Quick Answer What Is POPIA and Does It Apply to My Small Business? POPIA (the Protection of Personal Information Act) governs how businesses collect, store and use personal information. It applies to every South African business – there is no small-business exemption. The basics: a privacy policy, minimal data collection, reasonable security, and deletion when no longer needed. What this means in plain language If you keep a customer WhatsApp list, employee files or a debtor spreadsheet, you process personal information and POPIA applies. The Information Regulator can fine non-compliance – and customers increasingly ask. Practical POPIA for a small business is not a legal marathon: tell people what you…