Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Ekub is an app made by Nivaro ("we", "us") that helps a group run a rotating savings group (ekub) with clear, shared records. This policy explains what information Ekub collects, why, who can see it, and the choices you have.

2. Ekub keeps records; it does not hold money

Ekub records contributions, payouts and decisions that happen outside the app, in cash, telebirr, CBE Birr, bank transfer or other ways. We never receive, hold or move your money, and we do not ask for bank or mobile-money passwords or PINs.

3. What we collect

Your account:

• Your Ethiopian mobile number, which we verify with a one-time sign-in code sent by SMS.
• The name you enter.
• Sign-in codes are stored only in scrambled (hashed) form and are deleted once used, or after 5 minutes. To stop abuse we also count how many codes are requested, for a limited time.

Groups you create or join:

• The group's name and rules: contribution amount, weekly or monthly schedule, number of members, grace days, how the recipient is chosen and the start date, plus every later version of the rules.
• Rounds, due dates, who has paid, what is still owed, and who received each payout.

People in a group:

• Names, and phone numbers where the admin adds them, of the people in the group, including members who don't use the app. Their role (admin, co-admin or member) and whether they have joined.

Money records:

• Each contribution and payout: amount, date, channel (cash, telebirr, CBE, bank or other), an optional payment reference, who recorded it and who confirmed it.
• Corrections, which never erase the original: Ekub adds a reversal and, if needed, a replacement, with the reason given.

Decisions and history:

• Approvals and overrides with their reasons, the list of members eligible for each draw, the draw's random value and result, and an activity log of who changed what and when.

On your phone:

• A saved copy of your groups so the app works offline, and changes you made offline that are still waiting to be sent.

Technical information:

• Server logs, which can include your account ID and group IDs. Phone numbers in these logs are cut to the last 4 digits. Our hosting provider also processes standard connection information, such as IP addresses, to deliver and protect the service.

What we don't collect: we don't read your contacts (when you pick a contact, the app receives only that one name and number), your location, your photos or your messages. Ekub has no advertising and currently uses no analytics or tracking tools.

4. If you add other people

When you add someone to a group, you are giving us their name and possibly their phone number. Only add people who have agreed to be part of the group and to have their details recorded in Ekub. Their phone number is used to let them join the group with an invite code, and so that you can contact them.

5. How we use information

• To sign you in and keep your account secure.
• To run the app: keeping the group's records, working out totals and who still owes money, running draws, and recording approvals.
• To show each member the records they are allowed to see (section 6).
• To prevent abuse, such as fake sign-in requests, and to find and fix problems.
• To meet legal obligations.

We do not sell personal information, use it for advertising, or use your savings records to judge creditworthiness.

6. Who can see what

• Members of a group can see the group's rules, rounds, members' names and statuses, contribution and payout amounts, approvals and the activity log.
• Only the group's admin and co-admins can see members' phone numbers and payment references.
• Status link: if an admin creates a status link, anyone who has the link can see a read-only page showing first names with an initial, payment statuses and totals. It never shows phone numbers or payment references. The page is hidden from search engines, and the admin can replace the link at any time to turn off the old one.
• WhatsApp sharing: a status message is written on your phone and sent by you through WhatsApp. It leaves out phone numbers and payment references. Once sent, it is handled under WhatsApp's terms and can be seen by everyone you sent it to.
• SMS reminders: reminders are sent from the admin's own phone through its SMS app, not by us, and normal carrier charges apply.
• Ekub staff can access records only to keep the service running, to answer your support requests, or where the law requires it.

7. Service providers

We use a small number of providers that process information on our behalf:

• Google Firebase and Google Cloud: sign-in, database and hosting. Their servers may be outside Ethiopia.
• SMSEthiopia: sending sign-in codes. It receives your phone number and the code.

We share information with others only where the law requires it, or to protect the safety of users or the service.

8. How long we keep information

• Group records (rules, rounds, money records, approvals and the activity log) are the group's shared history. They are kept for as long as the group exists, and afterwards for as long as the members need them or the law requires. Records are never edited or deleted to change history; mistakes are corrected with new entries.
• When you sign out, the app deletes its saved copy of your groups and any changes not yet sent from that phone.
• Sign-in codes are deleted after use, or within 5 minutes. Abuse-prevention counters expire on their own.
• You can close your account in the app (Profile → Close account), or without the app at https://ekub.nivaro.me/account/delete, using a code sent to your phone. We then delete your sign-in and profile. Your name and the records you were part of stay in the groups you belonged to, because the other members rely on that history. In groups that are still running you become an offline member, and an admin records for you. If you are the admin of a running group, you must first make someone else its admin; if nobody else in that group uses the app, the group is frozen instead, keeping its records. Drafts you created are cancelled.

9. Security

Information is encrypted in transit. Access is checked on our servers for every change, and the money records cannot be changed directly from the app. No system is perfectly secure, so please keep your phone and SIM card protected; anyone who can receive SMS on your number could sign in as you.

10. Your choices and rights

Subject to the law that applies to you, you can ask us to:

• give you a copy of your personal information;
• correct information that is wrong (an admin can also correct group records in the app);
• delete your account (you can also do this yourself in the app, under Profile → Close account, or at https://ekub.nivaro.me/account/delete);
• stop or limit certain uses of your information.

To make a request, contact us (section 13). We may need to confirm it's you, for example with a sign-in code. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you may complain to the data protection authority in Ethiopia.

11. Age

Ekub is for people aged 18 or over. We don't knowingly collect information about children. If you believe a child's details have been added, contact us and we'll help remove them.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. If the changes are important, we will tell you in the app before they take effect. The date at the top shows when it last changed.

13. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, call Ekub support using the number on the app's sign-in screen.