Legal Documents

Effective date: 1 May 2026 · Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd

Table of Contents

• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• POPIA Compliance Policy
• Refund Policy

Terms and Conditions

Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms") carefully before using the Gloworm Guard platform operated by Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd ("we", "us", or "our"). By registering for or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Definitions

• Service — the Gloworm Guard platform, including all web interfaces, APIs, WireGuard VPN provisioning, AdGuard DNS filtering, parental-control features, and any associated applications.
• Account — the registered user account associated with a Family ID.
• Family — the household unit managing one or more Devices under a single Account.
• Device — any endpoint (phone, tablet, computer, or similar) provisioned through the Service.
• Subscription — the recurring monthly plan selected during or after sign-up.

2. Eligibility

You must be 18 years or older to create an Account. By accepting these Terms you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and have full legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement under the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

3. Account Registration

You agree to provide accurate, complete, and current information during registration and to keep it up to date. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your Account. Notify us immediately at support@glowormguard.io if you suspect unauthorised access.

4. Subscription Plans and Billing

Gloworm Guard offers the following monthly subscription plans. All prices are inclusive of applicable VAT:

All plans include the complete feature set. Subscription fees are charged monthly in advance from the day the free trial expires. We use a third-party payment processor; your payment details are governed by that processor's own terms and are not stored on our servers. We reserve the right to adjust pricing with 30 days' written notice.

5. Free Trial

7-day free trial: Every new Account receives a 7-day free trial. No payment is taken during the trial period. Your chosen plan activates automatically at the end of the trial unless you cancel beforehand.

Each Family is entitled to one free trial. We reserve the right to verify eligibility and to deny or revoke a trial if abuse or misuse is detected.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law or regulation;
• Attempt to circumvent, disable, or bypass any parental-control or DNS-filtering feature;
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source code of any part of the Service;
• Use the Service to harass, abuse, stalk, threaten, or harm any person;
• Resell, sublicense, or commercialise access to the Service without prior written consent;
• Introduce malware, viruses, or any malicious code into the Service or connected systems;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any other user's Account or data.

Violation of this clause may result in immediate suspension or termination of your Account without refund.

7. Device Limits

You may connect up to the number of Devices permitted by your active Subscription plan. Attempting to exceed your Device limit will result in additional Devices being rejected until you upgrade to a higher plan.

8. Service Availability

We strive for high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free access to the Service. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to planned maintenance, upgrades, or circumstances beyond our reasonable control (including third-party outages, force majeure events, and network disruptions). We will endeavour to provide advance notice of planned maintenance via email or in-app notification.

9. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property in the Service — including software, source code, designs, trademarks, logos, and content — remains the exclusive property of Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd or its licensors. These Terms do not transfer any ownership rights to you. You receive only a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Service for its intended personal and household purpose during an active Subscription.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by applicable South African law, we expressly disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be error-free, uninterrupted, or that all harmful, inappropriate, or unwanted content will be blocked.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by South African law, Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd, its directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including loss of profits, loss of data, loss of goodwill, or business interruption — arising out of or in connection with your use of, or inability to use, the Service.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising under or related to these Terms shall not exceed the total Subscription fees paid by you in the three months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

12. Termination

You may cancel your Subscription at any time via the Account settings page. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you retain full access until that date. We may suspend or terminate your Account immediately and without notice if you breach these Terms, fail to pay Subscription fees, or engage in fraudulent, abusive, or illegal behaviour.

13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of South Africa.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will provide at least 14 days' written notice (via email and/or in-app notification) before material changes take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of the revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of those changes.

15. Contact

Legal enquiries: legal@glowormguard.io

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd collects, uses, stores, and shares your personal information when you use the Gloworm Guard Service. It should be read together with our POPIA Compliance Policy below.

1. Information We Collect

Account data: your name, email address, hashed password, and assigned Family ID.

Billing data: billing address and payment method details — handled directly by our third-party payment processor. We do not store full card numbers or bank account details on our servers.

Device data: device names, WireGuard public keys, assigned IP addresses, and connection timestamps.

Usage data: DNS query logs (domain names queried and timestamps), per-device data-usage statistics, parental-control schedule configurations, and content-blocking settings you apply.

Log data: server access logs, application error logs, and audit logs of administrative actions taken within the platform (e.g. blocking a device, changing a schedule).

Communication data: emails or messages you send to our support team.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To provision and operate your VPN and DNS-filtering services;
• To enforce the parental-control schedules and content-blocking rules you configure;
• To process billing and issue payment receipts;
• To send transactional communications (trial expiry notices, billing reminders, security alerts);
• To provide customer support;
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents;
• To improve the Service through aggregated, anonymised analytics.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

3. Legal Bases for Processing

• Contract performance — necessary to deliver the Service you subscribed to;
• Legitimate interest — security monitoring, fraud prevention, and service improvement;
• Legal obligation — compliance with applicable South African law;
• Consent — where we have obtained your explicit consent (e.g. marketing emails; withdrawal does not affect prior processing).

4. Children's Data

Gloworm Guard is designed to be administered by adults (parents or guardians) to protect children's online safety. Accounts are only created by persons aged 18 or older. DNS query logs and device usage data may relate to children's internet activity. This data is processed solely to provide the parental-control functionality and is never used for profiling, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to the Service.

5. Data Sharing

We share personal information only with:

• Payment processors — for the purpose of billing, under their own privacy policies;
• Cloud infrastructure providers — who process data on our behalf under binding data-processing agreements;
• Law enforcement or regulators — where required by a valid legal obligation, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Gloworm Guard, its users, or the public.

6. International Data Transfers

Your data is stored on servers located in South Africa and/or within the European Union (which provides adequate data-protection standards). Where data is transferred outside South Africa, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with POPIA and applicable data-protection law.

7. Retention Periods

• Account data — retained for the duration of your Subscription plus 12 months after cancellation, or longer if required by law.
• DNS query logs — retained for up to 90 days; you may request earlier deletion at any time.
• Billing records — retained for 5 years to comply with South African tax and financial legislation.
• Audit logs — retained for 12 months.

8. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational security measures, including:

• TLS encryption for all data in transit;
• Bcrypt-hashed passwords (never stored in plaintext);
• Role-based access control limiting internal data access to authorised personnel;
• Regular security reviews and penetration testing.

No system is perfectly secure. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to notify us immediately at support@glowormguard.io if you suspect any security issue with your Account.

9. Your Rights

Subject to POPIA and other applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Request deletion of your data (subject to lawful retention obligations);
• Object to or request restriction of certain processing activities;
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing);
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

To exercise any of these rights, email legal@glowormguard.io. We will respond within 30 calendar days.

10. Cookies

We use only essential session cookies required for authentication and platform operation. We do not use advertising cookies, cross-site tracking cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be communicated via email or in-app notification at least 14 days before they take effect.

POPIA Compliance Policy

The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") regulates the processing of personal information in South Africa. This policy sets out how Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd fulfils its obligations as a Responsible Party under POPIA.

1. Responsible Party and Information Officer

Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd is the Responsible Party as defined in POPIA. Our Information Officer can be contacted at: legal@glowormguard.io.

2. The Eight Conditions for Lawful Processing

We process personal information in accordance with all eight conditions prescribed by POPIA:

2.1 Accountability

Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd accepts full responsibility for ensuring that all processing activities comply with POPIA. We maintain internal records of processing activities and appoint a designated Information Officer responsible for overseeing compliance.

2.2 Processing Limitation

We collect only the personal information that is adequate, relevant, and not excessive for the specific purpose for which it is collected. We obtain personal information directly from the data subject wherever reasonably possible.

2.3 Purpose Specification

Personal information is collected for specific, explicitly defined, and lawful purposes related to the provision of the Gloworm Guard Service (as detailed in our Privacy Policy). We do not process personal information in a manner incompatible with those stated purposes.

2.4 Further Processing Limitation

We do not process personal information for secondary purposes unless those purposes are compatible with the original purpose of collection, the data subject has provided explicit consent, or processing is required or permitted by law.

2.5 Information Quality

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information held by us is complete, accurate, not misleading, and updated where necessary. You may update your Account information at any time via the Account settings page. You may also contact us to correct inaccurate information we hold about you.

2.6 Openness

We notify data subjects of the purpose of collection, the categories of information collected, the identity of third parties who may receive their information, and the rights available to them. This POPIA Policy and our Privacy Policy together constitute our notification in terms of sections 18 and 69 of POPIA.

2.7 Security Safeguards

We implement appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational security measures to prevent loss, damage, unauthorised destruction, or unlawful access to personal information. These measures include TLS encryption, hashed credentials, role-based access control, audit logging, and regular security assessments. In the event of a security compromise, we will notify the Information Regulator and affected data subjects as required by POPIA.

2.8 Data Subject Participation

Data subjects may, upon verified request, be informed of what personal information we hold about them, request corrections, or request deletion of their personal information. Such requests must be submitted to legal@glowormguard.io. We will acknowledge your request within 5 business days and resolve it within 30 calendar days.

3. Special Personal Information

We do not intentionally collect special personal information (as defined in section 26 of POPIA), such as information relating to a data subject's health, religion, race, political beliefs, or criminal record. If any such information is incidentally included in communications to us, it will not be used and will be deleted.

4. Children's Personal Information

Where the Service processes personal information relating to children (persons under the age of 18) — such as DNS query logs associated with a child's device — such processing occurs solely under the direction and on the authority of the parent or guardian who holds the Account. We process this information exclusively to provide the requested parental-control functionality and do not use it for profiling, advertising, or any other purpose. We do not allow children to create Accounts.

5. Direct Marketing

We will only send direct marketing communications to you if you have opted in. You may withdraw consent and unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by emailing legal@glowormguard.io. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of prior processing.

6. Transborder Information Flows

Where personal information is transferred outside the Republic of South Africa, we ensure that the recipient country or organisation provides an adequate level of protection for personal information comparable to POPIA, or we obtain the data subject's consent, in accordance with section 72 of POPIA.

7. Data Breach Response

In the event of a security breach involving personal information, we will:

• Immediately investigate and contain the breach;
• Notify the Information Regulator of South Africa within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach;
• Notify affected data subjects as soon as reasonably possible;
• Document the breach, its impact, and the corrective actions taken.

8. Information Regulator of South Africa

Complaints about our handling of your personal information may be directed to the Information Regulator of South Africa:

• Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg
• Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za
• Telephone: 010 023 5207

9. Contact Our Information Officer

To exercise your POPIA rights or to lodge a complaint with us directly, please contact our Information Officer at legal@glowormguard.io.

Refund Policy

This Refund Policy forms part of our Terms and Conditions and applies to all Subscription payments made to Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd for the Gloworm Guard Service. Nothing in this policy limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008.

1. Free Trial — No Charge

7-day free trial: All new Accounts receive a 7-day free trial. You will not be charged during the trial period. If you cancel before the trial expires, you will not be billed and no refund is required.

2. Subscription Cancellation

You may cancel your Subscription at any time through the Account settings page. Cancellation stops all future billing. You retain full access to the Service until the end of the current billing cycle. We do not issue pro-rata refunds for unused days remaining in the current billing period, except where expressly stated below.

3. When a Refund May Be Issued

We consider refund requests in the following circumstances:

3.1 Duplicate or erroneous charge
If you are charged more than once for the same billing period due to a technical error on our part, we will refund the duplicate amount in full within 7–10 business days.

3.2 Extended service outage
If the Service experiences an outage attributable to Gloworm Guard of more than 48 consecutive hours within a single billing month, you may request a pro-rata credit for the affected period. Credits are applied to your next invoice rather than refunded to your payment method, unless your Account has been cancelled.

3.3 Unauthorised payment
If a payment was made without your authorisation, notify us immediately at support@glowormguard.io. We will investigate and, if confirmed, refund the unauthorised amount in full.

3.4 New paid subscription — unresolvable technical issue (within 48 hours)
If you subscribe for the first time (after the free trial ends) and encounter a significant technical issue that prevents you from using the core features of the Service, and we are unable to resolve it within 48 hours of your first written support report, we may at our sole discretion issue a full refund for that month's payment.

4. Non-Refundable Situations

Refunds will not be issued in the following circumstances:

• Change of mind after the free trial has ended;
• Failure to cancel your Subscription before a scheduled renewal date;
• Partial-month usage following voluntary cancellation;
• Subscription fees relating to a period during which your Account was suspended or terminated due to a breach of our Terms;
• Technical issues caused by your own hardware, software, internet connectivity, or third-party services;
• Dissatisfaction with features that were accurately described on our website at the time of purchase.

5. How to Request a Refund

1. Email support@glowormguard.io with the subject line "Refund Request".
2. Include your registered email address, Family ID, the date and amount of the charge in question, and a clear description of the reason for your request.
3. We will acknowledge your request within 2 business days and provide a final decision within 7 business days.

6. Refund Processing

Approved refunds are processed to the original payment method within 7–10 business days of approval, subject to your bank or card issuer's own processing times. All refunds are issued in South African Rand (ZAR). Gloworm Guard is not responsible for any currency-conversion fees applied by your financial institution.

7. Consumer Protection Act

Nothing in this Refund Policy limits, excludes, or restricts any rights you may have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or any other applicable South African consumer-protection legislation. Where any provision of this policy conflicts with the CPA, the CPA will prevail.

8. Chargebacks

We ask that you contact us at support@glowormguard.io before initiating a chargeback with your bank or card issuer. If a chargeback is filed without prior contact and we determine it is unjustified, we reserve the right to suspend your Account pending investigation and to seek recovery of any chargeback-related fees incurred by us.

9. Contact

Billing and refund enquiries: support@glowormguard.io

Gloworm Guard (Pty) Ltd — www.gloworm.co.za — legal@glowormguard.io

Effective date: 1 May 2026 · All rights reserved.