BIZZ SOCIAL · APP
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what the Bizz Social app collects, why, who can see it, how long we keep it, and how to delete it. It covers the app. The website has its own privacy notice.
Bizz Social app · Version 1.0Who we are
Bizz Social is based in Kenya. We are the data controller for the personal data in this policy.
Privacy questions and requests: legal@bizzsocial.africa. Help with the app: support@bizzsocial.africa or WhatsApp +254 711 883 597.
What we collect and why
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | When you sign up or sign in | To verify you with a code sent on WhatsApp, and to keep one account per number |
| Username, display name, profile and cover photo, bio | When you set up or edit your profile | To show other people who you are |
| Password, stored scrambled | Only if you set one | So you can sign in without a code |
| Email address | If you add one; sellers must | To verify sellers and send security notices |
| Orders | When you buy or sell | Items, options, quantities, prices, offers, status history, and confirmations of delivery and payment, so buyer and seller can complete the order |
| Delivery details | When you choose delivery | Name, phone, address and the place you picked on the map, so the seller can deliver |
| Reviews and ratings | After a completed order | To build trust records from real orders only |
| Seller verification | When you apply to sell | Legal name, date of birth, national ID number, country, ID photos and a selfie taken with your camera, to confirm you are who you say you are |
| Store details | While you run a store | Name, logo, cover, description, location pin, delivery areas and fees, returns policy, and the M-Pesa number, till or Pochi la Biashara buyers pay you on |
| Payments to Bizz | When a seller pays for Bizz Pro or a boost | M-Pesa number, amount and receipt, to activate what you paid for |
| Videos, live streams and photos | When you upload or go live | To process, store and show them |
| Comments, likes, saves, follows, live chat | When you use them | To show them and notify the people involved |
| Messages | When you message someone | End-to-end encrypted; see below |
| Your activity | While you’re signed in | What you view, watch, save, buy and search for, recorded as products, shops and categories, never the words you type, to order your feed and the Shop page |
| Location | On screens that show nearby things, if you allow it | To show sellers near you and how far away they are; see below |
| Device details | When you use the app | A notification token to send notifications, the app version to offer updates, and crash reports to fix faults |
| Reports and support messages | When you report something or contact us | To review the report and help you |
We don’t collect card details, M-Pesa PINs or your phone’s contacts. We don’t sell your personal data, and the app shows no third-party ads.
What other people can see
- Everyone, including people not signed in: your username, display name, profile photo, bio, and the videos, comments, reviews and store you publish.
- A seller you order from: your order and, for delivery, the name, phone and address you entered.
- A buyer who orders from you: your store details and the M-Pesa details they pay you on.
- Buyers looking at a store: its ratings, on-time shipping and reply times, worked out from real orders.
- The owner of a video you report: that it was reported and the reason you picked, never who reported it.
Messages are end-to-end encrypted
Messages are sealed on your phone so only the person you’re talking to can open them. Bizz cannot read them. We can see who messaged whom, when, and which product a message is about, so we can run the inbox and keep people safe.
If Android backup is on, a secret that unlocks your messages is saved in your Google backup, so a new phone can restore them. Bizz never receives it.
Location
The app reads your location only while it’s open, on screens that show nearby things: Mtaani, Shop, product pages, stores and checkout. It uses a battery-saving reading, not GPS. Your position is used to find nearby sellers and show distances, and is not stored on our servers.
A seller’s store pin is stored and shown to buyers. When you type an address, Google suggests matching places.
How we order your feed
We rank videos, lives and products using your activity, your location, and what other buyers engage with. Turn off Personalized recommendations in Privacy Controls and we stop recording your activity and rank without it. You can also clear your view history in Your Data. Nothing is recorded while you browse without signing in.
Who we share data with
We share data only with services that run parts of Bizz for us, under contract, and only what each one needs.
| Service | What it does for Bizz | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, sign-in and server functions | Germany (EU) |
| Amazon Web Services | Stores photos and seller ID documents, and delivers images | Ireland (EU); images served worldwide |
| Mux | Processes, stores and streams videos and live streams | United States |
| Meta (WhatsApp) | Sends sign-in codes and account notices | Outside Kenya |
| Push notifications, address search and maps, Android backup | Outside Kenya | |
| Sentry | Crash reports, with personal data removed on your phone first | Germany (EU) |
| Expo | Delivers app updates | Outside Kenya |
| Resend | Sends emails | Outside Kenya |
| Safaricom (M-Pesa) | Takes sellers’ payments to Bizz | Kenya |
We also share data when the law requires it, such as a court order, or to protect people from fraud or harm. If Bizz is sold or merged, the new owner must keep to this policy.
Where your data is stored
Most of your data is stored outside Kenya, mainly in the European Union. We transfer it only with the safeguards the Data Protection Act 2019 requires (sections 48 to 50).
How long we keep it
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Account and profile | Until you delete your account |
| Activity used for your feed | Until you clear it or delete your account; turning off personalisation stops new recording |
| Seller verification record and ID photos | While your account exists; destroyed when you delete it, unless the law requires us to keep it |
| Replaced or rejected ID photos | Deleted 90 days after they are replaced or rejected |
| Product photos and videos | Until you delete them or your account |
| Live recordings | Shown in feeds for 30 minutes after a live ends; a seller keeps up to 3 |
| Orders and reviews | Kept after deletion for the other party’s records, without your profile |
| Backups | Overwritten automatically |
Your rights
Under Kenya’s Data Protection Act 2019 you can:
- Know how your data is used. That’s this policy.
- Get a copy. Go to Your Data, then Get a copy of your data. Messages aren’t included, because we can’t read them.
- Correct it. Edit your profile, or ask us.
- Delete it. See Delete your account.
- Object to how we use it, for example by turning off personalised recommendations.
- Move it to another service in a machine-readable file.
Email legal@bizzsocial.africa from the email on your account, or WhatsApp support from your registered number. We may ask you to confirm it’s you. We answer requests for a copy within 7 days and requests to move data within 30 days. If we refuse a request, we’ll explain why and tell you how to complain.
Complaints to the regulator: Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, Britam Tower, 12th and 13th Floor, Hospital Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi. P.O. Box 30920-00100. Phone 0207801800. File a complaint.
How we protect your data
- Everything the app sends travels encrypted.
- Access rules in our database let each person read only their own private data.
- Seller ID documents sit in a separate private store, opened only through short-lived links by the staff who review applications.
- Messages are end-to-end encrypted.
- Crash reports are stripped of personal data on your phone, and never include screenshots.
Never share your sign-in code, password or M-Pesa PIN. Bizz will never ask for them.
Children
Bizz Social is for adults aged 18 and over. If we learn that someone under 18 has an account, we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy we update the version above. We tell you in the app before an important change takes effect.
Contact
Privacy: legal@bizzsocial.africa · Support: support@bizzsocial.africa · WhatsApp +254 711 883 597 · Bizz Social