Privacy Policy for Malita

Last updated: 7 September 2026

Malita ("Malita", "we", "us", or "our") is a study platform for South African Grade 12 learners, provided as a web application and a mobile app ("the Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to Malita (Pty) Ltd, registered in South Africa.

We process personal information in line with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). If you are outside South Africa, other data protection laws relevant to you may also apply.

1. Information We Collect

Account information you provide directly:

• Name and email address
• Password (stored only as a salted hash — we never store or can see your plain-text password)
• School, province, and city/town
• South African ID number and date of birth, used only to verify your identity and prevent duplicate accounts

Information generated by using the Service:

• Questions you ask the AI Tutor (text, photos, or PDF documents you upload)
• Your practice question history, topics studied, and marks/progress statistics
• Login timestamps and basic session activity, used for account security

Photos and documents you upload:

When you photograph a question or upload a PDF for the AI Tutor to solve, the image or document is sent to our AI provider to be read and solved, and the resulting text/solution is returned to you. We do not permanently store the uploaded image or PDF file itself — it is processed and then discarded. We do store a record of the topic and question text associated with your solved questions, so you can review your own progress and history.

Payment information:

If you subscribe to a paid tier, your payment is handled directly by our payment processor, PayFast. We do not receive or store your card or bank details — we only receive confirmation of payment status and a billing reference token from PayFast to manage your subscription.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and secure your account, and let you log in
• To provide the core Service: solving questions, generating practice sets, tracking your study progress, and serving past exam papers
• To enforce usage limits associated with your subscription tier
• To process subscription payments and manage billing
• To investigate and prevent abuse, fraud, or violations of our terms
• To respond to support requests

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

3. Who We Share Information With

• AI service providers (e.g. Anthropic's Claude API) — to read and solve the questions, photos, and documents you submit. These providers process the content to generate a response and do not retain it for their own purposes beyond what is necessary to provide the API service.
• PayFast — to process subscription payments.
• Hosting providers — our infrastructure providers store account and app data on our behalf, under contractual confidentiality obligations.

We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. Data Retention

We keep your account information and study history for as long as your account is active, so your progress and history remain available to you. If you ask us to delete your account, we will delete your personal information within a reasonable time, except where we are required to retain certain records by law (for example, payment records).

5. Your Rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your account and associated personal information
• Object to certain processing of your information
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.

6. Children and Minors

Malita is designed for Grade 12 learners, who are typically minors under South African law. If you are under 18, you should have your parent or guardian's permission to use the Service and to provide any personal information, including your ID number. We collect only the minimum information necessary to provide the Service to learners.

7. Security

We use industry-standard measures — including password hashing and encrypted connections (HTTPS) — to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work to protect your data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will update the "Last updated" date above when we do. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the revised policy.

9. Contact Us