Privacy & cookies
Last updated 17 October 2026
This site is run by Rory Phillips, based in the United Kingdom. It is an educational guide for people moving to South Africa. This page sets out exactly what is collected, who processes it, and how to stop it.
The short version. Google Analytics sets cookies only after you press Accept. If you press Reject, or don't choose, it stores nothing on your device and sends Google only basic measurements without cookies. We don't record sessions. If you ask for the free guide, we keep your email so we can send it, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
What we collect, and why
If you press Reject, or haven't chosen yet
Google Analytics still loads, but in the consent-denied state of Google's Consent Mode. In that state it doesn't read or write analytics cookies and stores no identifier on your device. Each page still sends Google a short signal with your consent status and a measurement without cookies. Google says these can include the time, your browser type and the page you came from, and it uses them for totals and modelling. There is no cookie or lasting ID to tie your visits together.
Pressing Reject sends the denied signal straight away, so if you accepted earlier and change your mind, the page you are on switches back to this state too.
If you accept
| Tool | What it does | Processor & retention |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 ( _ga, _ga_XL9GQJRLQB) |
Counts visits, pages viewed, and roughly where visitors arrive from, so we know which guides are worth expanding. | Google Ireland Ltd. Up to 2 years. |
Accepting turns on analytics storage and nothing else. The advertising settings in Google's Consent Mode stay at denied whatever you choose.
If you ask for the free guide
| What | What it's for | Processor & retention |
|---|---|---|
| Your email, if you request the free guide, and your first name and where you're moving from if you choose to give them afterwards | Sends the guide and occasional related updates. Asking for the guide also puts you on the founding list of our sister site, The Expat Club, which shares this sign-up list. You give it deliberately. It is never harvested. If you sign up through one of our three tools, your welcome email also carries a link back to your result. Your answers travel in that link and are not saved on our list. We also note which page you signed up on and, if you came through a friend's referral link, whose link it was. | Stored with Cloudflare and Google, and sent through MailerSend and MailerLite. Retained until you unsubscribe. When you unsubscribe we delete your first name and where you're moving from, and keep only your email address and the basic sign-up record, so we never email you again. |
Session recording
We don't record sessions. Microsoft Clarity, a session recording tool, is not in use on this site: its script isn't loaded and no Clarity cookies are set. If that ever changes, we will update this page first, and it would only run after you press Accept.
Legal basis
Analytics cookies are not strictly necessary to deliver this website, so under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and the UK GDPR they are set only with your consent, freely given and just as easily withdrawn. Declining costs you no functionality, because every page works the same either way.
Where your email is processed to send a guide you asked for, the basis is also consent, withdrawable by unsubscribing at any time.
This site is for people moving to South Africa. Where the Protection of Personal Information Act applies, the same principles are followed: collection is limited to what is necessary, purposes are stated above, and you may object to processing at any time.
International transfers
Google processes analytics data outside the UK, including in the United States, under the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses. The services that handle sign-ups may also process your email outside the UK. Pressing Reject stops analytics cookies, but Google still receives the measurements without cookies described above.
Changing your mind
Your choice is stored for six months in your browser and nowhere else. To change it:
Reopening the choice clears the analytics cookies straight away. If you then press Reject, Google Analytics goes back to the consent-denied state described above. You can also clear cookies for this site in your browser.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of any personal data held about you, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, or object to processing. Email hello@expatclub.co.za and expect a reply within 30 days.
If you are unhappy with the response, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or in South Africa to the Information Regulator.
What this site is not
The guides here are general information about relocating to South Africa. They are not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice, and no relationship is created by reading them. Always take professional advice on your own circumstances before acting.