Terms of Service

Welcome to Anecdex. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Anecdex mobile application and associated services (the "Service").

By accessing or using Anecdex, you agree that you:

• Have read, understood, and accept these Terms of Service
• Have read and accept our Privacy Policy
• Have read and accept our Cookie Policy
• Are at least 14 years old
• Are located in Africa (these Terms do not apply to users outside of Africa)
• Agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in your country

• Anecdex: Anecdex Technologies Pty Ltd, a South African company.
• Service: The Anecdex app (iOS/Android) and all associated features.
• User: Any person using Anecdex (Reader, Author, Educator or Student).
• Reader: A person who reads books and engages with literary content.
• Author: A person who publishes original written content and may earn royalties.
• Student: A person who uses Anecdex to access educational resources and study materials.
• Educator: A qualified person who uploads educational content and may earn royalties.
• Content: All books, study materials, educational resources, and user-generated content.
• Account: Your personal Anecdex profile and associated data.

Creating an Account. You must create an account with accurate information: name or username, email address, age verification and a secure password.

Your Responsibilities. You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your password
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of unauthorized access
• Complying with these Terms and all applicable laws

Age Verification & Child Protection. Minimum age: 14. Students (14–17) must have parental/guardian consent. If we discover a user is under 14, we will delete their account and data immediately in compliance with POPIA Section 34.

Account Termination. Anecdex may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms or applicable law, engage in harmful or illegal behaviour, infringe intellectual property, upload pirated content, or spam/harass other users. We reserve the right to terminate accounts without prior notice in cases of serious violations.

Free Access (Readers & Students). Limited features, in-app contextual (non-targeted) ads, and free quality study tools from educators.

Premium Subscription for Readers (from R69/month). Ad-free reading, audiobooks, offline downloads, priority support and exclusive content when available.

Premium Subscription for Students (coming soon). Ad-free learning, offline content, priority support, exclusive content and early access to new features.

Premium Plus for Readers (from R89/month). All Premium features plus exclusive Anecdex-only books not available on other platforms.

Premium Plus for Students (coming soon). Everything in Premium plus two 30-minute one-on-one focused study sessions per month, priority support, exclusive content and early access.

Billing. Charged monthly on your subscription date via Google in-app, Apple in-app and PayFast. We do NOT store your credit card information.

Cancellation & Refunds. Cancel anytime in your account settings. Subscription ends at the end of your billing period. We do not accept refunds.

Price Changes. We may change subscription prices with 30 days' notice. Continued use means you accept the new pricing.

Your Rights. Read and download books for personal, non-commercial use; save books to your library; bookmark, highlight and take notes; rate and review; tip authors you support.

Your Responsibilities. You agree NOT to:

• Distribute, sell, or share books with others
• Remove copy protection or DRM measures
• Use books for commercial purposes
• Post copyrighted content publicly without permission
• Violate any author's intellectual property rights

Offline Reading (Premium / Premium Plus). Downloaded books remain your personal property, cannot be shared or transferred, expire based on DRM terms, and are deleted if you cancel your subscription.

Publishing Content. By publishing on Anecdex, you grant Anecdex a non-exclusive right to distribute your work, warrant ownership, confirm originality, accept responsibility for copyright claims, and agree to upload valid ID and proof of account details for verification.

Content Guidelines. You agree NOT to publish:

• Pirated, plagiarised or stolen content
• Content that violates others' intellectual property rights
• Illegal content or content promoting illegal activity
• Hate speech, harassment or abusive content
• Explicit sexual content involving minors
• Content that infringes on privacy rights

AI-Generated Content Policy.

• Anecdex accepts books that include AI-generated content, but AI-generated content does not qualify for monetisation.
• All submissions are screened using AI detection tools (e.g., CopyLeaks).
• Authors/Educators must disclose AI usage during submission.
• Authors/Educators remain fully responsible for the originality and accuracy of their work.

Royalty Terms. Performance-based. You earn a percentage of revenue from your book's sales and subscriptions. Exact percentage depends on genre, engagement and other factors. Royalties are calculated and paid monthly. View earnings in real-time in your dashboard.

Payments & Payouts. Payments are made via EFT directly to your verified bank account. Withdrawal requests submitted by the 24th of each month are paid on the 25th; requests made after the 24th are included in the following month's payment cycle. Bank information is verified and encrypted. You are responsible for taxes in your jurisdiction.

Content Removal. Remove or archive your books anytime from the dashboard. If remediation is possible we will offer solutions; otherwise content is removed within 30 days of the initial request. Anecdex may remove content that violates these Terms; copyright violations are removed immediately upon verification.

Analytics & Dashboard. Your dashboard shows reads and downloads, ratings and reviews, earnings and payment history, and engagement metrics. This data is yours. You own your analytics.

Educational Content Access. You may:

• Access study materials, past papers and learning resources
• Use the AI study assistant for homework help
• Take quizzes and track progress
• Share study tips with other students
• Download materials for offline study (Premium / Premium Plus only)
• Access group and 1-on-1 tutor lessons (Premium / Premium Plus only)

Academic Integrity. You agree NOT to share past papers with non-Anecdex users, use materials for cheating, post exam answers publicly, sell educational content, or submit AI assistant output as your own work.

Student Data Protection. Your study data is private and never shared with advertisers. Quiz results and learning history are used only to improve your experience. Parents/guardians may request data deletion anytime by emailing support@anecdex.com. We comply with POPIA Section 34 and other African data protection laws.

Age & Parental Consent. Students under 18 must use Anecdex with parental consent. Parents may contact support@anecdex.com to review or delete their child's data.

Anecdex Content. The Anecdex app, interface, design and functionality are owned by Anecdex and protected by South African and international copyright laws. You may not copy, modify or distribute the app without permission.

User-Generated Content. Authors own their books. Readers' and Students' data is private and belongs to them.

Our Limited Rights. By publishing on Anecdex, you grant us the right to distribute, display, promote, securely process and back up your content. You retain full ownership and may remove your work anytime.

Service "As-Is". Anecdex is provided "as-is" without warranties. We do not guarantee the app will be error-free, uninterrupted, or produce specific learning outcomes. Content accuracy is the responsibility of authors/publishers.

What we are NOT responsible for: lost or corrupted reading data; technical issues beyond our control; content accuracy; third-party services (Apple, Google, payment processors); user behaviour; exam performance or academic results.

Limitation of Damages. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid for Anecdex. We are NOT liable for lost profits, lost data, or indirect, special or consequential damages.

When you delete your account. Personal data is deleted within 60 days; downloaded books are removed from your device; reading history and study progress are deleted; author analytics and earnings records are retained for 6 years (tax requirement); you lose access to your library and study materials.

Author / Educator content. Published books remain unless removal is requested. Reader reviews may remain (anonymised). Earnings history is kept for tax and legal compliance.

Data Retention. Active account data: duration of your account. Deleted account data: purged within 60 days. Analytics: 12 months. Author financial data: 6 years. Cookies/tracking: see Cookie Policy.

Your POPIA Rights. Request access, correction or deletion of your data; object to processing; lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator. Email support@anecdex.com to exercise these rights.

• Content violations: publish pirated or stolen content; infringe intellectual property; share materials outside Anecdex.
• User behaviour: harass, threaten, bully or abuse other users; spam; engage in fraud; access others' accounts.
• Technical violations: hack, reverse-engineer or modify the app; bypass security or DRM; scrape or bot the platform.
• Legal violations: use Anecdex for illegal purposes; violate laws; infringe on privacy; evade safety measures.

If you believe content infringes your copyright, contact support@anecdex.com and include:

• Your name and contact information
• Description of the copyrighted work
• Specific content/book on Anecdex that infringes
• Statement that use is unauthorized

We will investigate and remove infringing content promptly in accordance with South African law.

Authors warrant that they own or have rights to all published content and are responsible for copyright claims. Anecdex is not liable for author-published infringement.

Anecdex uses third-party services for payment processing (Apple in-app, Google Play in-app and EFT gateways such as PayFast), analytics (Google Firebase) and cloud hosting.

Anecdex is NOT responsible for third-party service outages, terms and policies, security breaches, or content and services from third parties. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Informal Resolution. Send written notice to support@anecdex.com describing the issue. We will respond within 15 days.

Negotiation. You and Anecdex will attempt to resolve the dispute informally within 60 days.

Arbitration. If informal resolution fails, disputes will be resolved by binding arbitration. Jurisdiction: South Africa. Rules: South African arbitration rules. Costs: each party bears their own costs. Arbitration will be final and binding.

Exceptions. Either party may seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual property violations, breach of confidentiality, or urgent matters.

These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa without regard to conflict of laws principles. For users in other African countries, applicable local data protection laws (Kenya DPA 2019, Nigeria DPA 2023, Ghana DPA 2012) also apply as described in our Privacy Policy. These Terms apply only to Users located in Africa.

We may update these Terms at any time. Material changes: 30 days' notice before taking effect. Minor changes: posted immediately.

Continued use of Anecdex means you accept the new Terms. If you disagree with changes, delete your account.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Anecdex regarding your use of the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.

If any court finds any part of these Terms unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the extent possible, all other Terms remain in full effect, and the intent and spirit of the Terms are preserved.

Anecdex's failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver of that right, does not prevent future enforcement, and does not affect other rights or provisions.

Questions about these Terms? Email support@anecdex.com. Website: anecdex.com. We respond to inquiries within 30 days.

POPIA / Data Protection Queries. Email support@anecdex.com. Information Officer: TBC.

These Terms reference and incorporate the Privacy Policy (how we collect and use your data in compliance with POPIA and other African data protection laws) and the Cookie Policy (how we use cookies and tracking technologies). Please review these policies alongside these Terms.