Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026 · Version 1.1

1. Introduction

Britz Ventures (Pty) Ltd ("we", "us", "our") operates the Mali personal finance education application ("the App"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable South African legislation.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. By using Mali, you consent to the practices described in this policy.

2. Information Officer

Our designated Information Officer responsible for ensuring compliance with POPIA is:

Dylan Britz
Director, Britz Ventures (Pty) Ltd
Email: dylan@getmali.co.za

3. What Personal Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

3.1 Account Information

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Account credentials (encrypted)

3.2 Profile Information (provided during onboarding)

  • City or town of residence
  • Province
  • Household size (number of dependents)
  • Vehicle ownership (yes/no)
  • Housing situation (renting, bond, family, own)
  • Cash spending habits

3.3 Financial Data (from bank statements you upload)

  • Transaction descriptions, dates, and amounts
  • Income amounts and sources
  • Spending patterns and merchant information
  • Account balances (as reflected in statements)

3.4 App Usage Data

  • Category corrections and preferences
  • Budget settings and goal progress
  • AI chat conversation history (with the Mali feature)

3.5 Receipts and Manual Entries

  • Photos of till slips you choose to capture, stored privately (no public link)
  • Details read from those slips: shop, date, items, prices and total
  • Spending you enter yourself (amount, category, cash or card)

Item names and prices from receipts may be added to an anonymous price list that helps all users compare prices. It contains no name, email or account link and cannot identify you.

3.6 Subscription Information

  • Whether you have Mali Pro, whether you are in a free trial, and when your subscription renews or ends
  • Which store you subscribed through (App Store or Google Play)

Payments are handled entirely by Apple or Google. We never see or store your card details.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following specific purposes:

  • Transaction categorisation: To automatically sort your transactions into spending categories using AI
  • Budget generation: To create personalised budget limits based on your spending history and household context
  • Financial education: To provide educational insights about your spending patterns compared to regional benchmarks
  • Goal tracking: To help you set and monitor financial goals
  • AI features: To power the Mali AI education feature, which uses your financial data to provide relevant educational content
  • Account management: To authenticate your identity and manage your account
  • Product improvement: To improve the App's features and accuracy (using anonymised, aggregated data only)

We will never use your personal information for purposes other than those listed above without obtaining your explicit consent first.

5. How We Store and Protect Your Information

  • All data is transmitted using encrypted HTTPS connections
  • Bank statement data is stored in encrypted databases
  • Your financial data is isolated to your account — no other user can access it
  • We use industry-standard security practices to protect against unauthorised access
  • Access to personal information is restricted to authorised personnel only

6. Third-Party Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

We may share limited data with the following service providers who assist in operating the App:

  • Base44: Our application hosting platform. It stores your account, financial data and receipt photos, and provides the AI services below.
  • AI processing (Google Gemini and OpenAI models, through Base44): The text of your bank statements, your receipt photos and your messages to Mali are sent to these AI models so they can categorise transactions, read receipts, and write Mali's replies and tips. They are used only to provide these features.
  • Apple (App Store) and Google (Google Play): Process subscription payments when you subscribe in the Mali app.
  • RevenueCat: Keeps track of your subscription status across the App Store and Google Play. It receives your email address (as your account identifier) and your subscription purchase history, but no financial data from your statements.

Some of these providers process information outside South Africa. We only use providers that are bound to protect it to a standard comparable to POPIA.

All third-party service providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the specific purposes of providing their services to us.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, you have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
  • Deletion: Delete your account and all your data yourself in the App: Profile → Privacy & Security → Request Account Deletion. Or email dylan@getmali.co.za with the subject "Delete my account" and we will do it for you. Full steps: app.getmali.co.za/delete-account.
  • Object: Object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
  • Withdraw consent: Withdraw your consent to processing at any time (this may limit your ability to use certain features)
  • Complain: Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at dylan@getmali.co.za. We will respond to your request within 30 days as required by POPIA.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with the App's services, or as required by law. Specifically:

  • Account data is retained for the duration of your active account
  • Bank statement data and transaction history are retained for the duration of your active account
  • When you delete your account in the App, your account and all your records (including receipts) are deleted immediately. Requests by email are completed within 30 days. Uploaded statement files and receipt photos are detached from your account and can no longer be opened.
  • Deleting your account does not cancel a Mali Pro subscription. Cancel it in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings so you aren't charged again.
  • Anonymised, aggregated data (which cannot identify you) may be retained for product improvement purposes

9. Children's Privacy

Mali is not intended for use by persons under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will delete it immediately.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If material changes are made, we will notify you through the App and request your re-acceptance. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of those changes.

11. Information Regulator

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator:

Information Regulator (South Africa)
Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg

12. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact:

Dylan Britz — Information Officer
Britz Ventures (Pty) Ltd
Email: dylan@getmali.co.za
Registration: 2023/604769/07