Data Deletion Instructions

1. What this page covers

Beacon Digital Solutions provides the Beacon WhatsApp Business Platform Services (the “Platform”) — the messaging integration, workflow and operations services Beacon delivers to client businesses over the WhatsApp Business Platform — on behalf of business clients. This page explains exactly how any person or organisation can have their data permanently deleted from the Platform, and what happens after a request is submitted. It applies to data received through the WhatsApp Business Platform, data submitted through our website, and data held in our operations console and databases.

Deletion is free of charge. You do not need to give a reason. Requesting deletion will never be treated as grounds for a lesser standard of service.

2. First, identify which type of requester you are

The steps differ depending on your relationship to the Platform. Find yourself in this table.

You are…	Because…	Go to
A field worker or end user	You receive or send WhatsApp messages about jobs, or your employer/principal uses the Platform to coordinate you.	Section 3 — Route A
A customer of one of our clients	You received WhatsApp service notifications (booking, arrival, completion) about work being done for you.	Section 3 — Route A
A client business (account holder)	Your company engages Beacon for the Services and has connected its WhatsApp Business Account to us.	Section 4 — Route B
A website enquirer	You only submitted a demo request or emailed us; you have never used the Platform.	Section 5 — Route C

3. Route A — Field workers, end users and customers

Option 1: Delete directly from WhatsApp (fastest)

1. Open WhatsApp on your phone.
2. Open the chat thread with the business that has been messaging you about jobs.
3. Send the exact message: DELETE MY DATA
4. The system replies immediately with a confirmation prompt, so that a message sent by accident cannot erase your records.
5. Reply CONFIRM DELETE to proceed. Your request is logged with a reference number, which is sent back to you in the chat.
6. You will receive a final written confirmation in the same WhatsApp thread once deletion is complete.

If you only want the messaging to stop but not your job history removed, send STOP instead. That opts you out of all further messages without deleting existing records.

Option 2: Request by email

1. Email [email protected] with the subject line Data Deletion Request.
2. Include the WhatsApp number the messages were sent to or from, in international format (for example +27 79 258 1260). We need this to locate your records.
3. Include the name of the business you were dealing with, if you know it.
4. State clearly what you want deleted: everything, or a specific category such as voice notes, location check-ins or photographs.
5. Send the email from an address we can associate with you, or be ready to verify your identity as described in section 6.

Option 3: Ask the business directly

You may also ask the business that engaged you — your employer, contracting principal or service provider — to delete your data. They can do this themselves from the operations console, or instruct us to do it. Either route reaches the same outcome.

4. Route B — Client businesses (account holders)

Client businesses have three levels of deletion available.

4.1 Delete an individual record

1. Sign in to the Beacon operations console with an administrator account.
2. Navigate to Settings → Privacy & Data.
3. Select Delete a data subject and search by WhatsApp number, worker name or job reference.
4. Review the summary of what will be removed, then confirm. Deletion is irreversible.
5. The action is written to your audit log with the acting user, timestamp and record scope.

4.2 Disconnect your WhatsApp Business Account

1. Open Meta Business Settings and sign in as an administrator of your business portfolio.
2. Go to Accounts → WhatsApp Accounts and select the account connected to Beacon Digital Solutions.
3. Under Business Asset Access (or Connected Apps / Partners), locate Beacon Digital Solutions and choose Remove.
4. Removing our access revokes our access tokens immediately. Our systems receive Meta's deauthorisation notification and stop all processing for that account.
5. Email us at [email protected] to confirm whether you want the stored data deleted immediately or exported to you first.

Note that revoking access stops future processing but does not by itself erase data already stored. Send the email in step 5 to trigger erasure.

4.3 Full account closure and erasure

1. Email [email protected] from a registered administrator address, subject line Full Account Deletion Request.
2. Include your company name, account or tenant identifier, and the WhatsApp Business Account number.
3. Tell us whether you want a data export first. If you do, we provide a structured export (JSON and CSV, with media files) within 7 business days, downloadable over a time-limited secure link.
4. Confirm in writing that you have downloaded the export, or that you are waiving it.
5. We then execute full erasure of your tenant and confirm in writing, with the date of completion and the date on which the last encrypted backup containing the data will have rotated out.

5. Route C — Website enquirers

1. Email [email protected], subject line Delete My Enquiry Data, from the address you originally contacted us with.
2. We locate and delete your enquiry record, contact details and correspondence.
3. We confirm by reply, and then delete that confirmation thread on our next scheduled purge.

6. Identity verification

Before deleting anything we confirm that the request genuinely comes from you or someone authorised to act for you. This protects you from a malicious third party destroying your records. We use the least intrusive method that works:

• WhatsApp requests are verified by the two-step in-chat confirmation, since the message provably originates from the registered handset.
• Email requests from an address already on record are verified by a one-time confirmation code sent back to that address.
• Email requests from an unknown address may require a one-time code sent by WhatsApp or SMS to the number in question.
• Client account requests must come from an administrator on record; we may telephone the registered contact number to confirm.

We ask only for what is necessary to establish identity, never for a copy of an identity document unless no other method is available, and any verification material is destroyed once the request is closed.

7. What gets deleted

A completed deletion permanently removes the following from our production systems:

Data category	Included in deletion
Identifiers	WhatsApp phone number, WhatsApp profile name, employee or contractor reference.
Message content	Full inbound and outbound WhatsApp message history held by us, including job cards and status replies.
Voice data	Voice note audio files and any machine-generated transcriptions of them.
Location data	All location check-ins, including coordinates, accuracy values and timestamps.
Media	Photographs, signature images and documents submitted through WhatsApp, deleted from encrypted object storage.
Job records	Job assignments, completion notes and status timelines linked to you.
Console account	Administrative user profile, credentials and session records, where applicable.
Derived data	Search indexes, caches, queued jobs and any report snapshots holding the deleted values.

Deletion is a hard delete, not a hidden or archived flag. Records are removed from the primary database and from all secondary stores, indexes and caches.

8. What may lawfully be retained

In a small number of cases, the law requires that certain information be kept. Where this applies we tell you specifically what is retained, on what legal basis, and when it will be destroyed. Retained items are minimised, locked down and never used for any operational or marketing purpose.

• Financial records. Invoices and tax records must be kept for at least five years under South African tax and companies legislation.
• Deletion audit trail. We keep a minimal record that a deletion request was made, verified and executed, together with its reference number and date, so we can prove compliance to the Information Regulator. This record does not retain the deleted content.
• Legal hold. Data subject to an active legal claim, court order or regulatory investigation is preserved until the matter concludes, and is then deleted.
• Client legal obligations. The client responsible party may be required to retain certain employment or occupational health and safety records. Where they instruct retention on that basis, we will tell you which records and why.
• Encrypted backups. Deleted data may persist in encrypted, access-controlled backups until they rotate out on their normal cycle, which does not exceed 90 days after deletion. Backups are never used to restore deleted records, and if a backup is ever restored for disaster recovery, the deletion is re-applied immediately.

9. Timeline and confirmation

Stage	Timing	What happens
Acknowledgement	Within 5 business days	We confirm receipt and issue a reference number.
Verification	Within 5 business days	We confirm your identity using the least intrusive method available.
Client coordination	Within 5 business days of verification	Where the data belongs to a client, we notify them and confirm the scope of erasure.
Execution	Within 30 days of the request	Data is permanently erased from production systems, indexes and object storage.
Written confirmation	On completion	You receive written confirmation listing what was deleted and anything lawfully retained.
Backup rotation	Within 90 days of erasure	The last encrypted backups containing the data are cycled out.

If a request is unusually complex, we may extend the 30-day period to the extent POPIA permits. We will tell you before the original deadline passes, explain why, and give a revised date.

10. Technical note for platform reviewers

This page is the human-readable data deletion instructions URL for the Beacon Digital Solutions application. In addition to the manual routes described above, our backend implements automated handling of platform deauthorisation and deletion notifications:

• Access tokens for a WhatsApp Business Account are invalidated and purged as soon as we receive notice that a business has removed Beacon Digital Solutions from its assets.
• All processing for that account halts immediately: inbound webhooks for it are dropped and no further outbound messages are attempted.
• Every deletion request — whether raised in WhatsApp, by email, through the console, or by an automated platform notification — is written to a single deletion queue that produces a confirmation record with a reference number and completion timestamp.
• Deletion is applied across the primary database, search indexes, caches and encrypted media object storage, and is re-applied automatically to any backup restored after the deletion date.

11. If you are not satisfied

If you believe your deletion request has not been handled properly, escalate it to our Information Officer at [email protected] with the subject line POPIA Escalation, quoting your reference number. We will review it independently and respond within 10 business days.

You also have the right to complain to the regulator at any time:

Authority	The Information Regulator (South Africa)
Complaints email	[email protected]
General enquiries	[email protected]
Website	inforegulator.org.za

12. Contact for deletion requests

Beacon Digital Solutions (Pty) Ltd
Attention: The Information Officer
Oak Tree Village Block 2 Unit 63, 240 End Street, Clubview, Centurion, Gauteng, 0157, South Africa
Email: [email protected]
Telephone / WhatsApp: +27 79 258 1260
Hours: Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:00 (SAST)

Related documents: Privacy Policy · Terms of Service