Terms of service
Version 1.0, in force from 11 November 2026
These terms apply to every practice that signs up for Hello by Kinilo ("Hello"). Please read them, and the documents they include, before you accept them during setup.
1. Who we are
Hello is a WhatsApp patient messaging service for healthcare practices, provided at hello.kinilo.co.za by Neil Cuninghame Consulting (Pty) Ltd ("we", "us"). As section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 requires, our details are:
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name and legal status | Neil Cuninghame Consulting (Pty) Ltd, a private company incorporated in South Africa |
| Registration number | 2014/155763/07 |
| Director | Dr Neil Cuninghame |
| Registered and physical address, and address for service of legal documents | 2 Meyrickton Place, Hillcrest, 3650, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| Telephone | +27 83 638 8934 |
| hello@kinilo.co.za | |
| Website | https://hello.kinilo.co.za |
| VAT | Not registered for VAT |
| Self-regulatory bodies and codes of conduct | None |
| Information Officer | Neil Cuninghame, registered with the Information Regulator |
| How to keep a record of this agreement | Print or save this page; we also email a copy on request |
2. Words used in these terms
The "practice" is the business that signs up for Hello, and "you" means the practice. The "principal owner" is the person who signed the practice up. "Users" are everyone the practice lets sign in, whether owner, associate or reception. "Patient information" is any personal information about the practice's patients that Hello processes. "Connected systems" are the appointment software and calendars the practice connects to Hello. "Meta" means Meta Platforms, Inc. and its affiliates, which provide WhatsApp. A "practitioner" is a person who treats patients in the practice. A "module" is one of Kinilo's products for practices, of which Hello is the first.
3. Accepting these terms
The person who accepts these terms during setup confirms that they are authorised to bind the practice and accepts them on its behalf. The operator agreement, the privacy policy and the acceptable use policy form part of these terms. If they conflict, the operator agreement prevails on anything concerning personal information, then these terms, then the acceptable use policy. We record which version was accepted, by whom, when and from which network address, and keep every version we have published, so the practice can always see exactly what it agreed to.
4. What Hello is, and what it is not
Hello reads the practice's appointments from a connected system, sends the WhatsApp messages the practice chooses from the practice's own WhatsApp Business number, and gathers patients' replies in a shared inbox.
Hello is a communication tool. It is not the practice's health record, it does not give clinical advice, and it must not be relied on for urgent or emergency communication. The practice remains responsible for recording in its own clinical record any message that forms part of a patient's care, and Hello provides a dated conversation record for each patient for that purpose. The practice will tell its patients that its WhatsApp line is not monitored for emergencies.
5. WhatsApp and Meta
The practice connects its own WhatsApp Business Account and in doing so accepts Meta's WhatsApp Business Terms of Service, the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy and Meta's Commerce Policy. Meta bills the practice directly for messages; those charges are separate from our fees. Meta decides which messages it approves, sets each number's limits and quality rating, and may restrict or disconnect a number. We cannot override Meta and are not responsible for its decisions, though we will help the practice respond to them.
Where the practice connects a number it also uses in the WhatsApp Business app, Meta's rules for that route apply, including that the app must be opened at least every 14 days. Hello brings in earlier chat history only if an owner instructs it to when connecting the number.
6. Connected systems
When the practice connects Cliniko, Bookem, a calendar or any other system, it authorises Hello to read from it, and where offered to write message records back to it, using the practice's own credentials. The practice confirms that it is entitled to give that authority and remains bound by that provider's terms. We are not responsible for a connected system's availability, accuracy or changes, and Hello reads only what the provider makes available for this purpose.
7. Users and security
The principal owner controls the practice's account, its billing, its other owners and its information. The practice decides who may sign in and with which role, removes access when someone leaves, and is responsible for everything done under its users' sign-ins as if the practice had done it. Each user keeps their own sign-in private and never shares it. The practice will tell us immediately at hello@kinilo.co.za if it suspects anyone has gained access without authority. We strongly recommend that the practice makes two-step sign-in compulsory for its whole team.
8. The practice's responsibilities for patients and messages
The practice is the responsible party for its patients' information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA") and warrants that:
- every patient whose number it gives Hello has agreed to receive messages from the practice on WhatsApp, and it records and honours every request to stop;
- it has a lawful basis under sections 26 to 33 of POPIA and sections 14 and 15 of the National Health Act 61 of 2003 for the health information involved;
- where a patient is under 18, a competent person has consented as section 35 of POPIA requires, and messages go to that person's number where appropriate;
- recalls, review requests, birthday greetings and any other promotional message go only to patients who have consented or who may lawfully be marketed to under section 69 of POPIA;
- its messages follow the ethical rules of its professional council (the HPCSA, the AHPCSA or another), including the rules on confidentiality, canvassing and testimonials;
- it has told its patients how it uses Hello and WhatsApp, as section 18 of POPIA requires (our patient notice is offered for this), and has registered its own Information Officer;
- everyone who works for it is bound by a duty of confidentiality; and
- it uses Hello in line with the acceptable use policy.
9. Message wording
Hello supplies libraries of message wording for each profession. They are a starting point. The practice must read every message before switching it on and is responsible for its clinical accuracy and its suitability for its patients, including how much a message shown on a patient's lock screen reveals. Our message libraries remain our copyright and are licensed to the practice for use in Hello while it subscribes. Wording the practice writes itself belongs to the practice.
10. Modules, practitioners and fees
Each module has a monthly price that depends on the size of the practice: Solo for one practitioner, Practice for two to five, and Clinic for six or more. The number of practitioners is the higher of the owners and associates who can sign in (including invitations not yet accepted, but never reception) and the different practitioners with appointments in the practice's diary over the past 60 days or booked ahead, leaving out anyone the practice has marked as having left. If the diary exceeds the practice's tier, the practice has 7 days to choose a larger tier or mark practitioners as having left; after that, automatic care messages stop for the practitioners beyond the limit, while reminders and anything a person sends carry on.
The first module a practice takes, its base, is charged at its own price of R199, R299 or R399 a month at Solo, Practice or Clinic. Each further module is charged at its add-on price of R99, R159 or R199 a month at the same tiers, unless the Modules page shows a different price for it. Prices are in South African rand. We are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added and our invoices are not tax invoices.
Each module has a 14-day free trial, once per practice, and nothing is charged during it. A WhatsApp number that has already had a free trial on Hello does not bring a second one to a new practice. We may agree a different trial length with a practice in writing. If the practice chooses a plan during a trial, Paystack checks its card with a charge of R1, which is refunded at once, and the first month is charged when the trial ends. After that, all the practice's modules are charged together, monthly in advance, on its billing day, which is shown under Settings, then Billing. If the practice switches a module on or moves to a larger tier part of the way through a month, it is charged for the days left until its next billing day; a part-month amount below R20 is added to the next invoice. If it switches a module off or moves to a smaller tier, the change takes effect on the next billing day, and the rest of the month already paid for is not refunded. Every charge comes with a numbered invoice under Settings, then Billing. The optional concierge setup, in which we set up the practice for it, costs R1,950 once, is invoiced separately and is not refundable once the setup has been done.
Payments are taken by card through Paystack, which holds the card details; we never see or store the full card number. If a payment fails, we try again 1, 3 and 5 days later and email the practice's owners, and sending carries on for 7 days while the card is updated. After that the practice is suspended until payment is made. We give at least 30 days' notice by email of any price change, which applies from the next billing day. Founding member arrangements apply only as recorded in writing between us and the practice.
11. Cancelling, cooling-off and refunds
The principal owner may cancel at any time under Settings, then Billing. Cancelling stops future charges, and the service continues until the end of the month already paid for. Fees already paid are not refunded, except where the law requires it. A practice that is a consumer under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act may cancel within 7 days of first paying, without reason or penalty, and is refunded; the free trial is intended to give every practice that time before it pays.
12. Limits of our liability and the practice's indemnity
This clause limits our liability to the practice and requires the practice to indemnify us. You are asked to confirm separately during setup that you have read and understood it.
12.1 We are not liable for loss the practice suffers because a message was delayed, not delivered or delivered late, including a missed or cancelled appointment; because of anything Meta, a mobile network, a patient's phone or a connected system did or failed to do; because the practice gave Hello a wrong number, a wrong appointment or wording it approved; or for indirect or consequential loss, lost profit, lost revenue or lost business.
12.2 If the practice's information is lost or damaged through our fault, our first duty is to restore it from Hello's backups, which are kept as the privacy policy describes, and we will do so at our own cost.
12.3 Our total liability for all claims in any 12-month period is limited to the greater of the fees the practice paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose and R5,000. For claims arising from our breach of the operator agreement or of POPIA, the limit is instead the greater of R100,000 and the amount our insurance pays for that claim.
12.4 Nothing in this clause limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence, or any liability that cannot be limited under South African law, including the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 where it applies.
12.5 The practice indemnifies us against any claim, fine, penalty, loss or reasonable legal cost arising from messages the practice chose to send, a breach of its warranties in clause 8, its users' acts and omissions, its breach of the acceptable use policy or Meta's policies, or a complaint to its professional council about its conduct. We indemnify the practice, within the limits in clause 12.3, against claims arising from our breach of the operator agreement. Each party will tell the other promptly of any claim and let the other take part in its defence.
13. Availability
We work to keep Hello running at all times, but it depends on Cloudflare, Meta, mobile networks and connected systems, and we cannot promise it will never be interrupted. We may carry out maintenance, where we can outside working hours. We may stop all sending across Hello at once if we believe messages are going wrong or information may be at risk; nothing is lost when we do, and we tell the practice when we stop and when we resume. Support is by email to hello@kinilo.co.za.
14. Suspension and ending the agreement
The practice may stop using Hello and delete its practice at any time. We may suspend the practice's sending or access if it seriously or repeatedly breaks these terms, if Meta requires it, or if its use puts patients, other practices or the service at risk. Except where delay would cause harm, we will first tell the practice what is wrong and give it 10 working days to put it right. We may end the agreement after a suspension that has not been put right, on written notice.
15. Information when the agreement ends
The practice may download all of its information at any time, and each patient's conversation as a dated record. When its trial or subscription ends without a plan being chosen, sending stops and the practice's information is kept for 90 days, with warnings to its owners 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before deletion, each saying how to download everything. After 90 days, or at once if the principal owner deletes the practice, the practice's information is deleted, its encryption key is destroyed so that its backups can never be opened again, and the encrypted backups expire within 12 months. We keep invoices and billing records for seven years, as company and tax law require. If a module that holds clinical records is added, its own rules on keeping and returning records will apply to those records instead, and clinical records will never be deleted automatically when a subscription ends.
16. If we stop providing Hello
If we decide to stop providing Hello, we will give every practice at least 90 days' written notice and keep its download available throughout that time.
17. Partners, departures, death and incapacity
The practice's information belongs to the practice, and we act on the instructions of its principal owner. If the owners of a practice disagree about its information, we will keep it as it is and act on their joint written instruction, an arbitrator's award or a court order. If the principal owner dies or becomes incapacitated, we will give access, on proof of authority, to the executor, curator or other person lawfully entitled to the practice's records, so that patients' records can be kept and transferred as the professional councils require.
18. Intellectual property and feedback
We own Hello, its software, its design and its message libraries. The practice may use them only through Hello and only for its own practice, and may not copy, resell or reverse-engineer them. Suggestions the practice makes may be used to improve Hello without payment or obligation.
19. Confidentiality
Each party keeps the other's confidential information confidential and uses it only for this agreement. Patient information is governed by the operator agreement.
20. Changes to Hello and to these terms
We may improve Hello over time. We will give at least 30 days' notice by email of a change that removes a feature the practice relies on, unless Meta, the law or a security risk requires it sooner. We may update these terms by giving at least 30 days' notice by email and asking an owner to accept the new version; a practice that does not accept a change may cancel before it takes effect without paying for the following month.
21. Events beyond our control
Neither party is liable for failing to perform because of an event beyond its reasonable control, including the failure of Meta, Cloudflare, mobile networks or the electricity supply, load-shedding, natural disaster, unrest or an act of government, for as long as the event lasts. This does not excuse payment for service received.
22. Transfer of this agreement
We may cede and assign this agreement, together with the operator agreement, to a company that carries on the Kinilo business or acquires Hello, on 30 days' written notice to the practice. The practice may not transfer this agreement without our written consent.
23. Notices
The parties choose as their addresses for legal notices: for us, the address in clause 1; for the practice, the address it gives during setup, or the last one it gave us. Either may change its address by written notice, to another physical address in South Africa. Notices about the service may be given by email to hello@kinilo.co.za and to the principal owner's email, and are treated as received when sent unless the sender learns they were not delivered. Legal proceedings must be served at a physical address.
24. Disputes
If a dispute arises, the principal owner and our director will first try to settle it within 10 working days of either asking. If they cannot, either may refer it to mediation under the rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa. This does not stop either party seeking urgent relief from a court. The parties consent to the jurisdiction of the magistrate's court, even if a claim exceeds its usual limit.
25. General
These terms, with the documents in clause 3, are the whole agreement between us about Hello and replace anything said or written before. A delay or concession by either party does not waive its rights. If any part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies. The parties are independent contractors. Clauses 12, 15, 17, 18, 19 and 23 survive the end of the agreement. These terms are in English and governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa. Nothing in them takes away rights the practice has under the Consumer Protection Act or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act that cannot lawfully be excluded.