Personal information should be handled with care from the start.
Lantern is under active development as a support-facilitating platform. This notice explains the privacy baseline for the project and will continue to evolve as the product brief, partner model, and operational safeguards become more concrete.
If you have questions about this notice or would like to raise a privacy concern, contact privacy@lanternapp.co.za.
Section 1
Purpose of Lantern
Lantern is being developed to support safer access to support services for individuals who may be vulnerable or at risk, in collaboration with trusted partner organisations such as registered NGOs, professionals, and service providers.
Lantern is designed to:
- Prioritise safety
- Minimise unnecessary data collection
- Respect dignity and autonomy
- Support ethical intervention
Lantern does not replace emergency services, law enforcement, or medical care.
Section 2
Responsible Party
For purposes of POPIA, the Responsible Party is:
Lantern (South Africa)
Republic of South Africa
This Responsible Party determines how and why personal information is processed within Lantern's systems.
Section 3
What Personal Information May Be Collected
Lantern is designed with data minimisation as a core principle. Depending on use and consent, information processed may include:
Depending on the nature of support requested, Lantern may process sensitive information where permitted by law and where necessary to facilitate support, protect legitimate interests, comply with legal obligations, or with appropriate consent.
Some information may be required for the safe operation of the platform. Other information may be provided voluntarily and may affect the level of support that can be offered.
- An alias or name chosen by the user
- Safety preferences such as safe contact times and communication preferences
- Verification question and answer stored securely
- Limited contextual information relevant to support
- Communications between users and partner organisations
- Technical information required for the functioning and security of the system
- Where explicitly permitted, limited location-related data in emergencies
Lantern does not collect information for advertising or profiling purposes. If certain information is not provided, Lantern or partner organisations may be unable to provide particular services, follow-through, or safety-related functions.
Section 4
Lawful Basis for Processing
Personal information is processed on one or more of the following lawful bases under POPIA:
- With the data subject's consent
- Where processing is necessary to protect a legitimate interest of the data subject
- Where processing is necessary to perform a function carried out in the public interest
- Where processing is necessary to fulfil legal obligations such as mandatory reporting
Section 5
How Information Is Used
Information is used only to:
- Enable contact between users and appropriate support organisations
- Allow partners to provide safer and more informed support
- Maintain the safety, integrity, and security of the platform
- Improve system design using anonymised or aggregated insights
Lantern does not:
- Sell personal information
- Use personal data for advertising
- Share personal information with unrelated third parties
Section 6
Automated Support Routing
Lantern may use automated processes to assist with routing, prioritisation, matching, and operational workflow management.
These processes are intended to support safer and more efficient handling, but significant support decisions remain subject to human review and organisational judgment.
Lantern does not intend automated processes to replace accountable human decision-making in significant support matters.
Section 7
Sharing of Information
Information may be shared only with:
- Partner organisations directly involved in providing support
- Service providers necessary for secure operation, such as hosting and infrastructure providers, under strict confidentiality obligations
- Authorities or designated bodies where disclosure is required by South African law, for example in cases involving child abuse or imminent risk of serious harm
Partner organisations may process information under their own legal, professional, and operational obligations and may be subject to their own privacy notices and policies.
Where legally permitted and reasonably safe, affected persons may be informed of such disclosures.
Section 8
Cross-Border Processing and Service Providers
Lantern may use service providers and infrastructure that process, transmit, back up, monitor, or store personal information outside South Africa where required for the secure operation of the platform.
Where such transfers occur, Lantern will take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as required by POPIA.
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure services
- Email and notification delivery services
- Backup, monitoring, and operational support services
Section 9
Children and Mandatory Reporting
South African law imposes mandatory reporting obligations in certain circumstances, particularly in relation to:
- Abuse or neglect of children
- Situations where a person is at serious risk of harm
Lantern and its partner organisations cannot override these legal duties. Where it is safe to do so, this will be communicated sensitively and transparently.
Section 10
Data Security Safeguards
Lantern takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard personal information, including:
- Access controls
- Secure storage practices
- Encryption where appropriate
- Minimised data exposure
- Audit and accountability mechanisms
While all reasonable precautions are taken, no system can be guaranteed completely risk-free. Where required by law, affected individuals and relevant authorities will be notified of security compromises involving personal information.
Section 11
Data Retention
Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to:
- Provide support services
- Comply with legal obligations
- Maintain appropriate records for safety and accountability
Where legally permissible, data subjects may request access to, correction of, or deletion of their information.
Section 12
Rights of Data Subjects (POPIA)
Under POPIA, individuals have the right to:
Information Regulator (South Africa)
- Request access to their personal information
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Object to certain types of processing
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa
Requests can be submitted to privacy@lanternapp.co.za. Complaints may also be directed to the Information Regulator (South Africa).
Section 13
Limitation of Liability
Lantern is designed as a support-facilitating platform. While care is taken to build responsibly, Lantern:
- Does not guarantee that assistance will always be available
- Does not guarantee response times
- Does not replace emergency services
- Cannot control the actions of third-party partner organisations
Users should always contact local emergency services directly where immediate danger exists and it is safe to do so.
Section 14
Changes to This Policy
This policy may be updated from time to time.
The most recent version will always be published on the Lantern website.
Section 15
Contact
Questions regarding this policy may be directed to: