Privacy Policy

1. Data we collect

1.1 Depending on how you use Saka, we collect:

Account details: full name, email, phone number, and password (stored as a salted hash, never in plain text).
Delivery details: delivery address, city, and any delivery notes, for Customers.
Shopper verification details: home address, a national ID or passport image (front and back, or photo page), shopping country, payout method and account details (M-Pesa, bank, PayPal, or Wise), for Shoppers applying to work on Saka.
Request and order content: item descriptions, reference photos or links, quantities, notes, and the resulting order, pricing, and shipment history.
Photos you upload: reference images for a request, scouting price photos, purchase receipts, listing photos, and images shared in chat.
Payment information. Saka does not store your card or mobile money PIN. Payments are handled by our payment processor; Saka stores only the outcome of a payment (amount, status, and a transaction reference).
Messages: the content of your conversations with Saka in the app, kept so you and Saka can refer back to them.
Ratings and reviews you leave or receive.
Usage and device data: basic technical data such as browser type and app version, how you use the app (which screens you open and which buttons you tap), and anything stored locally on your device (see Section 7, Cookies and local storage) to keep you signed in and remember your preferences.

2. Why we use it

2.1 We use your data to:

To create and run your account, and to operate the core service: matching requests with Shoppers, processing orders, handling payments and payouts, and getting items to you.
To verify a Shopper's identity before approving them to work on the Platform, and to keep the marketplace trustworthy (ratings, review of reported messages, fraud prevention).
To communicate with you about an order, respond to support requests, and, where you have opted in, send offers and product updates. You can turn marketing messages off at any time from your profile without affecting order updates.
To understand how the app is used, for example where people get stuck before placing an order, so we can improve it.
To meet legal obligations, including tax, accounting, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

3. Legal basis

3.1 We process your data because it is necessary to perform our contract with you (fulfilling an order, running your account), because you have consented (marketing communications, camera access to capture a photo), because we have a legitimate interest in keeping the Platform safe and functioning (fraud prevention, service improvement), or because the law requires it (tax and financial record-keeping).

4. Who we share it with

4.1 We share data with:

The other party to your order. A Shopper sees the Customer's delivery address and item request for an order they are working on; a Customer sees a Shopper's name, photo, shopping country, and rating, never their ID document or payout details.
Our payment processor, to take and confirm payments.
Our hosting, database, and file storage provider, which stores Saka's data on our behalf under its own data processing terms.
Our product analytics provider, PostHog, which records how the app is used (screens opened, buttons tapped, and steps such as placing an order) on our behalf. It receives your account ID and whether you are a Customer or a Shopper, never your name, email, phone number, address, ID documents or payment details, and it does not record your screen.
Authorities, where Saka is legally required to disclose information, such as in response to a valid court order.

4.2 Saka does not sell personal data, and does not share a Shopper's ID document or a user's payment details with the other party to an order.

5. International transfers

5.1 Saka's Shopper network spans many countries, and Shoppers may register from outside Kenya. Where data is transferred outside Kenya (including to our infrastructure providers), we take reasonable steps to keep it protected consistent with the DPA's requirements for cross-border transfers, such as relying on providers with their own recognised safeguards.

6. How long we keep it

6.1 We keep account and order data for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period after (generally up to seven years) to meet tax, accounting, and dispute-handling obligations.

6.2 A rejected Shopper application's ID documents are deleted within a reasonable period after rejection unless we are required to keep a record of the decision. You can ask us to delete your account under Section 8 below, subject to what we are legally required to retain.

7. Cookies and local storage

7.1 Saka is a web app you can install on your phone. It uses your browser's local storage (not third-party tracking cookies) to keep you signed in, remember your session, and let core screens work offline briefly. We do not use third-party advertising trackers.

7.2 Our product analytics provider, PostHog (see Section 4), stores an identifier on your device so that visits from the same phone or browser can be counted together. It is used only to understand how Saka is used, never for advertising.

8. Your rights

8.1 Under the Data Protection Act, 2019, you have the right to:

Be told what data of yours we hold and why (this policy is part of that).
Access a copy of your personal data.
Ask us to correct inaccurate data. Most of your own details can be edited directly in your profile.
Ask us to delete your data, subject to what we must keep for legal or accounting reasons.
Object to or opt out of marketing communications, from your profile settings at any time.
Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) if you believe we have mishandled your data.

8.2 To exercise any of these rights, contact support@saka.global.

9. Children

9.1 Saka is not directed at, and must not be used by, anyone under 18.

10. Security

10.1 We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit, access controls limiting who can see verification documents and payment details, and row-level restrictions so one user's data is never visible to another except where this policy says it is shared. No system is completely secure, and we will notify affected users and the ODPC of a data breach where required by law.

11. Changes to this policy

11.1 We may update this policy as the Platform changes. Material changes will be flagged in the app before they take effect.

12. Contact

12.1 For anything in this policy, or to reach our data protection contact, email support@saka.global.