Privacy Policy

Ibhuku Privacy Policy

Effective Nov 8, 2026

Who we are and who this covers

Ibhuku is a digital credit book (isikweletu) for spaza shops, tuckshops and taverns in South Africa. Customers confirm each credit before goods are handed over, so the shop and the customer see the same record.

Ibhuku is operated by Ibhuku (trading as Ibhuku), Durban, South Africa ("Ibhuku", "we"). This policy explains how we handle personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

It covers two groups of people:

Shop owners and staff who use the Ibhuku app. For their account details, Ibhuku is the responsible party.
Customers of those shops. Each shop decides whose credit it records and is the responsible party for its customers' information. Ibhuku processes that information on the shop's behalf, as its operator, and only to run the credit book.

What we collect

We collect only what the credit book needs.

Who

What we keep

Shop owners and staff

Name, cellphone number (and email if used to sign in), shop name and area, role (owner or staff), owner PIN stored only in scrambled (hashed) form

Customers

Name, cellphone number, credit limit and payback day, each credit (items, amounts, date and time), each payment, how the customer confirmed (PIN in the shop, WhatsApp or SMS reply), customer PIN stored only in scrambled (hashed) form, agreement to receive messages (date and wording), messages sent and their delivery status

Phones using the app

A notification address so the owner's phone can be alerted. The app lock PIN never leaves the phone.

We do not collect ID numbers, bank details, location or contacts from the phone.

Why we use it

We use personal information only to run the credit book:

To record credit and payments and show each balance to the shop and the customer.
To get the customer's confirmation before credit is given, by PIN in the shop or by a WhatsApp or SMS reply.
To send receipts and reminders to customers who agreed to receive them.
To let the owner approve exceptions from their own phone (for example credit over a customer's limit).
To keep the service secure and resolve disputes, using the record of who did what and when.

The legal basis is the customer's agreement to the credit arrangement with the shop, the shop's legitimate interest in an accurate record of money owed, and the customer's consent for messages. We do not sell personal information or use it for advertising.

WhatsApp and SMS messages

A customer gets WhatsApp or SMS messages from Ibhuku only after agreeing to it in the shop. We record when they agreed and the wording they agreed to.

Messages are about the customer's own credit: requests to confirm credit (reply YEBO or CHA), receipts for payments, and reminders of the balance due. We never send advertising.

A customer can stop messages at any time by replying STOP. They can still confirm credit in the shop with their PIN. If a customer's number changes, the new number gets no messages until the customer agrees again.

Who sees it and who we share it with

A customer's record is visible only to that customer (through the messages and receipts they receive) and to the owner and staff of the shop that gave the credit. Other shops never see it.

We use these service providers to run Ibhuku, each only for the task named:

Provider

What for

Supabase

Stores the data and runs the Ibhuku server

Meta (WhatsApp Business Platform)

Delivers WhatsApp messages and the customer's replies

Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging)

Delivers notifications to the owner's phone

An SMS provider (when SMS is switched on)

Delivers SMS messages and replies

Some of these providers store or process information outside South Africa. We use them only under agreements that protect personal information to a standard comparable to POPIA, as section 72 of POPIA requires.

We do not sell personal information. We disclose it to authorities only when the law requires us to.

How long we keep it

Credit records are kept so that both sides can check what was owed and paid. Entries are never edited; a mistake is corrected with a new, visible entry.

Situation

What happens

Customer's account is closed (only possible when nothing is owed)

90 days later, the customer's name, number and PIN are removed. The amounts stay, with no name attached.

Customer has had no activity for 5 years

The same: name, number and PIN are removed; amounts stay without a name.

A shop owner or staff member leaves

Their access ends at once. Their name stays only in the record of entries they made.

Server backups

Kept for up to 7 days, then overwritten.

Amounts are kept without names because shops may need their financial records for tax and accounting.

How we protect it

All data travels encrypted between the app and the server.
Each shop's data is locked to that shop's owner and staff by rules on the server, not only in the app.
PINs are never stored as typed: only a scrambled (hashed) form is kept, and repeated wrong PINs lock the account for a while.
The app can be locked with its own PIN on the phone.
Credit entries cannot be changed or deleted; every correction and every owner approval is recorded with who did it and when.

If personal information is ever accessed without permission, we will tell the affected shops and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires, and help shops tell their customers.

Your rights and how to delete your data

Under POPIA you may ask to see the personal information held about you, ask for it to be corrected, object to its use, and ask for it to be deleted.

Customers: ask the shop first, since the shop decides whose credit it records. The owner can correct your details or close your account once nothing is owed. You can also contact us directly (below) and we will help.

To delete your data:

Customers: ask the shop to close your account (it must show R0 owed), or email us with your name, cellphone number and the shop's name. Your name, number and PIN are removed within 90 days. Amounts the shop needs for its records stay, with no name attached.
Shop owners and staff: email us from the number or address you sign in with. We close your account and remove your personal details within 30 days, except what the law requires us to keep.
To stop WhatsApp or SMS messages straight away, reply STOP to any Ibhuku message.

We reply to requests within 30 days and never charge for them.

Complaints: contact us first. You may also complain to the Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za, enquiries@inforegulator.org.za, 010 023 5200 (toll-free 0800 017 160), Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191.

Children, changes and contact

Children: Ibhuku is for adults. Shops should not record credit for anyone under 18, and never for alcohol or tobacco.

Changes: if we change this policy, we update the date at the top and tell shops in the app before the change takes effect. If the change affects what customers agreed to, we ask them again.

Thulani Moyana
Email: thulani.moyana@gmail.com
71 Mdakane Avenue, Umlazi, 4066, South Africa

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