Health-data consent
This is the consent we ask you for before your first message. It is short on purpose. The full detail is in the privacy notice.
What exactly is covered
Anything you write that relates to your physical or mental health, how you are feeling, sleep, anything a doctor has told you or given you, or a condition anyone has told you that you have. You do not have to write any of it — but people do, because that is what this service is for, and the POPI Act requires us to ask you first, explicitly and separately.
Why we need it
- To answer you. Your message is sent to an AI language model, which generates the reply you read. No human writes it.
- To keep your history. Your conversations are stored on your account so you can pick up where you left off, until you delete them.
- To keep you safe. Automated checks look for signs that someone may be in danger, so that the crisis lines can be shown. Nobody is reading along live.
Who processes it
GOLDMIND AI CONSULTING - FZCO (United Arab Emirates), our hosting provider in the European Union, and the AI model providers we reach through OpenRouter in the European Union and the United States. Each is bound by a written contract requiring protection comparable to POPIA. They may not use your content to train their models.
How long
Until you delete the conversation or your account, or until your account has been inactive for 24 months, whichever comes first.
Withdrawing your consent
You may withdraw this consent at any time, from your account page or by emailing support@sibona.co.za. Withdrawal is not retrospective: it does not make the earlier processing unlawful. Because the service cannot work without processing what you write, withdrawing the consent closes your account and deletes your conversations, and any period you have paid for but not used is refunded.
If you would rather not
Then please do not use the service. There is no version of it that works without this, and we would rather say so plainly than bury it. The crisis lines page is free, needs no account, and asks you for nothing.
Questions about this document: support@sibona.co.za.