About
Privacy, uploads & rights
Family records and oral histories are personal. Privacy, consent and rights are part of how this atlas is built — not an afterthought.
Document Reader uploads
- Formats & size
- PDF, images (JPG, PNG, WEBP) or plain text — up to 10 MB per file.
- Is my file kept?
- No. The file is sent for a single reading and is not saved by INGONYAMA. Nothing is added to the public atlas.
- Who processes it?
- A third-party AI service reads the document on our behalf. It is asked not to store the request.
- Is the extracted text stored?
- No. Results appear only in your browser and disappear when you leave or refresh the page.
- Used to train a model?
- No. Uploads are not used to improve any model.
- Deletion
- Because nothing is retained, there is nothing to delete. Close the page to clear the results.
Please redact before uploading
- South African ID numbers and passport numbers
- Current home addresses and phone numbers
- Details of living people who have not agreed to share them
- Medical, financial or other sensitive information
AI readings are drafts with confidence labels — never authoritative facts. Always verify against the holding institution.
Rights & reuse
- INGONYAMA links to archival records; it does not copy collections without permission or licensing.
- Images are only shown where the licence clearly allows it, with source and rights stated.
- Oral histories and community media require the contributor's consent and a rights declaration.
- Identity and contact details of contributors are kept separate from public heritage records.