POPI sets stern conditions to secure the safety of personal information processed in South Africa. Individuals and companies will have to comply with the act when using WhatsApp in South Africa, this means that they will have make sure that they safeguard the end users personal information.
Determine if your WhatsApp group complies with Popi
WhatsApp group administrators are responsible for getting users consent. This means that you can not just add any person to the group for advertising purposes. Rather send a link for the group to interested individual and let them join themselves.
Members of groups are able to see each others telephone numbers and profile pictures, for that reason it would be considered a better option to allow people to decide for them selves if they agree to share this information with the other individuals for the sake of being on the group. People also need to have a choice if they want to receive marketing material from your business.
It would be advised to get consent from all of your customers who are already on your group and delete those that do not wish to be there anymore, or start fresh with a new group where people can opt in. This might save you some trouble down the road.
