Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Digital Thread (Pty) Ltd ("Digital Thread", "we", "us") is a digital agency registered in Botswana. We are the data controller for personal data collected through https://www.digitalthread.online.

Contact: admin@digitalthread.online  |  +267 73 570 183  |  Gaborone, Botswana

2. Legal framework

Our primary compliance obligation is the Data Protection Act, 2024 (Act No. 18 of 2024) ("the Act"), which repealed and replaced the Data Protection Act, 2018 and came into force on 14 January 2025. Where visitors reach this site from the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we additionally apply the principles of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR to those interactions.

The legal bases we rely on under the Act are:

• Consent — for analytics, session recording, and non-essential cookies.
• Legitimate interests — for security monitoring, spam protection, and server logs necessary to operate the site safely.
• Contractual necessity — when you submit an enquiry and we respond to it.

3. What data we collect and why

3.1 Contact and enquiry forms

When you submit a contact, assessment, or resource request form, we collect the information you provide (name, email address, phone number, company name, and message). We use this solely to respond to your enquiry. Data is retained for 24 months and then deleted.

3.2 Google Analytics 4

With your consent, we use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to collect aggregated, anonymised data about how visitors use the site — pages viewed, time on page, device type, and approximate country. We have enabled IP anonymisation. GA4 data is retained for 14 months (Google's default). No personally identifiable information is sent to Google Analytics.

GA4 is operated by Google Ireland Ltd, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Google may transfer data to the United States under Standard Contractual Clauses. See Google's Privacy Policy.

3.3 Microsoft Clarity

With your consent, we use Microsoft Clarity to record anonymised session replays and generate heatmaps. Clarity masks all input fields and sensitive content by default. It does not store your full IP address. Recordings help us identify usability issues and improve the site.

Clarity is operated by Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, USA. See Microsoft's Privacy Statement.

3.4 Cloudflare Turnstile

Our contact forms are protected by Cloudflare Turnstile, a privacy-friendly CAPTCHA alternative. Turnstile processes limited technical signals (browser characteristics, interaction patterns) to distinguish humans from bots. It does not set advertising cookies or build a user profile. This processing is based on our legitimate interest in preventing spam and abuse.

Turnstile is operated by Cloudflare Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.

3.5 Cloudflare Pages and Workers

This website is hosted on Cloudflare Pages and uses Cloudflare Workers for server-side functions. Cloudflare processes network traffic passing through its global content delivery network and retains standard server access logs (IP address, request path, timestamp) for security and performance purposes. Cloudflare does not use this data for advertising. Log retention follows Cloudflare's standard policy.

3.6 Cookies and local storage

Name / key	Purpose	Type	Expiry
dt-consent-v2	Stores your cookie preferences	Essential — local storage	Until cleared
dt-theme	Remembers your light/dark mode preference	Essential — local storage	Until cleared
_ga, _ga_*	Google Analytics visitor and session identification	Analytics — with consent only	2 years / 24 hours
_clck, _clsk	Microsoft Clarity session identification	Analytics — with consent only	1 year / 1 day
Cloudflare __cf_bm, cf_clearance	Bot management and Turnstile verification	Essential — security	30 minutes / 1 year

4. Google Consent Mode v2

We implement Google Consent Mode v2. When you decline analytics cookies, GA4 operates in a consent-denied state: it does not set analytics cookies, does not log your full IP, and sends only cookieless pings used for aggregate modelling. This means Google receives a signal that a visit occurred, but no individually identifiable data is collected. When you accept analytics, full measurement is enabled.

5. Your rights under the Botswana Data Protection Act, 2024

Under the Act you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent at any time — use the Cookie Preferences link in the footer.
• Request deletion of data we are not legally required to retain.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information and Data Protection Commission of Botswana.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@digitalthread.online. We will respond within 21 days.

6. Data transfers outside Botswana

Google and Microsoft process data in data centres outside Botswana, primarily in the United States and European Union. These transfers take place under Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, which provide an appropriate level of data protection consistent with the requirements of the Botswana Data Protection Act, 2024.

7. Children

This site is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has submitted personal data to us, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our practices change or when legislation requires it. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. For material changes, we will display a notice on the site.

9. Contact

Digital Thread (Pty) Ltd
Gaborone, Botswana
admin@digitalthread.online
+267 73 570 183