Data Deletion Instructions

You can ask us to delete the data we hold about you at any time, and you do not need a reason. This page explains how to ask, what gets deleted, and how long it takes.

1.How to make a request

Choose whichever is easier:

• Email howzit@aisorted.co.za with the subject line "Data deletion request".
• WhatsApp the AI Sorted business number you normally message and send the words "delete my data".

Please include the mobile number in international format, for example +27 82 123 4567, that was used with the Service, and the business name on the account. If you are asking on behalf of a business, please say so and confirm you are authorised to.

We may need to confirm your identity before we act, so that someone else cannot delete your data. We will only ask for what we need to do that.

2.What we delete

On a confirmed request we delete:

• your account record, including the business name, rate card, and settings;
• the list of authorised mobile numbers on the account;
• WhatsApp messages, voice notes, and any media we received and processed, together with any temporary transcripts;
• the draft quotation records we hold, and the PDF copies stored on our systems;
• the authorisation tokens that connect your account to your accounting provider, which also ends our access to that provider.

3.What we cannot delete

Some things sit outside our systems or must be kept by law:

• Quotations and invoices inside your own accounting system. Those belong to you and live in your Xero or equivalent account. Delete them there, or ask your accounting provider.
• Messages held by WhatsApp. Message copies on your own phone, and any data Meta holds under its own policies, are not ours to delete. Meta's data policy covers those.
• Records the law requires us to keep, such as invoices and accounting records under South African tax and company law. We keep the minimum needed, use it only for that purpose, and delete it when the retention period ends.

4.How long it takes

We acknowledge requests within 5 working days and complete deletion within 30 days of confirming your identity. Deletion is permanent and we cannot restore the data afterwards, so if you want a copy of your quotations, ask for it in the same message and we will send it before we delete.

Backups are overwritten on a rolling cycle, so a copy may persist in an encrypted backup for a short period after live deletion. It is not used for anything and is destroyed when that backup expires.

5.Deleting one number rather than the whole account

If you only want to remove a single staff member's number, say so and we will remove that number from the authorised list and delete the messages and quotations tied to it, leaving the rest of the account in place.

6.Your other rights

Deletion is one of several rights you have under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act. You can also ask what we hold, ask for a copy, ask us to correct it, object to processing, and withdraw consent. Our Privacy Policy sets these out in full.

7.If you are not happy with our response

Contact us first at howzit@aisorted.co.za so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator:

8.Contact us