Motshelo Manager – Stokvel App Privacy Policy
This policy explains how Vikaranet (Pty) Ltd ("we", "us") handles information in the Motshelo Manager – Stokvel App for Android (the "app"), its optional Members online service and its help site.
In short: the treasurer's records are kept on the treasurer's phone. They leave that phone only when the treasurer shares them, backs them up, or turns on Members online so each member can sign in and see their own records. We do not sell information, show advertising or track you.
What the app does
The app helps treasurers and group administrators keep records for savings groups (motshelo and stokvels), rotating, grocery and investment groups, community funeral pledges and funeral societies: members, contributions, loans, fines, pledges, claims and share-outs. With Members online, members can sign in and see their own records.
Information the app handles
| Information | Examples | Where it is kept |
|---|---|---|
| Group details | Group name, country, currency, rules, a group photo the treasurer chooses | On the treasurer's phone |
| Members | Name, WhatsApp number, email address (optional), the last 4 digits of an ID number (optional), preferred language, role | On the treasurer's phone |
| Money records | Contributions, loans and repayments, fines, expenses and income, share-outs, pledges, claims and benefits paid | On the treasurer's phone |
| Funeral society register | Dependants' names, relationship, date of birth, the last 4 digits of an ID number (optional) | On the treasurer's phone |
| Activity log | What was recorded or changed in a group, and when | On the treasurer's phone |
| Members online (only if the treasurer turns it on) | See "Members online" below | On our hosted service (Cloudflare) |
| Subscription status | Whether a Pro plan or free trial is active | Google Play; the app only receives the status |
The app never asks for full ID numbers, bank card numbers or passwords to other services. Only the last 4 digits of an ID number are ever stored.
Members online
Members online is optional and is turned on by the treasurer, group by group. When it is on:
- What is stored on our service: the group's name, type and totals; and for each member, their name, phone number and their own statement (savings, payments, amounts owed, loans, fines, pledges or claims, and expected share-out).
- Member sign-in: members sign in with their phone number and a PIN they choose. PINs are stored only in a one-way scrambled (hashed) form, never in readable form. After 5 wrong PINs, sign-in is paused for 15 minutes.
- Who can see what: each member sees only their own statement and the group totals, never other members' details. Members can only view; they cannot change records.
- How long it is kept: the online copy is replaced each time the treasurer's app uploads changes. Invite codes expire after 14 days or once used. Sign-in sessions expire after 90 days. Expired invites and sessions are deleted automatically every day.
- Deleting it: when the treasurer chooses Stop sharing online, everything stored online for that group is deleted straight away. A member removed from the group loses access at the next upload.
Treasurers should tell members before turning Members online on.
What we do not do
- The app does not collect your location, contacts, call logs or SMS messages.
- The app does not open your photo gallery. When a treasurer adds a group photo, Android's photo picker gives the app only the picture chosen, and it stays on the phone.
- The app contains no advertising and no analytics or tracking tools.
- We do not sell, rent or trade information, or use it for advertising.
How we use information
Only to run the app and Members online, to provide subscriptions you buy, to answer support requests you send us, and to keep the service secure and working.
When information leaves the phone
Apart from Members online, only when the user acts:
- Messages and files you share: reminders, loan agreements, statements, pledge lists, reports and view-only copies are handed to the app you choose (such as WhatsApp or your email app). From then on, that app's own privacy policy applies.
- Backups and handover copies: saved or sent where you choose, such as a folder on your phone, Google Drive, or your assistant treasurer by WhatsApp. They can be locked with a password; a locked file can't be opened without it, not even by us.
Permissions
- Internet: for Members online, and to open WhatsApp, email and the help site.
- Notifications: reminders for due contributions, overdue loans and backups. They are created on your phone.
- Fingerprint or face unlock: if you turn it on, Android confirms it is you. The app never sees or stores your fingerprint or face.
Third parties
- Google Play handles subscriptions, free trials and payments; we never see card details. Google may provide us with aggregated crash and performance data. See Google's privacy policy.
- Cloudflare hosts the Members online service and database, and the help site. Members online data is stored in Cloudflare's data centres, which may be outside Botswana (currently in Western Europe).
- WhatsApp and your email app carry the messages and files you choose to send, under their own privacy policies.
Where your data is stored and how we protect it
Group records are kept in the app's private storage on the treasurer's phone. For Members online, a copy of each member's statement is kept on our hosted service as described above, sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS). The app offers a PIN lock, fingerprint unlock, screenshot blocking and password-protected backups. Anyone who can unlock the phone and the app can see the records, so keep your phone locked. We use reasonable safeguards, but no system is completely secure.
For group administrators
You are responsible for the records you keep about your members and, for funeral groups, their families. Tell your members what you record, get their consent, and use the records only to run your group. Your group's rules and the data protection law of your country, such as Botswana's Data Protection Act, apply to how you use them.
Children
The app is meant for adults who manage group finances and is not directed at children under 18. If you believe a child's information was provided to us, contact us and we will delete it.
Your rights and deleting your data
- You can ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, using the contact details below.
- Members: ask your treasurer to correct your records or remove you; you can also contact us about your Members online data.
- Treasurers: turning Members online off deletes the online copy. Records on the phone can be deleted in the app, by clearing the app's storage, or by uninstalling it.
- Backups and files you shared are under your control and must be deleted where you saved or sent them.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. The effective date at the top shows the latest version. Material changes will be posted on this page before they reach the app and, where appropriate, shown in the app.
Contact us
Vikaranet (Pty) Ltd, registration no. BW00010041782
Plot 360, Independence Avenue, Extension 4, Gaborone, Botswana
Email: privacy@vikaranet.com