Privacy Policy

Akira Digital ("we", "us", "our") operates MARKA AI ("MARKA", "the Service") at marka.akiradigital.co.za. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

By using MARKA, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in this policy.

We collect the following categories of personal information:

• Account information: your name, email address, and password when you register
• Business profile: information you provide about your business to personalise AI responses (business name, industry, target audience, etc.)
• Usage data: messages sent, agents used, features accessed, and session activity
• Payment information: billing details processed securely by PayFast — we do not store your card details
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, and cookies for session management

We use your personal information to:

• Provide, operate, and improve the MARKA platform
• Personalise AI agent responses based on your business profile
• Process payments and manage your subscription
• Send transactional emails (account confirmation, password resets, billing notifications)
• Respond to support requests
• Monitor and analyse usage to improve the Service
• Comply with legal obligations under South African law

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

MARKA is powered by Claude AI, developed by Anthropic. When you send messages through the platform, your input (including your business profile context) is processed by Anthropic's API to generate responses.

Anthropic processes this data in accordance with their own privacy policy and data processing agreements. We recommend reviewing Anthropic's privacy policy at anthropic.com/privacy.

We do not intentionally send sensitive personal information (such as ID numbers, financial records, or health data) to the AI. Please avoid including such information in your messages.

Your data is stored on Supabase infrastructure. Supabase is a GDPR-compliant platform and your data is stored on servers within the European Union unless otherwise configured.

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Encrypted passwords using bcrypt hashing
• Row-level security on all database tables
• Access controls limiting who can access user data

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We will notify you in the event of a data breach that affects your personal information as required by POPIA.

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it by law (for example, financial records which must be kept for 5 years under South African tax law).

Chat history is retained to provide the history feature on paid plans. You may delete individual chats at any time from your dashboard.

We use the following third-party services to operate MARKA:

• Supabase — database and authentication
• Anthropic — AI model (Claude)
• PayFast — payment processing (South African payment gateway)
• Vercel — hosting and deployment
• Google OAuth — optional sign-in via Google

Each of these providers has their own privacy policies and data processing terms.

MARKA uses cookies and similar technologies for session management and authentication. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings but this may affect your ability to log in and use the Service.

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the right to:

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

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@akiradigital.co.za. We will respond within 30 days.

If you believe we have not handled your personal information in accordance with POPIA, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa:

Website: www.justice.gov.za/inforeg
Email: inforeg@justice.gov.za

MARKA is not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us immediately.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you by email before material changes take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version.

For any privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights, contact our Information Officer:

info@akiradigital.co.za
Akira Digital, Johannesburg, South Africa