Databias

Terms & Conditions

Last updated: 9 November 2026

These terms govern your use of the Databias website and services, including our email signature and banner platform (dcentral) and our domain name, DNS zone and resource record services. By signing up, purchasing or using the services you agree to them.

1. About us and merchant details

"Databias", "we", "us" and "our" means the business trading as Databias in the Republic of South Africa. "You" means the person or entity that registers for or uses the services.

2. Definitions

3. Eligibility and account

  1. You must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity, or act on behalf of a business with authority to bind it.
  2. You must provide accurate, current information and keep it updated. Domain registrations in particular require accurate registrant details.
  3. You are responsible for all activity under your Account and for keeping credentials confidential. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised access.

4. The email branding service

  1. We provide the platform to manage and apply signatures and banners to your outbound email. You are responsible for the content you load, including that you hold the rights to any logos, images, text and links.
  2. Rendering depends on third-party mail clients and configuration (for example Outlook, Apple Mail and Gmail). We do not guarantee identical display in every client or on every device.
  3. You are responsible for ensuring your email content complies with applicable law, including disclosure requirements for business communications and the rules on direct marketing in section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act.
  4. Where our service requires changes to your mail environment (such as connectors, add-ins or DNS records), you authorise us to guide or make those changes as agreed with you.

5. Domain, DNS zone and resource record services

  1. Registration and renewal. We act as an agent or reseller between you and the relevant Registry, and your domain registration is also subject to the Registry's rules and policies, including those of ZACR and ZADNA for .co.za and other South African domains, and ICANN policies for generic domains. These may change from time to time and we are not able to override them.
  2. Registrant. You warrant that you are entitled to register and use the domain, that the registrant details are correct, and that the domain and its use do not infringe any trade mark, name or other third-party right. We may suspend or cancel a domain where required by a Registry, a court or law, or where details are false.
  3. Term and renewals. Domains are registered for the term you purchase. Unless you opt out in your Account, we may send renewal notices and may renew the domain at the then-current price. It is your responsibility to renew before expiry. Expired domains may be suspended, deleted or released by the Registry, and we are not liable for loss arising from lapsed renewals, including where a renewal notice was not read or went to an out-of-date address.
  4. Transfers. Transfers in and out are subject to Registry rules, including lock periods and authorisation codes. We may decline a transfer where the domain is unpaid, locked by law or the Registry, or where the request cannot be properly authenticated.
  5. DNS zone administration. Where we host or manage your DNS zone, we will create, edit and delete resource records on your instruction or through your Account. You are responsible for the accuracy of those records. Incorrect or deleted records (for example MX, SPF, DKIM or DMARC) can disrupt email and websites, and we are not responsible for outages or loss resulting from changes made by you, your users, or on your instruction.
  6. Authority to change records. You authorise us to add or modify resource records necessary to provide the services you have requested (for example verification and email authentication records), and to restore a zone to its last known good state where practical.
  7. Propagation. DNS changes depend on caching (TTL) and third-party resolvers. Changes are not instantaneous and we do not guarantee propagation times.
  8. Misuse. You may not use a domain or DNS service for spam, phishing, malware, fraud, infringement or any unlawful purpose, nor in a way that harms our network or other customers. We may remove records or suspend a zone or domain immediately where we reasonably believe this has occurred.
  9. Ownership and control. As between you and us, you own the domain registration (subject to the Registry's rules). We do not take ownership of your domain. We may require proof of identity or authority before acting on requests, particularly transfers, contact changes and deletions.
  10. Disputes. Domain disputes are subject to the applicable dispute resolution procedures, including the ZADNA Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations for .co.za and the UDRP for generic domains. We will comply with the outcome of those procedures and any court order.
  11. Third-party suppliers. Registry and infrastructure fees are outside our control and prices may change when they do.

6. Pricing, fees and payment

  1. Prices are shown in South African Rand (ZAR) and, unless stated otherwise, are exclusive or inclusive of VAT as indicated on the order or invoice. Email branding is currently priced at R27.50 per sender per month. Discounted pricing may be offered to resellers and partners by written agreement.
  2. Subscriptions renew automatically for the period you select until you cancel as described in clause 10. Domains are billed per registration term. The price payable is the price at the time of order or renewal.
  3. Changes to prices. We may change our prices, add fees or change how fees are calculated at any time. For existing subscriptions we will give you at least 30 days' written notice (by email or through your Account) before a change takes effect at your next renewal. If you do not accept the change you may cancel before it takes effect; continued use after that date is acceptance. Prices charged by Registries or other third parties may be passed on to you immediately.
  4. Pricing errors: if a price is displayed or invoiced in obvious error, we may correct it and, before the services are delivered, give you the option to proceed at the correct price or cancel with a full refund.
  5. Invoices are payable on the due date, without set-off or deduction.
  6. Refunds are dealt with in our Refund Policy.

Non-payment and right to refuse service

  1. If an invoice or payment is overdue we may, after at least 7 days' written notice, suspend or restrict the services until all overdue amounts are paid. For domains and DNS zones this may include suspending changes to records, although we will try to avoid disrupting live DNS where practicable.
  2. We may charge interest on overdue amounts at the maximum rate permitted by law, and you are liable for reasonable collection costs and legal fees (on the attorney-and-own-client scale where the law allows).
  3. If a payment is reversed, charged back or declined, we may treat the amount as unpaid, suspend the services and recover any associated fees from you.
  4. Accounts that remain unpaid for 30 days after the due date may be terminated, and we may delete your data after a reasonable period as set out in clause 10. Reinstatement may be subject to payment of all arrears and a reinstatement fee.
  5. Right to refuse service. We reserve the right to refuse, suspend or terminate service to any person or organisation, at our reasonable discretion, including where we suspect fraud or unlawful use, where an applicant has a history of non-payment, chargebacks or abuse, where we are unable to verify identity or payment details, or where required by law, a Registry or our payment providers. Where we refuse an order before delivery, we will refund any amount already paid for it.

7. Acceptable use, abuse and suspension

  1. You and your users may not use the services to: break any law; send unsolicited bulk or commercial email in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act or the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA); send phishing, malware, fraudulent or deceptive messages; spoof or impersonate any person or brand you are not authorised to represent; infringe the rights of others; or host or point DNS records at unlawful content.
  2. You may not interfere with, overload or attempt to gain unauthorised access to our systems or those of other customers, probe or scan for vulnerabilities without our written consent, or resell the services without our written consent.
  3. You must not create DNS zones or resource records that facilitate abuse, including records used for spam, botnet or command-and-control infrastructure, DNS amplification or reflection attacks, or the hijacking of third-party domains or subdomains.
  4. Email authentication records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI) must only be published for domains you own or are authorised to manage.
  5. We may investigate suspected breaches and, where we consider it reasonably necessary to protect our systems, other customers, the public or to comply with law, a court order, a Registry or an abuse complaint, we may without prior notice: remove or disable offending content, records or configuration; suspend or restrict access to all or part of the services; or terminate the services.
  6. Where practicable we will notify you of the reason and give you an opportunity to remedy the breach, but we are not obliged to do so for serious, repeated or unlawful abuse.
  7. Suspension or termination under this clause does not entitle you to a refund, and you remain liable for fees accrued. We may report unlawful activity to the relevant authorities and co-operate with law enforcement and the Registry.
  8. You may report abuse of our services to abuse@databias.co.za.

8. Intellectual property

We and our licensors own the platform, software, designs and documentation. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the services during your subscription. You retain ownership of your content and grant us a licence to host and process it to provide the services.

9. Privacy and data protection

We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA). Where we process personal information of your employees or contacts on your behalf (such as names, job titles and contact details used in signatures), you are the responsible party and we act as operator. You warrant that you are entitled to provide that information to us. We apply reasonable security safeguards and will notify you of a security compromise as required by law. Our website uses Google Analytics 4 to measure traffic and Google reCAPTCHA to protect our contact form; these services may use cookies and process technical data in line with Google's policies.

Cookies and data storage

  1. Cookies. Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Strictly necessary cookies support security and the contact form. Analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4) help us understand how the site is used, and Google reCAPTCHA sets cookies and collects technical data (such as IP address and browser details) to distinguish people from bots.
  2. Your choices. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or use Google's opt-out tools. Blocking some cookies may affect how the contact form works.
  3. Information we store. We store the information you give us when you register, order or contact us (such as name, email address, company, billing details and the content of your messages), as well as account, DNS zone, resource record and email branding configuration data, and technical logs (such as IP addresses and timestamps) for security and troubleshooting. We do not store full card numbers; card details are captured by our PCI DSS compliant payment provider.
  4. Retention and location. We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purpose collected or as the law requires (for example, tax and accounting records), then delete or de-identify it. Data may be processed on servers or by service providers outside South Africa, subject to POPIA's cross-border safeguards.
  5. Your rights. Under POPIA you may ask to access, correct or delete your personal information, or object to its processing, by emailing support@databias.co.za. You may also complain to the Information Regulator.

10. Cancellation and termination

  1. You may cancel a subscription at any time by written notice to support@databias.co.za or through your Account. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period unless otherwise stated, and the CPA's rules on cancellation of fixed-term agreements apply to consumers.
  2. Subject to clause 7, we may suspend or terminate the services if you materially breach these terms and do not remedy it within 7 days of notice (or immediately for unlawful use or abuse), or where required by law or a Registry.
  3. On termination, your branding configuration may be deleted after a reasonable period. It is your responsibility to export what you need and, for domains, to transfer them away before termination takes effect.

11. Availability and support

We aim for high availability but the services are provided on an "as available" basis and planned or emergency maintenance, third-party failures and events outside our reasonable control may cause interruptions. Support is provided through support@databias.co.za and our knowledge base.

12. Warranties and limitation of liability

  1. Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or other law that cannot be limited or excluded.
  2. Subject to that, and to the extent permitted by law, we do not give any warranty beyond those expressly stated, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, revenue, goodwill or data.
  3. Our total liability arising from the services is limited to the fees you paid to us for the affected service in the 12 months before the claim arose.
  4. We are not liable for failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control (force majeure), including power outages, internet or network failures, acts of third-party suppliers or Registries, and cyber attacks.

13. Electronic communications

In terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA), you agree that agreements, notices and invoices may be given electronically. Notices to you will be sent to the email address on your Account. Notices to us must be sent to support@databias.co.za.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email or on our website. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. Changes do not affect rights already accrued.

15. General

  1. These terms, together with our Refund Policy and any order form, are the whole agreement between us on this subject.
  2. If a provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in force. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver.
  3. You may not cede or assign your rights without our written consent. We may cede our rights to a successor to our business.
  4. These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. You consent to the jurisdiction of the South African courts. Consumers may also approach the National Consumer Commission, the relevant consumer tribunal or ombud, or a provincial consumer court.
  5. We select the physical address in South Africa notified to you as our domicilium citandi et executandi for legal notices.

16. Payments, security and delivery

  1. Currency. All prices and transactions are in South African Rand (ZAR). If your card is issued in another currency, your bank converts the amount at its own rate.
  2. Payment methods. We accept Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards, and other methods shown at checkout. Card payments are processed by an accredited South African payment service provider. Your card details are entered on the provider's secure, encrypted payment page, are subject to PCI DSS requirements, and are never stored on our servers or website. 3D Secure authentication may be required by your bank.
  3. Authorisation. By paying you confirm you are authorised to use the card or payment method. We may decline or reverse an order we reasonably suspect to be fraudulent or unauthorised.
  4. Delivery of services. The services are digital. No physical goods are shipped. Accounts are activated electronically, normally immediately or within one business day of successful payment, and confirmation is sent to the email address you provide. Domain registrations and transfers depend on the Registry and are usually completed within minutes but can take up to several days. DNS changes take effect as described in clause 5.7.
  5. Tax invoices. A tax invoice or receipt is emailed to you for every payment.
  6. Export restriction. The services are offered primarily to customers in South Africa. We may decline orders from jurisdictions where supply would be unlawful or restricted. You are responsible for compliance with the laws applicable to you.
  7. Customer data privacy. We use your personal information only to provide the services, process payments, comply with law and communicate with you, and we do not sell it. We disclose it only to service providers who need it (for example our payment provider and Registries) or where required by law. You may request access to, or correction or deletion of, your personal information by emailing support@databias.co.za. Complaints may also be directed to the Information Regulator (inforegulator.org.za).

17. Contact

Sales: hello@databias.co.za
Support: support@databias.co.za