Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5 November 2026 · Ilobolo

1. Who we are

Ilobolo (ilabola.co.za) is a lobola estimation and cultural guidance tool for South African families. For the purposes of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), Ilobolo is the responsible party for this site, and you can reach us at support@ilabola.co.za.

2. What you enter in the calculator

The calculator asks for your province, your cultural tradition, four questions about the bride and her family (education, employment, family standing and children), how you plan to pay, and, optionally, the bride's first name for the letters. All of this is processed in your browser. None of it is sent to us, and the free estimate does not ask for your name, email or anything else that identifies you.

3. Your saved report

Once you have paid, your report is saved in your browser's own storage on that device, so it is still there if you close the tab. Only that browser can read it. To remove it, use Start a new estimate or clear this site's data in your browser settings.

4. Your report link

Your report comes with a link that reopens it on any device. The link carries your answers, including the bride's first name if you gave one. They are encoded in the address but not encrypted, so anyone who has the link can open the report. Share it the way you would share the report itself.

Opening the link sends its address to our server, like any other web address. We do not store or read these addresses, apart from the technical logs described in section 7.

5. Payments

When you buy the full report, the email address and payment details you enter go directly to Paystack South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a Stripe company, so that Paystack can process the payment and email you a receipt. Ilobolo never sees or stores your card details. Paystack handles this information under its own privacy policy and may process it outside South Africa.

Your email address is required to pay, because that is where the receipt goes. If you would rather not give one, you can still use the free estimate.

Paystack shows us a record of each payment: your email address, the amount, the date and a payment reference. We use it only to answer questions about your payment and for our tax records. We keep it for as long as South African tax law requires, which is currently five years.

6. Cookies, analytics and third parties

Ilobolo sets no cookies and uses no analytics, tracking pixels or advertising. Our fonts and images are served from our own server. Paystack's checkout window may set its own cookies once you open it.

The WhatsApp and email buttons open your own apps with a message already written. Whatever you send through them is between you and that service.

7. Technical logs

Like any website, the servers that deliver Ilobolo may briefly record technical details of each request, such as your IP address, the time, the page you asked for and your browser type. These logs are used only to keep the site secure and working, are never used to profile you, and are deleted when no longer needed.

8. Sharing

We do not sell, rent or share your personal information. The only exception is if the law requires us to disclose a payment record.

9. Your rights

Under POPIA you may:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you, and for a copy of it
• ask us to correct or delete it
• object to how it is processed
• complain to the Information Regulator at inforegulator.org.za

Because the only record we hold is the Paystack payment record, please include your payment reference when you email support@ilabola.co.za. Records we must keep for tax purposes can be deleted only once the retention period has ended.

10. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update it here and change the date at the top.

See also our Terms of Use & Disclaimer.