Privacy Policy

Welcome to Anecdex Technologies ("Anecdex", "we", "us", or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and protect your personal information when you use the Anecdex mobile application (iOS/Android) and associated services.

This policy is designed to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) of South Africa, alongside equivalent data protection laws in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. By using Anecdex, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Details: Name, email address, age, username/pen name, password and country of residence.
• Author/Educator Verification: Government-issued ID and proof of bank account (for identity verification, IP integrity and royalty payouts).
• Payment Information: Processed securely by third-party partners (Apple App Store, Google Play, Ozow, PayFast, Yoco, Peach Payments). We do not store full card numbers.
• Content You Upload: Books, study materials, quizzes, reviews, tips and AI-assisted drafts.
• Support & Communications: Messages to support, feedback and survey responses.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Reading history, study session duration, quiz results, download activity, AI assistant interactions and feature engagement.
• Device & Technical Data: Device type, OS version, IP address, app crash logs and diagnostic data.
• Advertising Data: Contextual, non-targeted ad interactions in the free tier. No behavioural profiling or cross-app tracking.

2.3 Information from Third Parties — app store verification data, payment confirmation receipts and AI tool usage metrics (aggregated/anonymised where possible).

We process your personal data strictly for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: Create, maintain and personalise your reading, studying and publishing experience.
• Monetisation & Payouts: Process subscriptions, calculate royalties and transfer earnings to verified Author/Educator bank accounts.
• AI Features: Power the AI Study Assistant, AI Author Tools and AI narration, improving accuracy based on anonymised interaction patterns.
• Security & Compliance: Verify identities, prevent fraud, enforce our Terms and comply with legal obligations.
• Communications: Service updates, security alerts, support responses and optional educational newsletters.
• Contextual Advertising: Non-targeted, context-relevant ads in the free tier. Student data is never used for advertising or marketing.

In compliance with POPIA and regional data protection laws, we process your data based on:

• Consent: Explicit consent for account creation, AI tool usage, marketing communications, and ID/bank verification.
• Contract Performance: Processing necessary to deliver subscriptions, publish content, pay royalties and provide tutoring sessions.
• Legal Obligation: Retaining financial records for tax compliance, age verification and regulatory reporting.
• Legitimate Interests: Platform security, fraud prevention, service improvement and contextual ad delivery.
• Vital Interests: Emergency contact or safeguarding measures where applicable.

You may withdraw consent at any time via your account settings or by contacting support@anecdex.com. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of prior processing.

We share data only when necessary and under strict confidentiality agreements:

All third parties are bound by data processing agreements that prohibit unauthorised use, selling or retention beyond service necessity.

We retain your data only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy.

• Active account data: Duration of account activity.
• Deleted account data: Purged within 60 days of deletion request.
• Analytics and usage logs: 12 months (anonymised thereafter).
• Author/Educator financial & tax records: 6 years (legal/tax compliance).
• AI training data: Aggregated/anonymised; raw prompts deleted after 90 days.
• Security & audit logs: As required by applicable African data protection laws.

You may request early deletion where legally permissible. Certain data may be retained longer if required by law, dispute resolution or fraud investigation.

Under POPIA and equivalent African data protection laws, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Delete your data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Object to processing for direct marketing or legitimate interests
• Restrict processing during dispute or verification periods
• Data Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Withdraw Consent at any time

How to Exercise Your Rights. Email support@anecdex.com with proof of identity. We will respond within 30 working days. If we cannot fulfil your request, we will explain why and outline your right to complain to the relevant Data Protection Authority.

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures:

• End-to-end encryption for sensitive data (IDs, banking, passwords)
• Role-based access controls and multi-factor authentication for staff
• Regular security audits, penetration testing and vulnerability patching
• Secure cloud infrastructure with geographic redundancy

Breach Notification. If a personal data breach occurs that poses a risk to your rights, we will:

• Notify the relevant Data Protection Regulator within 72 hours (where applicable)
• Notify affected users without undue delay
• Provide guidance on protective measures
• Document the breach, impact and remediation steps per legal requirements

Minimum Age: 14 years. Users under 14 are not permitted and will have their accounts and data immediately deleted upon discovery.

Students Aged 14–17: Must have parental/guardian consent. Parents may contact us to review, restrict or delete their child's data at any time.

Student Data Protection: Study progress, quiz results and AI interactions are never shared with advertisers or used for commercial profiling. Data is used solely to improve learning outcomes and platform functionality.

Parental Rights: Parents/guardians may request access, correction or deletion of their child's data by emailing support@anecdex.com.

Anecdex integrates AI to enhance learning and creation:

• AI Study Assistant: Processes your questions, study materials and progress to generate explanations, quizzes and summaries.
• AI Author/Educator Tools: Assist with grammar, structuring, descriptions and cover design.

AI Data Handling.

• You retain ownership of all AI-assisted content.
• AI inputs are processed in real-time and not stored permanently unless you save the output.
• Anonymised, aggregated interaction data may be used to improve AI accuracy. You may opt-out in settings.
• AI Content Threshold: Works containing more than 52% AI-generated content must be disclosed and are screened via CopyLeaks. Undisclosed or excessive AI content may be removed per our Terms of Service.
• No fully automated decisions with legal or significant effects are made without human review or user override options.

Your data is primarily stored and processed within Africa. Where cloud infrastructure or AI processing requires international transfer, we ensure:

• Adequate data protection safeguards per POPIA Section 72 and regional equivalents
• Use of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or binding corporate rules
• Transfers only to jurisdictions with commensurate privacy laws
• Explicit consent where required by law

We do not transfer data to countries without adequate protection unless legally justified and safeguarded.

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect legal, technical or operational changes.

• Material changes will be notified 30 days in advance via in-app notice or email.
• Minor changes take effect immediately upon posting.

Continued use of Anecdex after changes constitutes acceptance. You may review the latest version anytime in the app settings.

For privacy inquiries, data requests or complaints:

• Privacy & Data Protection: support@anecdex.com
• General Support: info@anecdex.com
• Response Time: Within 30 working days.
• Jurisdiction: This policy applies exclusively to users located in Africa.
• Information Officer: TBC.

This Privacy Policy is fully aligned with the Anecdex Terms of Service. By using Anecdex, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service together govern your use of the Service.