Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data Melovibx ([registered company name], [registered address], Ghana) collects through the Melovibx app and the melovibx.com website, why, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. Melovibx is the data controller. We process personal data in line with the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) of Ghana. [Data Protection Commission registration number.]

1. What we collect

Account details: your name, email address, phone number, password (stored only as a secure hash), whether you are a buyer or an artist, and which version of these documents you accepted and when.

If you sign in with Google or Apple: the account identifier and email address they share with us.

Profile details you choose to add: username, photo, cover photo, bio, location, interests, and links to your music.

What you publish and send: artworks, stories, bundles, Sweeps, comments, ratings, collections, messages, voice notes, and attachments.

Images you upload for custom prints. These are private: only you and the Melovibx staff who print your order can see them.

Activity: who you follow, likes, saves, shares, reports, and blocks. We record which stories you have seen, so we can show you unseen ones first; an artist sees how many people viewed their story, not who.

Purchases: orders, downloads, delivery addresses, and payment references. Card details are handled by Paystack; we do not receive your full card number.

Melocoins: the packages you buy and their payment references, your balance, and a record of every change to it: coins bought, coins spent on downloads, bundles, and boosts, tips given and received, and any coins our staff add or remove, with the reason.

Boosts and tips: what you boosted, for how long, at which reach level, and what it cost; and for each tip, who gave it, who received it, the Sweep it was given on, the amount, and the comment left with it.

Artist payouts: the payout account you add (bank or mobile money details, stored encrypted; only the last four digits are ever shown), your earnings, and your payout history.

Technical data: for each signed-in device, its IP address, device and app type, and when it was last used; and the IP address recorded with sensitive actions in our security log. We keep these to protect accounts and investigate abuse.

NFC tags: we count how many times each artist's tag is scanned and when it was last scanned. We do not record who scanned it.

On the website: if you join the early access list, your email address and whether you collect or make art.

2. Your device

Camera and microphone: used only when you take a photo or record a video for a story. Photos: used only when you choose a picture to upload, print, or share.

The app asks for each permission the first time it needs it. You can turn any of them off in your phone's settings; only the feature that needs it stops working.

The app keeps your sign in, and your recent searches, stored securely on your device. Recent searches never leave your device.

The app does not use your precise location, your contacts, or advertising identifiers.

Push notifications: if you allow them, your phone's push address is stored so we can send you alerts. Turn them off in Settings > Notifications or in your phone's settings.

3. Why we use it

To create and secure your account, including verifying your email and phone number (contract, and legitimate interest in security).

To run Melovibx: show artworks and profiles, deliver messages, process orders, print and ship prints, and pay artists (contract).

To show you relevant artworks, using your interests and who you follow (legitimate interest). We do not use automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.

To run Melocoins, boosts, and tips: keep your balance, start and end boosts, pass tips to artists, and tell artists about tips they receive (contract). Content an artist has paid to boost is ranked higher and shown to more people, and is marked "Boosted".

To keep Melovibx safe: prevent fraud and abuse, check payouts before they are sent, enforce our Terms, and keep an audit record of sensitive actions (legitimate interest and legal obligation).

To meet legal obligations, such as keeping tax and payment records (legal obligation).

To send you service messages, such as verification codes, order updates, and payout updates. If you join the early access list, to email you once when the app is available (consent).

To send you announcements about Melovibx in the app and, from time to time, by email (legitimate interest). Every announcement email has a link to stop them, and Settings > Notifications turns emails off.

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers that help us run Melovibx, under contracts that require them to protect it, and only as much as each needs:

Paystack, for card and mobile money payments (prints, downloads, bundles, and Melocoins) and artist payouts.

Cloudflare, for storing images and files (R2) and video (Stream).

Arkesel, to send text messages (verification codes and some order and payout alerts) to numbers in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa. Elsewhere, we send these by email.

Apple and Google, if you sign in with them, and to deliver the app through their stores.

Sentry, our error monitoring provider, which receives technical details when the service fails.

Google, for Google Analytics on melovibx.com: which pages are visited, the kind of device and browser, and the rough location from the IP address. See section 11.

[Hosting provider], where our servers and database run. [Owner: name the provider and the country of the servers.] Emails are sent from our own mail server.

Delivery partners, who receive the delivery details needed to ship prints. [Owner: name them.]

Authorities, where the law requires it or to protect the rights and safety of people.

What you publish (your public profile, artworks, Sweeps, stories, comments, ratings, and public collections) is visible to other users. An artist's profile (name, username, photos, bio, music links, counts) and newest artworks also have a page on melovibx.com that anyone can open, so NFC tags and shared links work without the app, and can be seen in the app by people browsing without an account; the location is never shown there. Private collections are visible only to you. Messages are visible to the people in the conversation, and to our staff only when investigating a report. When you tip an artist, the artist sees your name, the amount, and your comment; our staff can see tips and their comments to prevent abuse. Whether content is boosted is visible to everyone; your Melocoin balance and purchases are visible only to you and to our finance staff.

5. Files and photos

The pictures shown in the app are new copies made from your upload, without hidden data such as the location or camera details stored in the original photo.

The original file an artist uploads is kept privately and is given to buyers who buy the download. We remove hidden data such as the location and camera details without changing the picture or the video.

Images uploaded for custom prints are stored without hidden data such as location.

6. Transfers outside Ghana

Some providers store or process data outside Ghana. When they do, we use providers with appropriate safeguards and contractual protections for your data. [Lawyer to confirm the transfer mechanism.]

7. How long we keep it

Account and profile data: while your account is open. When you delete your account we erase your personal details and published content, and end your sessions.

Stories stop being shown 24 hours after they are posted.

Payment, order, and payout records, and the record of Melocoins bought, spent, and tipped: for as long as tax and accounting law requires. [Owner and lawyer: confirm the period, commonly 6 years.]

Security and audit records: [period], to protect accounts and investigate abuse.

Early access sign ups: until we have told you the app is available, then deleted.

8. Your rights

Access: ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Correction: change your details in the app, or ask us to correct them.

Deletion: delete your account in Settings at any time, or ask us to delete your early access sign up.

Objection: object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.

Consent: where we rely on your consent, such as device permissions or the early access list, withdraw it at any time.

Complaint: complain to the Data Protection Commission of Ghana (www.dataprotection.org.gh) if you believe we have not handled your data lawfully.

To use these rights, contact [privacy email address]. We may need to confirm your identity first.

9. Security

We protect your data with encryption in transit, message text and payout account numbers encrypted at rest, passwords stored only as secure hashes, verification of email and phone, mandatory two-factor sign in for staff, access limited to people who need it, and a tamper-evident audit log of sensitive actions. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data, we will tell you and the Data Protection Commission as the law requires.

10. Children

Melovibx is not for children. You must be at least 18 to create an account. If we learn that a child has created an account, we will delete it. [Owner and lawyer to confirm the minimum age.]

11. Cookies and tracking

The Melovibx app does not use advertising cookies and does not track you across other companies' apps or websites. The melovibx.com website sets the cookies needed to keep you signed in. It also uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages people use. Google Analytics sets no cookies until you allow it in the bar on the website; until then, and if you choose No thanks, it counts visits without cookies and cannot tell one visit from the next. It is never used for advertising. You can change your answer at any time with Analytics choice at the foot of every page. Our servers use your IP address briefly to limit repeated sign up attempts, and do not store it with your sign up. If we add other cookies that are not essential, we will ask for your consent first.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. When we do, we will show you the new version in the app and ask you to accept it before you continue, and publish it on melovibx.com.

13. Contact

Questions about privacy: [privacy email address], or write to [registered address].