Privacy policy

Who is responsible

The responsible party for personal information processed through this website is Compare Signatures. Privacy questions and requests go to our Information Officer at info@comparesignatures.com or through the contact page.

What we collect

Signature images you upload

The two image files, a re-encoded copy of each, the images produced for the report, and the measurements and results calculated from them. A signature identifies a person, and the way it is formed can be regarded as biometric information, which POPIA treats as special personal information. We process it only to produce the comparison you ask for.

Details you add

The optional case or reference text you type, and the original file names.

Technical information

A one-way, keyed hash of your IP address, used only to limit how many comparisons or messages can be sent per hour. We never store your IP address itself. Standard web-server logs may be kept by our hosting environment for security purposes.

Contact messages

Your name, e-mail address, topic and message when you use the contact form.

Why we process it, and on what basis

• To compare the signatures and produce the report you request. Before uploading, you confirm that you are authorised to process the images, for example because the person who signed has consented, or because the processing is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a right or obligation in law.
• To protect the service against abuse, which is in our legitimate interest and yours.
• To answer messages you send us.

We do not use uploaded signatures to train software, build profiles, market to anyone, or for any purpose other than the comparison you asked for.

Who can see it

Reports are reachable only through their unguessable link. Anyone you share a report link with can open it, so treat the link like the document itself. We do not sell or share personal information with third parties. It is stored on servers controlled by Compare Signatures; if a hosting or e-mail provider processes it on our behalf, they do so under a written agreement that requires them to keep it confidential and secure.

How long we keep it

• Uploaded images, generated images and report data are deleted automatically after 30 days.
• Contact messages are deleted after 365 days, unless we need them longer to deal with a dispute or legal requirement.
• You can ask us to delete a report sooner: send us its report ID through the contact page.

How we protect it

Uploads are validated and re-encoded before use, stored outside the public part of the website under random 128-bit references, and served only through checked links. Connections should be encrypted (HTTPS), IP addresses are stored only as keyed hashes, and access to the server is restricted. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure; if a security compromise affects your information we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

Cookies

We use one strictly necessary session cookie, which protects forms against forgery. It expires when you close your browser. There are no advertising, analytics or tracking cookies.

Your rights

Under POPIA you may ask whether we hold personal information about you, ask for a copy of it, ask us to correct or delete it, and object to its processing. Send your request through the contact page (choose "Privacy request"). We may need to confirm your identity before acting on it and will respond within a reasonable time. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa): inforegulator.org.za.

Changes to this policy

We will post any change on this page and update the date at the top.