Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2025

1. Introduction

FindHealth Africa ("FindHealth," "we," "us," or "our"), part of the FindAfrica brand, is committed to protecting your privacy and the security of your health information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal and health-related information when you use our healthcare directory platform. We comply with regional African data protection laws and international best practices for health information privacy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you:

• Create an account on FindHealth
• Search for healthcare providers
• Contact healthcare providers through our platform
• Subscribe to health information newsletters
• Request consultations or appointments
• Leave reviews or feedback

This information may include:

• Name and contact information (email, phone number)
• Location information (city, suburb for finding nearby providers)
• Account credentials (username, password)
• Communication preferences

2.2 Health-Related Information

Sensitive Health Data: When you contact healthcare providers, you may voluntarily share health-related information such as:

• Medical conditions or symptoms (in consultation requests)
• Reason for seeking medical care
• Medical aid or insurance information
• Previous medical history (if included in provider messages)

Important: We encrypt and protect all health-related information. You should only share health information necessary for scheduling consultations. Detailed medical information should be discussed directly with your healthcare provider in a secure clinical setting.

2.3 Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information about your device and browsing behavior:

• IP address and general location data (city level)
• Browser type and version
• Device information (mobile, desktop, tablet)
• Pages visited, search queries, and time spent on platform
• Referring website or search engine
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Facilitate connections between people and healthcare providers
• Securely forward consultation requests to healthcare providers
• Provide customer support and respond to inquiries
• Send appointment confirmations and healthcare provider responses
• Improve provider search results and recommendations
• Send health information newsletters (with your consent)
• Verify and maintain accurate provider credentials
• Prevent fraud and ensure platform security
• Comply with regional healthcare regulations and legal obligations
• Analyze platform usage to improve healthcare accessibility

Health Information Use: Health-related information you share is used solely to connect you with appropriate healthcare providers. We do not use health information for marketing, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to facilitating healthcare consultations.

4. How We Share Your Information

We take the protection of your health information seriously. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

4.1 Healthcare Providers

When you contact a healthcare provider through FindHealth, we securely forward your consultation request, including your name, contact information, and any health information you choose to share. Healthcare providers are bound by professional confidentiality obligations and medical privacy regulations.

4.2 Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who assist with platform operations. These providers have limited access to information necessary for their services:

• Secure email and messaging platforms (for forwarding consultation requests)
• Website hosting and cloud storage providers
• Analytics services (anonymized data only)
• Security and fraud prevention services

All service providers are contractually bound to protect your information and may not use it for any other purpose.

4.3 Legal Requirements and Public Health

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or in response to valid legal requests from relevant public authorities. We may also share anonymized health data with public health authorities for disease surveillance or public health purposes as required by regional healthcare regulations.

4.4 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of FindHealth, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will require the new entity to maintain the same level of privacy protection outlined in this policy.

4.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information for any other purpose only with your explicit consent. We will never sell your health information to third parties.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to:

• Remember your location preferences for finding nearby providers
• Keep you logged in to your account
• Understand how users interact with our platform to improve search results
• Analyze platform usage to enhance healthcare accessibility
• Provide security and fraud detection

Important: We do not use cookies to track your health searches across other websites or for targeted healthcare advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling cookies may affect platform functionality.

6. Data Security and Health Information Protection

We implement comprehensive technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal and health information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption: TLS/SSL encryption for all data transmission and encrypted storage for health information
• Access Controls: Strict role-based access controls limiting staff access to health information
• Security Monitoring: Continuous monitoring for unauthorized access attempts
• Regular Audits: Regular security assessments and penetration testing
• Secure Infrastructure: Healthcare-grade secure cloud hosting with redundancy and backup
• Staff Training: Regular privacy and security training for all staff handling health information

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we use industry-standard security measures appropriate for handling health information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the unlikely event of a data breach involving health information, we will notify affected users promptly as required by applicable law.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal and health information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, or as required by regional healthcare regulations and data protection laws:

• Active Accounts: Information retained while your account is active
• Consultation Records: Consultation request records retained for 7 years to comply with medical record retention requirements
• Inactive Accounts: After 3 years of inactivity, accounts may be deleted after notifying you
• Anonymized Data: We may retain anonymized health statistics indefinitely for public health research

After the retention period, we will securely delete or anonymize your information using industry-standard data destruction methods.

8. Your Privacy Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal and health information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal and health information we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your information (subject to legal and medical record retention requirements)
• Opt-out: Unsubscribe from health information newsletters at any time
• Object: Object to processing of your information for certain purposes
• Portability: Request transfer of your information to another healthcare platform
• Restrict Processing: Request limitation on how we use your health information

To exercise these rights, contact our Privacy Officer at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days as required by applicable data protection laws.

9. Health Information Communications

With your consent, we may send you health information newsletters, healthcare provider updates, and platform announcements. You can opt out of these communications at any time by:

• Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any newsletter email
• Contacting our Privacy Officer directly
• Updating your communication preferences in your account settings

Important: You will still receive essential transactional emails related to consultation requests, provider responses, and account security, even if you opt out of newsletters. We will never use your health information for marketing purposes.

10. Third-Party Links and Provider Websites

Our platform may contain links to healthcare provider websites, medical information resources, or third-party services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. Healthcare providers may have their own privacy policies for patient information collected outside of FindHealth. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

11. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for adults seeking healthcare and parents/guardians seeking care for children. We do not knowingly collect personal health information directly from children under the age of 18 without parental consent. Parents or guardians may create accounts and request consultations on behalf of their children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information.

12. International Data Transfers

Your information is stored and processed in secure cloud infrastructure. As a remote platform, your information may be processed in multiple secure data centers with adequate data protection laws. When health information is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place through:

• Contractual data protection clauses with service providers
• Encryption of health data in transit and at rest
• Compliance with international health information privacy standards
• Regular security audits of all data processing locations

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or healthcare regulations. We will notify you of significant changes by:

• Posting the updated policy on this page with a new "Last updated" date
• Sending email notification for material changes affecting health information handling
• Requiring acceptance of updated terms before continuing to use the platform (for significant changes)

Your continued use of FindHealth after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us: