Your privacy matters

All the maths runs in your browser. GuideStation has no account system or database that receives your inputs, so the numbers you type (your salary, savings, a car or property price) stay on your device.

For analytics, we record which tool you used and which fields you changed. Amounts are sent only as a broad range, for example “600k–700k”, and the same goes for results worked out from your amounts, such as an estimated monthly repayment. Choices like an age group or a cover level are recorded as the option you picked. Where a tool works only from choices, like the pet cover estimator, we record the options you picked and the estimate GuideStation showed you.

If you arrive at a car tool from a marketplace listing link, the web address can include the vehicle and its listed price, and the page uses them to fill in and personalise the calculator. At most, our analytics records that the tool was filled in from a listing and the listed price as a broad range, such as “200k–300k”. The vehicle name and the exact listed price aren't sent as analytics data, and they're removed from the page address, page title and referrer that analytics records.

We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how GuideStation is used: which pages are visited, how people find the site, which tools and options they use, and which links they click.

On guidestation.co.za, Google Analytics sets cookies that let it recognise a returning browser. That means visits can be linked to the same device over time, but not to your name or contact details. Google also collects standard technical information such as your browser, device type and approximate location (worked out from your IP address).

We don't run ads on GuideStation.

You can stop Google Analytics measuring you by installing Google's browser opt-out add-on, or by blocking or clearing cookies in your browser. The calculators work the same either way.

Some publishers show GuideStation calculators inside their articles. When one loads, your browser fetches it from GuideStation like any web page, including the address of the site it's on, so we can check that the publisher is allowed to use it.

In our current embedded calculators, analytics is off unless the publisher turns it on. When it's on, it's set up so that it doesn't store analytics or advertising cookies in your browser. It records events such as the calculator loading, your first interaction, your first result and clicks through to GuideStation, together with the tool, the publisher, where on the page it appeared and the publisher's label for the article. Amounts are sent only as broad ranges, as on our own site.

An older version of our retirement calculator embed uses the same Google Analytics set-up as guidestation.co.za, described above.

The publisher's own website has its own privacy policy and may use its own analytics or cookies, which GuideStation doesn't control.

Apart from the Google Analytics cookies above, GuideStation stores two things in your browser, each only when you use the feature.

If you come to a car tool from a Gumtree listing, we remember that listing's address for the current tab so the “Back to your listing” link works. It's cleared when you close the tab.

If you save a calculator, your browser remembers which calculators you saved: just which calculators, not any figures or results, on this device and browser only. Removing them, or clearing this site's data, deletes the list. The list is never sent to GuideStation; our analytics only records that a calculator was saved or removed.

Email is the only way to send us personal information. If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include, and we use it to reply. Calculator suggestions are sent the same way, by email. You can ask us to delete the email correspondence we hold about you. We record that the email button was clicked, but not your address or message.

GuideStation is hosted on Vercel, which processes standard request information, such as your IP address, to deliver pages and keep the service secure. Google provides our analytics, as described above. Our fonts are served from GuideStation itself.

• ✓We don't ask for or store your name, phone number or contact details, unless you email us.
• ✓We don't create user accounts or require sign-up.
• ✓We don't sell personal information.
• ✓We don't pass your calculator inputs or results to banks, insurers or other providers.
• ✓We don't send marketing emails.

Some pages link to other websites, such as official sources or a marketplace listing you came from. Those sites have their own privacy policies, which apply once you're there.

GuideStation is a South African site and respects the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We aim to collect as little as possible, to be clear about what we do collect, and to give you control through the choices described above.

We don't have accounts, so we usually can't link analytics data to you personally. If you have questions about your information, or want us to delete an email conversation, please email us.

We'll update this page if our practices change. Last updated: 1 October 2026.