Privacy Policy

VirtualEdge Systems Limited (Company Reg. No. 120261043636), a company incorporated in Zambia with its registered office at 460A Off Great North Road, Shimabala, Lusaka ("we", "us", "our"), operates the Shop 'Em All mobile application and related services (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

We process personal data as a data controller in accordance with applicable data protection law in the Republic of Zambia, including the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: Phone number, name, email address, and profile details when you register
• Delivery Addresses: Home, work, and other saved delivery locations, including a map location and a label you choose
• Order Information: Items ordered, quantities, payment method selected, special instructions, and order history
• Payment Information: Mobile money account details and card information, processed securely through our payment partners — we do not store full card numbers on our servers
• Business Information: If you register as a merchant, we collect business name, registration details, business address, operating hours, and product catalogue information
• Rider Information: If you register as a rider, we collect identification documents, vehicle details, and licensing information
• Communications: Messages sent through in-app support, dispute submissions, and feedback
• Conversation Data: The messages, requests, and instructions you share with Weza, our AI assistant

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Location Data: With your permission, we collect precise location data while you are using the app to facilitate deliveries, show nearby merchants, calculate delivery fees, and provide delivery tracking. We do not collect your location in the background or when the app is closed.
• Device Information: Device type, operating system, unique device identifiers, and push notification tokens
• Usage Data: Businesses browsed, search queries, items added to cart, and other interactions with the Service (collectively, "behaviour events")
• Log Data: IP address, access times, app crashes, and system activity

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Process and fulfil orders and deliveries
• Calculate delivery fees based on distance and zone
• Match riders with orders
• Process payments and manage your PaySwift wallet
• Administer the Shop Points programme, the Charter, and referral rewards
• Send order updates, delivery notifications, and service announcements via push notifications and SMS
• Provide customer support and resolve disputes
• Power Weza, our AI assistant, and improve our AI-powered services, including intelligent dispatch and personalised recommendations
• Remember your preferences so Weza can personalise what it suggests — you can review and delete what Weza remembers (see "Your Rights")
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Comply with legal obligations

3. How Weza Uses AI, and What Is Shared With Our AI Provider

Weza is an AI assistant powered by the Anthropic Claude API. When you send a message to Weza, the content of that message is transmitted to Anthropic PBC to generate a response. This may include what you ask for, the products and shops involved, and delivery context relevant to your request.

We send Weza only the information needed to answer your request. We do not send Anthropic your payment credentials or your saved delivery addresses for the purpose of AI training. Anthropic processes this data as our service provider to return a response and does not use it to train its models on our instruction. Anthropic's own handling of data is governed by its terms and privacy policy.

You can use most core features of Shop 'Em All without Weza.

4. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information with:

• Merchants: Your name, delivery address, and order details are shared with the merchant fulfilling your order
• Riders: Your name, delivery address, and phone number are shared with the rider assigned to your order
• Payment Processors: Payment information is shared with our payment partners to process transactions securely
• Service Providers: We use third-party services for cloud hosting, push notifications, maps and routing, AI processing, and SMS delivery (see Section 11)
• Law Enforcement: When required by law or to protect the safety of our users

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is currently stored on secure servers provided by Supabase, hosted in the eu-west-3 (Paris, France) region. We implement security measures including:

• Row-Level Security on our database
• Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
• Phone-based authentication with OTP verification
• Encryption of sensitive stored data where applicable

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Your Rights

Under the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021 of Zambia, you have rights in respect of your personal data, which may include the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information, including editing your saved addresses in the app
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Withdraw Consent: Disable location services or push notifications through your device settings
• Data Portability: Request your order history and account data in a portable format
• Manage Weza's Memory: View what Weza remembers about you and delete individual memory entries in the app

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at intelligence@virtualedge.ai.

7. Location Data

Shop 'Em All uses precise location, only while you are actively using the app, to:

• Show merchants near your location
• Calculate delivery fees based on distance
• Provide delivery tracking
• Assign deliveries to a nearby available rider

We do not access your location in the background or when the app is closed. You can disable location permissions in your device settings, but some features require location access to function, and you may instead enter a delivery address manually.

8. Push Notifications and SMS

We send push notifications and SMS messages for:

• OTP codes for account verification (delivered by SMS; you enter the code manually)
• Order status updates (confirmed, preparing, out for delivery, delivered)
• Service announcements
• Promotional offers (you can opt out of promotional messages)

SMS messages are delivered through our SMS provider, Africa's Talking.

9. Cookies and Analytics

Our mobile app does not use browser cookies. We collect usage analytics through behaviour-event tracking to improve the Service. This data is used in aggregate and is not sold to third parties. Our website may use cookies; where it does, this is disclosed on the website.

10. Children's Privacy

Shop 'Em All is intended for users aged 18 and over, consistent with our Terms of Service. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Third-Party Services

Our Service integrates with the following third-party services, each governed by its own privacy policy:

• Google Maps Platform (Google LLC) — maps, geocoding, directions
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google LLC) — push notifications
• Supabase Inc. — database and authentication hosting
• Anthropic PBC — AI processing that powers Weza (see Section 3)
• Africa's Talking — SMS delivery
• Payment partners — mobile money and card payment processing (activated when the corresponding payment methods become available)

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of changes by posting the updated Policy in the app and on our website and updating the "Last Updated" date above. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

13. Contact Us / Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

• Company: VirtualEdge Systems Limited
• Company Reg. No.: 120261043636
• Registered Office: 460A Off Great North Road, Shimabala, Lusaka, Lusaka Province, Zambia
• Data Protection & Privacy Enquiries: intelligence@virtualedge.ai
• Customer Support: support@virtualedge.ai

Note on forthcoming services: YourRide (city mobility) is not yet available. When it launches, this Policy will be updated to describe the additional data it involves (for example, pickup and drop-off locations and driver information).