Safire Privacy Policy

Last updated: 9 September 2026

Safire is owned and operated by Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd.

Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd respects your privacy and is committed to handling personal information responsibly and in accordance with applicable South African privacy legislation, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

This Privacy Policy explains what information we may collect when you use the Safire website, blog and Safire Developer Community, why we collect it, how it may be used, and the choices available to you.

In this policy, references to “Safire”, “we”, “us” or “our” refer to Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd in its operation of Safire.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to:

the Safire website at safire.co.za
the Safire blog
the Safire Developer Community forum
Safire-related registration and account services
communications sent through Safire
other online services operated by Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd under the Safire name

Third-party websites linked from Safire are governed by their own privacy policies.

2. Information We May Collect

Depending on how you use Safire, we may collect information including:

your username
your name, if you choose to provide it
your email address
your IP address
account registration information
profile information you choose to provide
forum posts and replies
private messages sent through the forum
attachments you upload
avatar and signature information
forum subscriptions and notification preferences
login and account activity
browser and device information
technical logs
security and anti-spam information
information you send to us when requesting support or contacting the Safire team

Some information is provided directly by you, while other information is generated automatically when you use the website or forum.

3. Information You Make Public

The Safire Developer Community contains public discussion areas.

Information that you choose to publish in a public forum may be visible to:

registered Safire members
visitors who are not logged in
search engines
other internet services that index publicly accessible content

Public information may include:

your username
profile information
avatar
signature
forum topics
replies
uploaded attachments

Please do not publish information that you do not want to make publicly available.

4. Email Addresses

An email address is required when registering for the Safire Developer Community.

Your email address may be used for:

account verification
password resets
security notifications
forum notifications you request
moderation notices
account administration
important service-related communications
responding to enquiries

Your email address is not displayed publicly by default.

We will not sell your email address or use your forum registration email for unrelated third-party marketing.

5. Forum Accounts

The Safire Developer Community uses phpBB forum software.

When you create a forum account, phpBB may store information necessary to operate the community, including:

username
email address
password in securely hashed form
registration date
IP addresses
login information
posts and topics
private messages
notification preferences
forum subscriptions
moderation history
profile information

New accounts may be subject to additional anti-spam and moderation measures.

For example, a new member’s first post may require moderator approval before appearing publicly.

6. Blog

The Safire blog uses WordPress.

WordPress and related website services may process technical information required to display the website, maintain sessions, secure the website and provide normal website functionality.

If comments, subscriptions or additional interactive features are introduced, additional information may be collected as necessary to provide those services.

7. IP Addresses and Technical Logs

Our systems may automatically record technical information such as:

IP address
browser type
operating system
date and time of access
requested pages
login attempts
security events
server errors

This information may be used for:

protecting accounts
detecting spam
preventing abuse
troubleshooting
maintaining website security
investigating technical problems
enforcing community rules
protecting Safire and its users

8. Cookies

Safire uses cookies and similar technologies where necessary to operate the website and forum.

Cookies may be used to:

keep you logged in
maintain your session
remember your preferences
provide forum functionality
improve security
remember account or interface settings

Some cookies are necessary for Safire to function correctly.

Where third-party services are used, those services may also set cookies in accordance with their own privacy policies.

9. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

create and manage user accounts
operate the Safire website, blog and forum
verify registrations
provide requested notifications
respond to support enquiries
administer the community
moderate discussions
prevent spam and abuse
investigate security incidents
protect user accounts
troubleshoot technical problems
maintain backups
improve Safire
communicate important service changes
comply with applicable legal obligations

We aim to collect only information reasonably necessary for these purposes.

10. Private Messages

Private messages sent through the Safire Developer Community are not publicly visible.

However, they are stored within the forum system and may be processed where necessary to:

operate the private messaging service
investigate abuse
respond to reports
maintain security
comply with legal obligations

Users should not use the forum private messaging system to store or exchange highly sensitive or confidential information.

11. Attachments

Safire members may be able to upload files to forum posts.

Depending on forum permissions, uploaded files may become publicly accessible.

Before uploading anything, please ensure that it does not contain:

passwords
API keys
authentication tokens
private encryption keys
production database credentials
confidential customer information
personal information you are not authorised to share
proprietary information you are not authorised to distribute

You are responsible for checking files before uploading them.

12. Security

Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information processed through Safire.

These measures may include:

access controls
encrypted connections
password protection
account verification
anti-spam controls
moderation
security monitoring
server and database backups

However, no website, computer system or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Users are responsible for keeping their account credentials secure.

If you believe your Safire account has been compromised, please contact us.

13. Third-Party Service Providers

Safire relies on third-party service providers where necessary to operate the platform.

These may include providers of:

website hosting
server infrastructure
domain services
email services
security services
database services
website software
analytics or technical monitoring services

These providers may process limited information as necessary to deliver their services.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

14. Email Services

Safire may use third-party email services to send:

registration emails
account verification emails
password reset messages
forum notifications
administrative communications

Information required to deliver these messages may therefore be processed by the relevant email service provider.

15. Disclosure of Information

We may disclose information where reasonably necessary:

to operate Safire
to our authorised service providers
to investigate fraud or abuse
to protect Safire or its users
to enforce our community rules or terms
where required by law
where required by a valid legal process

We do not sell personal information.

16. International Processing

Some technical or service providers used by Safire may operate servers or services outside South Africa.

Where personal information is processed internationally, we aim to use reputable service providers and take reasonable steps to ensure that information is appropriately protected.

17. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to:

operate Safire
maintain user accounts
preserve useful forum discussions
maintain security
investigate abuse
meet technical requirements
comply with applicable legal obligations

Public forum posts may remain available after an account is closed where removing them would disrupt existing discussions or the technical knowledge contained in those discussions.

Where appropriate, account information may instead be deleted or anonymised.

18. Account Closure and Deletion Requests

Users may contact Safire to request closure of their account.

Where reasonably possible and legally permitted, you may also request:

access to personal information we hold about you
correction of inaccurate information
deletion of certain personal information
restriction or objection to certain processing

Some information may need to be retained for legitimate security, technical, contractual or legal reasons.

Public forum content may not always be removed automatically when an account is closed.

19. Your POPIA Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

ask whether we hold personal information about you
request access to that information
request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
request deletion of information where appropriate
object to certain processing
request information about how your personal information is being used
lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

20. Children

Safire is primarily intended for developers and people interested in software development.

Users should not knowingly publish personal information relating to children unless they are legally authorised to do so and there is a legitimate reason for providing the information.

21. External Links

Safire forum posts, blog posts or other pages may contain links to external websites.

Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd does not control those websites and is not responsible for their:

privacy practices
security
content
availability

You should review the privacy policies of external services before providing personal information to them.

22. Community Content

Safire is a developer community, and much of the content is created by users.

Users are responsible for the information and content they choose to publish.

Please do not publish:

confidential company information
customer data
credentials
private source code that you are not permitted to share
copyrighted material you are not authorised to distribute
personal information belonging to another person without appropriate authority

23. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Safire develops, our services change, or legal and technical requirements evolve.

The latest version will always be published on the Safire website.

The Last updated date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was most recently revised.

24. Responsible Party

For the purposes of Safire and applicable South African data protection legislation, the responsible party is:

Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd

Safire is a product and service operated by Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd.

25. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your Safire account, or personal information associated with Safire, contact:

Riebens Computers (Pty) Ltd
Safire Development Team

Email: forum@safiredev.com
Website: https://safire.co.za