NIT Chat Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

• Account and profile information: your display name, phone number, password hash, avatar colour, profile photo, profile description, recovery email (if provided), and account and security settings.
• Messages and Status: chat messages, group conversations, voice notes, shared photos, videos and documents, Status posts, reactions, replies, delivery and read indicators, and related timestamps.
• Voice and video calls: call-related metadata such as participants, connection and timing information, and technical information needed to establish and maintain calls. Audio and video streams are processed to deliver calls. This policy does not claim that calls are recorded or stored; any such functionality would require an appropriate additional disclosure.
• Contacts: if you grant contact permission, the app may read phone numbers from your device contacts and submit them for matching against NIT Chat accounts. Contact names are not uploaded for contact matching, provided the current app implementation continues to operate as described.
• Device and service information: device and app identifiers where used, app version, operating system, push notification tokens, IP address, connection and diagnostic data, and information needed for security and troubleshooting.
• Preferences: choices such as dark mode, message sounds and notification settings, which may be stored locally on your device.
• Support and security requests: information you provide when contacting support, changing your password, requesting account deletion, or verifying account ownership.

2. Location information and ride services

When you use features that require location, such as sharing your location in a chat, choosing pickup and drop-off points, requesting a ride or coordinating an active trip, NIT Chat may process location data with your permission.

• Precise location: may be used to identify your pickup position, support navigation and show trip progress to relevant ride participants.
• Approximate location: may be used when precise positioning is not needed or not available.
• Background location: when you are participating in an active ride, location updates may continue while NIT Chat is not visible so trip coordination and live tracking can continue. Background trip tracking is intended to stop when the ride ends.
• Ride records: may include requested destinations, pickup and drop-off locations, trip status, timestamps, driver/rider identifiers and related communications.

3. Marketplace, shopping and selling

When you browse, buy or sell through NIT Chat, we may process product listings, descriptions, prices, photos, seller information, buyer/seller enquiries and related messages. Information you choose to publish in a listing may be visible to other users.

If a transaction uses an external payment, delivery or other service provider, that provider may process additional information under its own privacy terms. NIT Chat should not be described as collecting payment-card information unless its actual payment implementation does so.

4. How we use personal information

We use information to operate and secure accounts; deliver chats, calls, Status and media; match contacts; send notifications; enable marketplace interactions; coordinate rides and location sharing; respond to support requests; prevent misuse; investigate service failures; and improve reliability and performance.

We process information as needed to provide requested services, based on applicable permissions or consent where required, to comply with legal obligations, and for legitimate operational and security purposes where permitted by law.

5. Who receives information

• Other users: information you send or publish may be visible to recipients, chat participants, Status audiences, marketplace users, and relevant riders or drivers according to the feature and its privacy controls.
• Technical service providers: service providers may process information required for notifications, calling infrastructure, email delivery, hosting, storage, security and diagnostics. These may include Expo for push notifications and, where configured, LiveKit for real-time calls and Resend for recovery emails.
• Ride participants: relevant location and trip information may be shared between a rider and driver for an active booking.
• Legal and safety disclosures: we may disclose information where required by applicable law or to protect the service and its users, subject to applicable safeguards.

NIT Chat does not sell personal information. We do not use personal information for third-party advertising unless we introduce that activity and update this policy and applicable consent mechanisms first.

6. Passwords, recovery and security

Passwords are stored as hashes rather than plain text. When you request password recovery, NIT Chat may send a one-time verification code to your recovery email through an email delivery provider. Verification codes are intended for identity confirmation and should never be shared with anyone.

We use reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect information, but no online service can guarantee absolute security. NIT Chat chats are not currently described as end-to-end encrypted. Do not assume that messages, calls or shared files are end-to-end encrypted unless the relevant feature expressly confirms this.

7. Storage, retention and deletion

Account details, messages, media, marketplace listings and ride-related records may be stored on NIT Chat systems or contracted infrastructure as needed to operate the service. Some device preferences remain on your device.

Retention periods depend on the type of data, the purpose for which it was collected, security and fraud-prevention requirements, backups and applicable legal obligations. Deleting an item from your device does not necessarily remove copies already delivered to other users.

You may request account deletion in Settings. Under the current account-deletion process, a request is scheduled with a 30-day cancellation period. After that period, deletion is handled subject to technical processing and information we must or are permitted to retain under applicable law. You can cancel a pending request from Settings before its scheduled date.

8. Your privacy choices and rights

• Update your name, profile photo, description, recovery email and password in Settings.
• Choose who can see your last-seen information using the available privacy controls.
• Manage notification, camera, microphone, photos, contacts and location permissions in your device settings.
• Control the audience for Status posts where the app offers audience selection.
• Request account deletion or cancel a pending deletion request in Settings.
• Contact us to ask about access to, correction of or deletion of personal information, or to raise a privacy concern, subject to applicable law.

For users in South Africa, personal information is handled subject to applicable requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Where applicable, you may also raise a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator.

9. International processing

Some infrastructure and service providers may process or store information outside your country. Where cross-border transfers occur, we aim to apply safeguards required by applicable data protection laws.

10. Children's privacy

NIT Chat is not directed to children under 13. Users under 13 should not create an account. Additional age or parental-consent requirements may apply under local law.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our features, service providers or legal obligations change. We will publish the current version at this address and update the date at the top. Where required, we will provide additional notice or request consent.

12. Contact us

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, email support@nashinc.co.za.