Last updated 15 October 2026
Short version: without an account we store nothing about you. With one, we store your email, a scrambled password and the profile numbers you choose to save - and you can delete all of it yourself, at once. The numbers you type into a calculator are worked out in your own browser and never sent to us.
Who we are
CalcSA (calcsa.co.za) is run by Netdentity, the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). Our information officer can be reached at [email protected].
If you create an account
An account is optional. Every calculator works without one. If you sign up, we store:
- Your email address - to sign you in, and (once email is switched on) to confirm the address and send password-reset links. Never for marketing.
- Your password, scrambled - a salted one-way hash (PBKDF2). We cannot read your password and staff never see it.
- Your profiles - the names you give them (for example "Me" or "Spouse") and the numbers you save on them: gross salary, take-home pay, age, medical aid members and contribution, pension/RA contribution, retirement savings, leave days, weekly hours and bond balance. They exist so the calculators can fill those in for you.
- Dates - when the account was created, when you last signed in, when a profile was last changed, and whether your email has been confirmed.
- One cookie, calcsa.auth - set only when you sign in, to keep you signed in for up to 60 days. It is strictly necessary for the account to work and is removed when you sign out.
This is kept in our own database on our own server, is not shared with or sold to anyone, and is used for nothing except running your account. It stays until you delete it.
Deleting your account
- Sign in and open My account, then use Delete my account. Your account, every profile and all their numbers are deleted from our database immediately and permanently, and you are signed out.
- To delete one profile only, use Delete next to it on the same page.
- Download my data, on the same page, gives you a copy of everything we hold about you.
- Cannot sign in? Email [email protected] from the address on the account and we will delete it for you.
What stays on your device
- Your calculations are saved in your browser's local storage, only when you press Add to list. They never leave your device and we cannot see them.
- Calculators you remove from the list are remembered the same way.
- As a guest, My profile stays in your browser. The figures you put on My profile without signing in are saved in local storage under the anonymous visitor id below. They are never sent to us, and Clear my profile deletes them. When you sign in for the first time we offer to copy them into your account - only if you press Import.
- Signed in, a copy of your profiles is kept in local storage so the calculators can use them instantly. Signing out removes that copy.
- An anonymous visitor id - a random code such as 3f2a9c1e-... - is created the first time you open CalcSA and kept in your browser's local storage. It is not your name, email or device, and on its own it cannot identify you. It is not sent to us.
- Clear them any time with the Clear, Reset list and Clear my profile buttons, or by clearing your browser's site data.
- We do not use analytics or advertising trackers, and set no cookies unless you sign in.
What our server sees
Like every website, our web server records each request - your IP address, the page asked for, the time and your browser type - in standard log files. We use these only to keep the site running and secure (for example, to slow down repeated wrong passwords), and delete them routinely.
Third parties your browser talks to
- Google Fonts - the page font is loaded from Google, which sees your IP address. See Google's privacy policy.
- Frankfurter (frankfurter.dev) - the currency converter fetches European Central Bank exchange rates from it. No personal information is sent.
- WhatsApp - only if you press Share, which opens WhatsApp with the calculation filled in.
- Advertisers - ads on CalcSA are plain links. Nothing is shared with the advertiser unless you click through to their site, where their own privacy policy applies.
If you email us
We use your email address and message only to reply to you, and do not add you to any mailing list.
Your rights under POPIA
You may ask what personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it - most of it you can see, change and delete yourself on My account, or email [email protected]. If you are not happy with how we handle it, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date.