Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how TeamThink Solutions (Pty) Ltd t/a Devv Technology ("we", "our", or "Devv Technology") collects, uses, shares, and safeguards your personal information when you use the Ebook Reader platform ("the Platform"). We are committed to processing your data in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
1. Responsible Party
TeamThink Solutions (Pty) Ltd t/a Devv Technology
Registered in the Republic of South Africa
Email: privacy@devv.co.za
As the responsible party under POPIA, we determine the purpose and means of processing your personal information.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all users of the Ebook Reader platform, including:
- Readers - individuals who browse, purchase, or read ebooks
- Authors - individuals or organisations who upload and sell ebooks
- Visitors - anyone who accesses the website without creating an account
3. Personal Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal information:
Account Data
Email address, first name, last name, pen name, profile photo, bio, website URL, and location. This is provided directly by you during registration or onboarding.
Financial Data (Authors)
Payout account details (bank account name/number/branch code or PayPal email), Paystack customer code, subscription plan, and transaction amounts. We never store full card numbers.
Content Data
Ebook files (EPUB format) uploaded by authors, book cover images, descriptions, and metadata.
Reading & Behaviour Data
Reading progress (percentage per book), purchase history, genre preferences, and session timestamps. This helps us personalise your experience.
Device & Technical Data
IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, and access times - collected automatically via server logs and analytics tools.
4. Lawful Basis for Processing
We process your personal information on the following lawful grounds under POPIA:
- Contractual necessity - to fulfil our obligations when you register, purchase, or publish on the platform
- Legitimate interests - to improve the platform, prevent fraud, and send relevant communications
- Consent - for optional marketing communications (you may withdraw consent at any time)
- Legal obligation - to comply with applicable South African law, including tax and financial reporting requirements
5. How We Use Your Data
- Creating and managing your account
- Processing book purchases and author payouts
- Calculating and applying the correct commission rate to author earnings
- Providing reading progress sync across devices
- Reviewing book submissions for content compliance
- Sending transactional emails (receipts, approval/rejection notices, payout confirmations)
- Detecting and preventing fraudulent activity
- Generating anonymised usage analytics to improve the platform
- Complying with legal and regulatory obligations
6. Commission & Author Earnings Disclosure
How Platform Commissions Work
When an author earns revenue from book sales, Devv Technology retains a platform commission before crediting the author's wallet. There are no monthly subscription fees - all authors publish on the same flat-rate model:
Processing this financial data is necessary for the performance of our contract with authors. Commission-related records are retained for 5 years for tax and audit purposes.
7. Third-Party Service Providers
We share data with the following processors, each bound by data-processing agreements:
Supabase
Database hosting, authentication, and file storage
EU / US
Paystack
Payment processing and subscription billing
Nigeria / Global
Vercel
Web application hosting and edge delivery
US / Global
Devv Hub (TeamThink Solutions)
Cross-platform identity, activity sync, and billing federation
South Africa
8. Data Retention
- Account data - retained while your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion request.
- Financial records - retained for 5 years as required by South African tax law.
- Reading progress - retained while your account is active; deleted on account deletion.
- Server logs - retained for 90 days for security monitoring.
9. Your Rights Under POPIA
As a data subject, you have the right to:
- Access - request a copy of your personal information we hold
- Correction - request that inaccurate data be corrected
- Deletion - request erasure of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements)
- Objection - object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Withdraw consent - at any time, for processing based on consent (e.g., marketing emails)
- Lodge a complaint - with the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforegulator.org.za
To exercise any right, email us at privacy@devv.co.za. We will respond within 30 days.
10. Security
We implement industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption, row-level security (RLS) in our database, password hashing, and access controls limited to authorised personnel. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security but commit to prompt disclosure of any breach affecting your personal data.
11. Children
The Platform is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we discover we have inadvertently collected such data, it will be deleted promptly.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The revised version will be posted here with an updated date. For material changes, we will notify registered users via email or an in-platform banner at least 14 days before the change takes effect.
13. Contact
For any privacy-related queries, requests, or complaints:
TeamThink Solutions (Pty) Ltd t/a Devv Technology
Email: privacy@devv.co.za