Privacy Policy

Effective [[EFFECTIVE DATE]]. This explains what Maskani Makao collects, why, where it is kept, and what you can do about it. It describes what the app actually does today. If we change how we handle your information, we will change this page and tell you in the app.

Who we are

Maskani Makao is operated by [[LEGAL ENTITY]], [[ADDRESS]], Tanzania. We are the data controller for the information described here, registered with the Personal Data Protection Commission under [[PDPC REG NO]].

For anything about your data, write to privacy@maskanimakao.com.

What we collect, and why

When you create an account

• Your name — shown to people you message or rent from. You can change it once every 30 days.
• Your email address or phone number — to sign you in and to reach you about your account. If you sign in with Google, we receive the email address on that Google account.
• Your password — stored only as an irreversible hash by our sign-in provider. We never see it and cannot recover it.
• A profile picture, if you choose to add one — taken with the camera in the app, and shown to people you message or rent from. It is optional: the app works exactly the same without one, and you can remove it at any time from My account, which deletes the photo rather than hiding it.
• Your agreement to these Terms and this Policy — which version you agreed to and when.

When you post a home

• The property's GPS location, captured at the property while you post. This is the core of how the app works: a listing is tied to real coordinates so people can trust it is where it says it is. The location is fixed when you post and cannot be changed afterwards.
• Photos taken in the app, at the property. You cannot upload from your gallery — the app has no access to it.
• The details you enter — type of home, price, payment period, and features such as parking, fencing or a standby generator.

When you use the app

• Your device's location, if you use "near me" search — to find homes close to you. We use it for that search and do not keep a history of where you have been. We never ask for background location, and the app cannot access your location when it is closed.
• Messages you send to other users, and who you sent them to.
• Visit requests you make or receive, and reviews you write.
• Homes you save and searches you ask to be notified about.
• Reports you send us about a listing or a person.
• Your settings — your language and appearance choice, so they follow you to a new phone.

Personalising what you see

To rank homes by how well they fit you, the app records which listings you open while you are signed in. We use this for one thing: ordering recommendations and telling you about homes you are likely to care about.

• Landlords never see who. A landlord sees only a count of views on their listing, exactly as before — never a name, and never that it was you.
• Kept for 90 days. After that, the individual records are deleted automatically. What remains is a summary of your tastes — the areas, home types and price range you tend to look at — with no dates and no individual views in it.
• Deleted with your account, like everything else, and included in the copy of your data you can download.

What we do not collect

• No identity documents. We do not ask for a national ID, a passport or a licence, and there is nowhere in the app to upload one. A profile picture is not one of these: it is optional, you choose it yourself, we never check it against any document, and having one does not make an account verified.
• No access to your photo gallery, files, contacts, microphone, or calendar. The app requests only the camera and your location, and only when you use a feature that needs them.
• No background location.
• No third-party analytics or advertising trackers. We do not currently use any analytics service, and there are no advertising identifiers in the app.
• No payment details. The app is free and we never handle your money. Anything you pay, you pay the person renting the home, directly.

Where your data is stored

Your data is stored on servers in Frankfurt, Germany, operated by our hosting provider. This means your personal data leaves Tanzania. We do this because it is where our database provider offers the service, and we protect it there with the same measures described below, under contract terms that bind our provider to handle it only on our instructions.

Under the Personal Data Protection Act, 2022, transferring personal data outside Tanzania requires the Commission's permission. If you want to know the status of that permission, write to us and we will tell you.

Who else sees your data

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it for advertising. We use a small number of companies to run the service. Each one only receives what it needs to do its job:

• Supabase — our database, sign-in, file storage and server code. Holds everything described above. Servers in Germany.
• Cloudflare — hosts this website, serves the map background, and runs the check that tells a person from a bot when you sign in.
• Google — only if you choose "Continue with Google". Google tells us the email address on that account.
• Resend — sends account emails, such as a password reset.
• Beem Africa — sends the SMS code that confirms a phone number. They receive the phone number and the code, nothing else.
• LocationIQ — turns a listing's coordinates into a street name. They receive the coordinates, never your identity.

We will also share information where the law requires it, or where it is necessary to investigate fraud, abuse, or a threat to someone's safety.

Photos may include other people

A photo of a property can accidentally include a neighbour, a passer-by, or a vehicle number plate. Please avoid photographing people who have not agreed to it. If you appear in a listing photo and want it removed, write to privacy@maskanimakao.com and tell us which listing — we will take it down while we look into it.

Messages, and when a person reads them

Messages between users are not end-to-end encrypted. They are stored on our servers and are protected so that only you and the person you are messaging can read them through the app.

Our moderators can read a specific conversation when it is reported. That is the only routine reason a member of our team reads private messages, and it exists so that someone being harassed or asked to pay before viewing can get help. We do not read messages for any other purpose.

How long we keep it

We keep your information for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account — from My account → Delete my account in the app, or from maskanimakao.com/delete-account — we sign you out everywhere and deactivate your account immediately.

What we delete

• Your profile — display name and sign-in details (email or phone number, password, and any linked Google account)
• Your listings and their photos
• Your consent records — the Terms and Privacy Policy agreements tied to your account

What we keep, and why

• Messages you've sent remain visible to the people you messaged — the same way a text message stays in the other person's phone after you delete your own account.
• Reviews connected to your account may remain visible, so the rating history other users rely on stays accurate.
• A record that your account existed and was deleted is kept in our internal audit trail indefinitely, identified only by an internal ID — never your name, phone number, or email address.

Everything under "What we delete" is permanently erased within 30 days, automatically. We use that 30-day window only to finish removing the data and to keep an open report or investigation investigable — nothing else. This cannot be undone. If a specific report about your account is still open, we may hold the related records longer, and we will tell you if that happens.

Your rights

Under the Personal Data Protection Act, 2022, you can:

• Get a copy of your data. In the app: My account → Download my data. It is prepared immediately and you can copy it and keep it.
• Correct your name. In the app: My account → Personal info. Once every 30 days, to stop people building trust under one name and then using another.
• Delete your account, as described above.
• Withdraw your agreement to this Policy or the Terms. Withdrawing is as easy as giving it and costs nothing — but because we cannot run an account without them, withdrawing means closing your account.
• Object, or ask us to restrict what we do with your data.
• Complain to the Personal Data Protection Commission if you think we have handled your data wrongly. You do not have to contact us first, though we would like the chance to fix it.

Write to privacy@maskanimakao.com for anything not available in the app. We will respond within 30 days.

Children

Maskani Makao is meant for adults renting or letting a home. We do not knowingly collect information from children. The app does not currently ask your age at registration. If you believe a child has created an account, write to us and we will remove it.

How we protect it

• Everything travels over an encrypted connection, and the app refuses unencrypted ones.
• Our database refuses by default: each account can reach only its own data, enforced by the database itself rather than by the app.
• Passwords are stored only as irreversible hashes, by our sign-in provider.
• Actions taken by our moderators are written to an append-only log that not even we can edit.
• The moderation tools are a separate, access-restricted website and are not part of the app you install.

No service can promise perfect security, and we will not pretend otherwise. If a breach affects your personal data, we will notify you and the Commission as the law requires.

Changes

If we change this Policy in a way that affects you, we will ask you to agree to the new version in the app, and we will record which version you agreed to and when.

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Sera ya Faragha

Inaanza [[EFFECTIVE DATE]]. Hii inaeleza Maskani Makao inakusanya nini, kwa nini, inahifadhi wapi, na unachoweza kufanya kuhusu hilo. Inaeleza programu inavyofanya kazi leo. Tukibadilisha jinsi tunavyoshughulikia taarifa zako, tutabadilisha ukurasa huu na kukujulisha ndani ya programu.

Sisi ni nani

Maskani Makao inaendeshwa na [[LEGAL ENTITY]], [[ADDRESS]], Tanzania. Sisi ndio wadhibiti wa taarifa zilizoelezwa hapa, tumesajiliwa na Tume ya Ulinzi wa Taarifa Binafsi chini ya [[PDPC REG NO]].

Kwa lolote kuhusu taarifa zako, andika kwa privacy@maskanimakao.com.

Tunachokusanya, na kwa nini

Unapofungua akaunti

• Jina lako — linaonyeshwa kwa unaowatumia ujumbe au unaopanga kwao. Unaweza kulibadilisha mara moja kila siku 30.
• Barua pepe au namba yako ya simu — kukuingiza na kukufikia kuhusu akaunti yako. Ukiingia kwa Google, tunapokea barua pepe ya akaunti hiyo ya Google.
• Nenosiri lako — linahifadhiwa kama msimbo usiorudishwa nyuma na mtoa huduma wetu wa kuingia. Hatuliomi kamwe na hatuwezi kulirejesha.
• Picha ya wasifu, ukichagua kuweka — inapigwa kwa kamera iliyo ndani ya programu, na inaonyeshwa kwa unaowatumia ujumbe au unaopanga kwao. Si lazima: programu inafanya kazi vivyo hivyo bila hiyo, na unaweza kuiondoa wakati wowote kupitia Akaunti yangu, jambo linalofuta picha badala ya kuificha.
• Ridhaa yako kwa Masharti na Sera hii — toleo ulilokubali na lini.

Unapoweka nyumba

• Eneo la GPS la nyumba, linalochukuliwa ukiwa pale nyumbani wakati wa kuweka tangazo. Hii ndiyo msingi wa programu: tangazo linafungamanishwa na viwianishi halisi ili watu waweze kuamini lipo pale linaposema. Eneo linabaki lilipowekwa na haliwezi kubadilishwa baadaye.
• Picha zilizopigwa ndani ya programu, pale nyumbani. Huwezi kupakia kutoka ghala lako — programu haina ruhusa ya kulifikia.
• Taarifa unazoingiza — aina ya nyumba, bei, kipindi cha malipo, na sifa kama maegesho, uzio au jenereta ya akiba.

Unapotumia programu

• Eneo la simu yako, ukitumia utafutaji wa "karibu nami" — kupata nyumba zilizo karibu nawe. Tunalitumia kwa utafutaji huo tu na hatuhifadhi historia ya ulipokuwa. Hatuombi kamwe eneo la nyuma, na programu haiwezi kufikia eneo lako ikiwa imefungwa.
• Ujumbe unaotuma kwa watumiaji wengine, na uliyemtumia.
• Maombi ya kutembelea unayotoa au kupokea, na maoni unayoandika.
• Nyumba unazohifadhi na utafutaji unaoomba kujulishwa kuhusu.
• Ripoti unazotutumia kuhusu tangazo au mtu.
• Mipangilio yako — lugha na muonekano uliochagua, ili vikufuate kwenye simu mpya.

Kubinafsisha unachokiona

Ili kupanga nyumba kulingana na zinavyokufaa, programu inarekodi matangazo unayoyafungua ukiwa umeingia. Tunatumia hili kwa jambo moja tu: kupanga mapendekezo na kukujulisha kuhusu nyumba zinazoweza kukuvutia.

• Wenye nyumba hawaoni ni nani. Mwenye nyumba anaona idadi ya watazamaji wa tangazo lake tu, kama ilivyokuwa — kamwe si jina, wala kwamba ni wewe.
• Zinahifadhiwa kwa siku 90. Baada ya hapo, rekodi za kila mtazamo zinafutwa kiotomatiki. Kinachobaki ni muhtasari wa unachopenda — maeneo, aina za nyumba na kiwango cha bei unachoangalia mara nyingi — bila tarehe wala mtazamo mmoja mmoja ndani yake.
• Zinafutwa pamoja na akaunti yako, kama kila kitu kingine, na zinajumuishwa kwenye nakala ya taarifa zako unayoweza kupakua.

Tusichokusanya

• Hakuna vitambulisho. Hatuombi kitambulisho cha taifa, pasipoti wala leseni, na hakuna mahali popote ndani ya programu pa kupakia kimojawapo. Picha ya wasifu si mojawapo ya hivi: si lazima, wewe mwenyewe ndiye unayeichagua, hatuilinganishi na kitambulisho chochote, na kuwa nayo hakufanyi akaunti kuwa imethibitishwa.
• Hakuna ruhusa ya ghala lako la picha, faili, anwani, kipaza sauti, au kalenda. Programu inaomba kamera na eneo lako pekee, na tu unapotumia kipengele kinachohitaji.
• Hakuna eneo la nyuma.
• Hakuna vifuatiliaji vya takwimu au matangazo. Kwa sasa hatutumii huduma yoyote ya takwimu, na hakuna vitambulisho vya matangazo ndani ya programu.
• Hakuna taarifa za malipo. Programu ni bure na hatushiki pesa zako kamwe. Chochote unacholipa, unamlipa mwenye nyumba moja kwa moja.

Taarifa zako zinahifadhiwa wapi

Taarifa zako zinahifadhiwa kwenye seva zilizoko Frankfurt, Ujerumani, zinazoendeshwa na mtoa huduma wetu. Hii ina maana taarifa zako binafsi zinatoka nje ya Tanzania. Tunafanya hivi kwa sababu ndipo mtoa huduma wetu wa hifadhidata anapotoa huduma, na tunazilinda huko kwa hatua zilezile zilizoelezwa hapa chini, chini ya mkataba unaomlazimu mtoa huduma kuzishughulikia kwa maelekezo yetu pekee.

Chini ya Sheria ya Ulinzi wa Taarifa Binafsi, 2022, kuhamisha taarifa binafsi nje ya Tanzania kunahitaji ruhusa ya Tume. Ukitaka kujua hali ya ruhusa hiyo, tuandikie na tutakuambia.

Nani mwingine anaona taarifa zako

Hatuuzi taarifa zako, na hatuzishiriki kwa matangazo. Tunatumia kampuni chache kuendesha huduma. Kila moja inapokea kile tu inachohitaji:

• Supabase — hifadhidata yetu, kuingia, hifadhi ya faili na msimbo wa seva. Inashikilia kila kilichoelezwa hapo juu. Seva ziko Ujerumani.
• Cloudflare — inahifadhi tovuti hii, inatoa ramani, na inaendesha ukaguzi unaotofautisha mtu na roboti unapoingia.
• Google — tu ukichagua "Endelea na Google". Google inatuambia barua pepe ya akaunti hiyo.
• Resend — inatuma barua pepe za akaunti, kama kuweka upya nenosiri.
• Beem Africa — inatuma msimbo wa SMS unaothibitisha namba ya simu. Wanapokea namba na msimbo, si kingine.
• LocationIQ — inabadilisha viwianishi vya tangazo kuwa jina la mtaa. Wanapokea viwianishi, kamwe si utambulisho wako.

Pia tutashiriki taarifa pale sheria inapotaka, au inapohitajika kuchunguza udanganyifu, unyanyasaji, au tishio kwa usalama wa mtu.

Picha zinaweza kuwa na watu wengine

Picha ya nyumba inaweza kumjumuisha jirani, mpita njia, au namba ya gari bila kukusudia. Tafadhali epuka kupiga picha watu ambao hawajakubali. Ukionekana kwenye picha ya tangazo na ukataka iondolewe, andika kwa privacy@maskanimakao.com na utuambie ni tangazo lipi — tutaliondoa tukiwa tunachunguza.

Ujumbe, na lini mtu anausoma

Ujumbe kati ya watumiaji hauna usimbaji wa mwisho hadi mwisho. Unahifadhiwa kwenye seva zetu na unalindwa ili wewe na unayemtumia pekee mwezi kuusoma kupitia programu.

Wasimamizi wetu wanaweza kusoma mazungumzo mahususi yakiripotiwa. Hiyo ndiyo sababu pekee ya kawaida ya mtu wa timu yetu kusoma ujumbe binafsi, na ipo ili anayenyanyaswa au anayeombwa alipe kabla ya kuona apate msaada. Hatusomi ujumbe kwa sababu nyingine yoyote.

Tunahifadhi kwa muda gani

Tunahifadhi taarifa zako kwa muda wote akaunti yako inapokuwepo. Unapofuta akaunti yako — kutoka Akaunti yangu → Futa akaunti yangu ndani ya programu, au kutoka maskanimakao.com/delete-account — tunakutoa kila mahali na kuzima akaunti yako mara moja.

Tunachofuta

• Wasifu wako — jina la kuonyesha na taarifa za kuingia (barua pepe au namba ya simu, nenosiri, na akaunti yoyote ya Google iliyounganishwa)
• Matangazo yako na picha zake
• Kumbukumbu za ridhaa yako — makubaliano ya Masharti na Sera ya Faragha yaliyounganishwa na akaunti yako

Tunachohifadhi, na kwa nini

• Ujumbe uliotuma unabaki kuonekana kwa uliowatumia — kama vile ujumbe wa simu unavyobaki kwenye simu ya mtu mwingine baada ya wewe kufuta akaunti yako.
• Maoni yaliyounganishwa na akaunti yako yanaweza kubaki kuonekana, ili historia ya ukadiriaji wanayoitegemea watumiaji wengine ibaki sahihi.
• Kumbukumbu kwamba akaunti yako ilikuwepo na ilifutwa inahifadhiwa kwenye kumbukumbu zetu za ndani milele, ikitambulika kwa kitambulisho cha ndani pekee — kamwe si jina lako, namba ya simu, au barua pepe.

Kila kitu kilicho chini ya "Tunachofuta" kinafutwa kabisa ndani ya siku 30, kiotomatiki. Tunatumia kipindi hicho cha siku 30 kumaliza kuondoa taarifa na kuweka ripoti au uchunguzi ulio wazi uweze kuchunguzwa — si kingine. Hii haiwezi kutenduliwa. Kama ripoti mahususi kuhusu akaunti yako bado iko wazi, tunaweza kushikilia kumbukumbu husika kwa muda mrefu zaidi, na tutakujulisha hilo likitokea.

Haki zako

Chini ya Sheria ya Ulinzi wa Taarifa Binafsi, 2022, unaweza:

• Kupata nakala ya taarifa zako. Ndani ya programu: Akaunti yangu → Pakua taarifa zangu. Zinaandaliwa mara moja na unaweza kunakili na kuhifadhi.
• Kusahihisha jina lako. Ndani ya programu: Akaunti yangu → Taarifa binafsi. Mara moja kila siku 30, kuzuia watu kujenga uaminifu kwa jina moja kisha kutumia lingine.
• Kufuta akaunti yako, kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu.
• Kuondoa ridhaa yako kwa Sera hii au Masharti. Kuondoa ni rahisi kama kutoa na hakuna gharama — lakini kwa kuwa hatuwezi kuendesha akaunti bila hayo, kuondoa kunamaanisha kufunga akaunti yako.
• Kupinga, au kutuomba tupunguze tunachofanya na taarifa zako.
• Kulalamika kwa Tume ya Ulinzi wa Taarifa Binafsi ukidhani tumeshughulikia taarifa zako vibaya. Si lazima utuwasiliane kwanza, ingawa tungependa nafasi ya kurekebisha.

Andika kwa privacy@maskanimakao.com kwa lolote lisilopatikana ndani ya programu. Tutajibu ndani ya siku 30.

Watoto

Maskani Makao imekusudiwa watu wazima wanaopanga au kupangisha nyumba. Hatukusanyi kwa kujua taarifa za watoto. Kwa sasa programu haiulizi umri wako wakati wa kujiandikisha. Ukidhani mtoto amefungua akaunti, tuandikie na tutaiondoa.

Jinsi tunavyolinda

• Kila kitu husafiri kwa muunganisho uliosimbwa, na programu inakataa isiyosimbwa.
• Hifadhidata yetu inakataa kwa chaguo-msingi: kila akaunti inaweza kufikia taarifa zake pekee, kutekelezwa na hifadhidata yenyewe si na programu.
• Manenosiri huhifadhiwa kama misimbo isiyorudishwa nyuma, na mtoa huduma wetu wa kuingia.
• Hatua zinazochukuliwa na wasimamizi wetu huandikwa kwenye kumbukumbu isiyoharirika ambayo hata sisi hatuwezi kuibadilisha.
• Zana za usimamizi ni tovuti tofauti yenye ufikiaji uliozuiliwa na si sehemu ya programu unayoweka.

Hakuna huduma inayoweza kuahidi usalama kamili, na hatutajifanya vinginevyo. Uvunjaji ukiathiri taarifa zako binafsi, tutakujulisha wewe na Tume kama sheria inavyotaka.

Mabadiliko

Tukibadilisha Sera hii kwa namna inayokuathiri, tutakuomba ukubali toleo jipya ndani ya programu, na tutarekodi toleo ulilokubali na lini.