Privacy Policy

Effective date: [DATE OF PUBLICATION] · Draft pending legal review

VeldGuide is a safari companion app for South Africa's national parks. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. It applies to the VeldGuide iOS app and this website.

The data controller is [REGISTERED COMPANY NAME, ADDRESS] ("VeldGuide", "we"). Questions: [email protected].

What we collect

• Your account. Email address, display name and (if you provide one) avatar. If you sign in with Apple, Google, Facebook or Microsoft, we receive the basic profile those services share — we never receive your password for them.
• Content you post. Sightings you log — species, notes, photos, and the GPS coordinates you attach — plus corrections you submit about encyclopedia or place content.
• Location. Precise location while you use the app, only with your permission, to show your position on the map and to tag sightings. The coordinates attached to a sighting are stored with it.
• Notifications and device data. Your notification preferences and the device push token used to deliver them, plus basic device/app version data.
• Diagnostics. Crash and error reports (via Sentry) that help us fix problems. These do not include your content.
• Purchases. If you subscribe to premium features, we store your subscription status (via RevenueCat). Payment details are handled entirely by Apple — we never see your card.

How we use it

• To run the service: show the map, your profile, and the content you and others post.
• To moderate: sightings are reviewed before they appear publicly; we use the content itself to make those decisions.
• To keep it safe and working: crash diagnostics, abuse prevention, and support.
• With your permission: notifications and location, which you can change any time in your device settings.

We do not sell your personal information, we do not run advertising networks, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

What other users see

Sightings you submit become public once approved — visible to other users together with the location and any photos you attached, and your chosen display identity. Do not attach anything you want to keep private. Unapproved or rejected content is not shown to others.

Where your data lives

We use a small set of processors to host and run VeldGuide:

• Supabase — database, authentication, API and photo storage (servers in the European Union).
• Sentry — crash and error diagnostics.
• Expo — delivery of push notifications.
• RevenueCat and Apple — subscription management and payment.
• Email provider — transactional emails such as sign-in and confirmation.

Where data moves outside your country (for example from South Africa to EU servers), we rely on appropriate safeguards and standard contractual clauses.

Retention and deletion

We keep your data while your account is active. You can delete your account at any time in the app — Profile → Delete account — which removes your profile and all content you have posted, except where we must keep records for legal reasons. Backup copies expire on a rolling daily cycle. Deleting your account does not cancel an active subscription — manage that in your App Store settings.

Your rights

You can access, correct or delete your information, and object to processing, by using the in-app controls or emailing [email protected]. Under South Africa's POPIA you may also contact the Information Regulator; under the GDPR you may contact your local supervisory authority.

Children

VeldGuide is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.

Security

All traffic is encrypted in transit (HTTPS), access to data is restricted at the database level (row-level security), and staff access is limited and logged. No system is perfectly secure — we work to keep yours safe and will notify you of material breaches as required by law.

Changes

We may update this policy; material changes will be announced in the app or by email before they take effect.