Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

1.1 Information you give us directly

• Account information: your name, a unique username, email address, and password (we store your password as a one-way hash — we never store or can see it in plain text).
• Roots (your profile): anything you choose to add to your profile — a bio, your country, the languages you speak, your heritage(s), and the topics you're curious about. Every field here is optional and editable at any time.
• Content you post: Wall posts, Community posts, comments, reactions, and Bridge Posts (a two-sided post you and another named member each write your own half of).
• Messages: the content of direct messages you send other members, including any photos attached to them.
• Photos and media: anything you upload — a profile photo, a cover photo, or media attached to a post or message.
• Communications with us: anything you send us directly, such as a support request.

1.2 Information from connected accounts

If you sign up or log in using Google or Facebook, that provider shares your name, email address, and profile photo with us so we can create or match your account. We never see or store your Google or Facebook password. We do store an access token from that provider on our servers so we can keep your connected login working; that token is never exposed through the app to you or anyone else.

1.3 Information we collect automatically

• Usage information: how you interact with valueAFRIK — pages you visit, features you use, actions you take (like following someone, joining a community, or reacting to a post).
• Device and log information: your IP address, browser type, and similar technical details. We use IP addresses in particular to enforce rate limits and protect accounts from abuse (for example, to slow down repeated failed login or password-reset attempts).
• Push notification subscriptions: if you turn on push notifications, your browser gives us a subscription endpoint we use to deliver notifications to that device. You can turn this off at any time in Settings → Notifications.

1.4 Information from other members

Other people's use of valueAFRIK can generate information about you too — for example, a message sent to you, a comment tagging you, or the other half of a Bridge Post you're paired on.

2. How we use your information

We use the information above to:

• Operate the core features of the platform — your profile, feed, communities, messaging, and your Bridge Score. Live calls and streams are coming soon and are currently disabled.
• Personalize what you see — who we suggest you follow or which communities we surface, based on your Roots and activity.
• Keep the platform safe — reviewing reported content, enforcing our Terms of Service, detecting and preventing abuse, spam, and fraud.
• Communicate with you — service notifications (a new message, a follow, a community request), security alerts, and, if you've opted in, push notifications.
• Maintain and improve the service, including debugging and understanding how features are used in aggregate.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our agreements.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your data for third-party advertising.

3. How we share your information

• With other members, as the platform is designed to work: your profile, posts, and community activity are visible to other members according to the visibility of the content and, for communities, the community's own settings (public, private, or followers-only). A message you send is visible to its recipient(s). A Bridge Post is visible to whoever your posts are normally visible to, and it displays both participants' names and their own half of the content.
• Service providers who process data on our behalf:
  • Our hosting provider, to run and store the platform's servers and database.
  • LiveKit, which will power real-time audio and video for calls and live sessions once they launch (they are currently disabled) — your audio/video stream will be routed through this service only while a call or live session is active.
  • Google and Facebook, if you choose to sign in with a connected account.
  • Browser push notification services (operated by Google, Mozilla, Apple, and similar), if you enable push notifications — they're the delivery mechanism for that feature by design of the Web Push standard.
  • An email delivery service, to send account, security, and notification emails.
• For legal reasons: if required by law, legal process, or a good-faith belief that it's necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of valueAFRIK, our members, or the public.
• In a business transfer: if valueAFRIK is ever involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy (or a policy at least as protective).

4. How long we keep your information

We keep your information for as long as your account is active, so the platform can work the way it's meant to. When you delete your account, your account record is deleted immediately and permanently. Content that inherently involves someone else — for example, a message thread, or your half of a Bridge Post — may remain visible to the other participant after your account is gone, since it's also part of their own record of the conversation, and to preserve the integrity of moderation and safety records.

We may retain limited information beyond account deletion where we're legally required to, or where necessary to resolve disputes or enforce our agreements.

5. Your choices and rights

• Access and correct: you can view and edit your profile information directly in Settings at any time.
• Download your data: Settings → Privacy lets you download a copy of your account, profile, posts, comments, reactions, Bridge Posts, Bridge Score history, messages, and any photos you've uploaded, as a file.
• Delete your account: Settings → Danger zone permanently deletes your account. This can't be undone.
• Control notifications: manage or disable push notifications at any time in Settings → Notifications.
• Block and report: you can block another member (which also prevents them from messaging you, and from calling you once calls launch) or report content or a community for review, at any time.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws like the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — including the right to object to or restrict certain processing, and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise a right not already covered by the Settings tools above, contact us using the details in Section 11.

6. Children's privacy

valueAFRIK is not directed at children, and you must meet our minimum age requirement (see our Terms of Service) to create an account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under that age. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll take appropriate action, including deleting the account.

7. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including encrypting traffic to and from valueAFRIK, hashing passwords rather than storing them in plain text, and offering optional two-factor authentication (Settings → Security). No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security — but we work to protect your information and will notify you as required by law if a breach affects your account.

8. International data transfers

valueAFRIK connects members across countries by design. Using the platform may mean your information is transferred to and processed in a country other than the one you live in, which may have different data protection laws. Where required, we take steps to make sure your information receives an adequate level of protection wherever it's processed.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We use only the cookies strictly necessary to run the platform — keeping you signed in and protecting your account against cross-site request forgery. We do not currently use advertising or analytics cookies, and we don't share cookie data with ad networks. If that ever changes, we'll update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent first.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll let you know — for example, by email or an in-app notice — before they take effect. Continuing to use valueAFRIK after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we handle your information, or want to exercise a right described in Section 5, contact ZeelotWeb, the company behind valueAFRIK — this opens in a new tab, so valueAFRIK stays right where you left it.

valueAFRIK is a product of ZeelotWeb, based in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

[ NEEDS INPUT ] A full registered street address, if you want a complete formal data controller notice here rather than city/state level.