant provider: ElevenLabs processes voice conversations started on qelo.co.za to provide the assistant, under its own privacy terms.
  • Email delivery: a transactional email provider used to relay website enquiries to our inbox.
  • Our clients: end-customer information is made available to the client on whose behalf we process it.
  • Professional advisers and authorities: where required by law, regulation or valid legal process.

We put in place appropriate agreements (including operator/processor terms) with the providers who handle personal information for us.

7. Cookies and similar technologies

The qelo.co.za website is deliberately lightweight. We use only what is necessary for the site to work and to keep it secure; our fonts are self-hosted and we do not embed third-party advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels. Any strictly necessary storage the site sets is used solely to deliver the page you requested. You can control or clear cookies through your browser settings at any time. Our analytics (Simple Analytics) sets no cookies and does not track you across sites.

8. International transfers

Some of our providers, including Meta, ElevenLabs (the voice assistant on our website) and certain hosting and email services, process data on servers outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred across borders, we take the steps POPIA requires (section 72) to ensure it remains adequately protected, for example through providers bound by comparable data-protection commitments or appropriate contractual safeguards.

9. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purpose it was collected, for the duration of our relationship with you or the relevant client, and for any period we are required to retain records by law (for example tax and accounting rules). When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it. For messaging services, retention periods are set with each client, and we delete client and end-customer data on request or on termination as described in our Data Deletion Instructions.

10. How we protect information

We apply reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal information, including access controls, encryption in transit, hardened infrastructure and the principle of least privilege. No system is completely secure, but we work to protect information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, and we will notify you and the Information Regulator of a material security compromise as required by POPIA.

11. Your rights

Subject to POPIA, you have the right to:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you and request access to it;
  • ask us to correct or update information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
  • ask us to delete or destroy information we are no longer entitled to keep;
  • object to processing in certain circumstances and withdraw consent you have given;
  • opt out of direct marketing at any time; and
  • lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

To exercise any of these rights, or to request deletion of your data, contact us at info@qelo.co.za or follow our Data Deletion Instructions. If your information is processed on behalf of a business client (for example because you messaged that business on WhatsApp), we will refer your request to that client, who is the responsible party, and assist them in actioning it.

12. Children

Our website and services are intended for businesses and for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, please contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the “Last updated” date above and, where the change is significant, take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention. Continued use of our website or services after an update means you accept the revised policy.

14. How to contact us

For any privacy question or request, contact Qelo at info@qelo.co.za.

Qelo is a brand of AVROQ (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2026/735641/07), a private company registered in South Africa.
Email: info@qelo.co.za
Telephone: +27 64 537 6911

You also have the right to complain to South Africa’s data-protection regulator:
Information Regulator (South Africa)
Website: inforegulator.org.za (opens in a new tab)
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za