WWGI Platform Privacy Policy

1. Who controls this information

Winners Without Gambling International ("WWGI", "we", "us", or "our") is responsible for the Platform app and this policy. Privacy requests can be sent to developer@wwgi.org.za.

This policy is written for the South African context, including principles found in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA"), while also supporting Google Play's public privacy disclosure expectations.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use the app, we may collect or process:

• Account and sign-in information: Firebase Authentication ID, supported provider identifiers and profile details returned through Google, Facebook, Twitter/X, or other enabled sign-in providers, email address where provided by the sign-in provider, display information, login state, linked or unlinked provider state, approval status, role, and account timestamps.
• Profile, organization-record, and recovery information: recovery handle or username, profile photo path or image, biography or profile fields, name, surname, phone number, email, city, province, country, last gambling date or "have never gambled" status, calculated progress information, and any profile changes you submit.
• Affected-person profile information: affected-side account state, unique display name, normalized display-name key, story author label, access status, suspension or restoration decisions, and privacy notices accepted or acknowledged for the affected-person space.
• Access review information: join requests, reasons for joining, accepted platform rules, reviewer decisions, rejection reasons, staff notes where used, and account approval or rejection records.
• Community content: stories, comments, replies, reactions, media files, captions, timestamps, anonymous-post choices, reports, moderation decisions, and related metadata.
• Affected-person stories: separate awareness stories submitted by family members, partners, friends, colleagues, or others affected by gambling harm, including story text, optional images, optional voice notes, reactions, submission timestamps, review status, moderator decisions, rejection or change-request reasons, and related media paths.
• Self-reflection information: feelings and tomorrow messages you create inside the reflection tool. These are designed to be local-first on the device unless a future feature clearly asks you to share or back them up.
• Notifications: recovery and affected-space notification preferences, Do Not Disturb settings, tokens, and local reminder data needed for app notifications such as tomorrow messages, comments, reactions, staff decisions, affected-story review responses, affected-space updates, Shield events, and program reminders.
• WWGI Shield bridge and unlock information: whether Shield is installed, whether Shield protection or strict mode appears active, Shield client or support identifiers, linked member details, deactivation reasons, reminder times, unlock request reasons, contact details submitted with unlock requests, staff decisions, rejection reasons, code delivery state, unlock window status, and recovery events such as Shield activation, repair, deactivation, or unlock issuance.
• App-event ledger information: minimal records of Platform or Shield install, uninstall, activation, repair, and deactivation events, including user ID, recovery handle, event time, app name, and event type.
• Supporter purchase information: Google Play product IDs, subscription state, purchase tokens or order references needed to verify purchases, supporter tier state, support boost counts, and billing-related status. We do not receive your full card number or payment method details from Google Play.
• Recovery Program information, where enabled: the Recovery Program is inactive unless WWGI enables it; where enabled, it may include program forms, employment and payday information, income ranges, debt and creditor summaries, assistant assignments, Shield status visible to assigned staff, collaborative budget income and expense items, budget approval status, step progress, skipped steps, mediation preparation information, staff notes, and related reminders.
• Device and technical information: app version, package name, basic device or OS information made available to the app, backend request metadata, security tokens, and logs needed to operate and protect the service.

3. Sensitive recovery data

Recovery status, relapse-related events, gambling-related reflections, support requests, and community posts may reveal sensitive personal information. You should avoid posting information you do not want other approved members, moderators, or administrators to see. Anonymous posting controls can reduce public profile exposure inside the community, but they do not make content invisible to all moderation or system processes.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

• Create accounts, authenticate users, and maintain approved community access.
• Operate the separate affected-person awareness space and keep its data separate from the recovery-member story data.
• Show recovery progress, milestones, impact summaries, and encouragement.
• Publish, load, sort, and moderate recovery stories, comments, reactions, and reports.
• Review affected-person story submissions before public visibility, operate reactions on approved affected stories, and send approval, rejection, or change-request responses.
• Allow authorized administrators to review affected member details and suspend or restore affected-side access where needed for safety or abuse prevention.
• Protect members from gambling promotion, harassment, impersonation, unsafe content, fraud, and platform abuse.
• Operate self-reflection tools, local reminders, and app notifications.
• Pair with WWGI Shield, sync Shield status, record Shield recovery events, review unlock requests, and allow authorized staff to approve requests, reject requests with reasons, or send short-lived unlock codes to Shield.
• Notify moderators or administrators when Shield is disabled, removed, or otherwise needs follow-up.
• Process voluntary supporter memberships and one-time support boosts through Google Play Billing.
• Support Recovery Program workflows if WWGI enables them, such as form review, assistant assignment, budget collaboration, payday follow-up, and mediation preparation.
• Maintain, secure, debug, analyze, and improve the app and backend services.
• Comply with legal, tax, accounting, safety, dispute, and platform policy obligations.

5. Lawful reasons for processing

We process information when it is needed to provide the app, when you consent to a feature, when it is necessary for legitimate safety and moderation interests, when it is necessary for a contract or purchase, when we need to comply with law, or when processing is otherwise allowed by applicable privacy law. You may withdraw consent for optional processing where the law allows, but some core processing is required to run the account and community.

6. When information is shared

We may share or make information available as follows:

• Approved members and affected-space users: recovery community content may be visible to approved recovery members, and approved affected-person stories may be visible in the affected-person side according to the feature and privacy controls you choose.
• Moderators and administrators: staff may access reports, access requests, affected member access records, moderation history, Shield support information, and user content when needed for safety, support, or enforcement.
• Service providers: we use providers such as Google Firebase, Google Play Billing, Google sign-in services, Facebook Login, Twitter/X sign-in, cloud hosting, storage, notification, security, and related infrastructure providers.
• WWGI Shield: the Platform app and Shield app exchange limited status/session information through protected Android content providers, app intents, and backend records when both apps are installed and compatible. Where the bridge is unavailable, Shield may verify the same approved WWGI account through direct sign-in. This includes limited recovery-barrier status, pairing, unlock-request, code-delivery, and ledger information needed for support and safety workflows.
• Legal and safety reasons: information may be disclosed if required by law, court order, platform policy, a valid government request, or to protect members, WWGI, or the public.
• Organization changes: if WWGI's app operations are transferred, merged, or reorganized, relevant information may transfer with appropriate notice and safeguards.

7. Public content and social features

Posts, comments, profile names, profile images, affected display names, reactions, and media you choose to share may be seen by other users according to the section you use and the moderation state of that content. Affected-person stories are reviewed before public visibility, but approved content can still be remembered or discussed by people who access it. Do not share personal contact details, payment details, identification numbers, workplaces, schools, addresses, or another person's private information in community posts or affected-person awareness stories. WWGI content and data, including website content, Platform and Shield data, recovery member stories, affected-person stories, community posts, media, support material, moderation records, Shield data, and content from official WWGI online channels, must not be copied, scraped, reproduced, republished, redistributed, publicly quoted, trained into model systems, or shared outside the intended WWGI services without prior written consent from WWGI and, where required, the relevant member or rights holder.

8. Payments

Voluntary supporter memberships and support boosts are processed through Google Play Billing. Google handles payment credentials and billing account details. WWGI receives purchase status and identifiers needed to unlock supporter badges, acknowledge purchases, prevent duplicate processing, and support purchase troubleshooting. Support purchases do not buy clinical care, emergency help, or guaranteed moderation outcomes.

9. Retention

We keep information for as long as needed to provide the app, maintain member safety, preserve moderation continuity, process purchases, resolve disputes, meet legal obligations, and operate backups. Some records, such as moderation actions, affected-story review records, affected access records, Shield unlock requests, Shield unlock audit entries, Shield recovery events, app-event ledger entries, purchase records, Recovery Program records where needed, and abuse-prevention logs, may be retained after account deletion where retention is necessary for safety, legal compliance, fraud prevention, or legitimate organizational records. Local-only reflection entries can usually be removed by deleting them in the app, clearing app data, or uninstalling the app.

10. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards such as Firebase security rules, authentication, role checks, protected app bridges, encrypted transport where supported, and limited staff access. No system is perfectly secure. You should keep your device, Google account, and app access protected.

11. Your choices and rights

Depending on applicable law, you may ask to access, correct, update, delete, or restrict certain personal information, object to certain processing, or ask for an explanation of processing. Some requests may be limited where we need to keep information for moderation, safety, legal, accounting, billing, or dispute reasons.

Account deletion instructions are available at account-deletion.html. You can also contact developer@wwgi.org.za.

12. Children and vulnerable users

WWGI Platform is not intended for children. If a parent or guardian believes a child has provided personal information, contact us so we can review the account. Because the app concerns gambling harm and recovery, vulnerable users should avoid sharing details that could expose them to exploitation.

13. International processing

WWGI aims to keep app data in South Africa where configured services support it. Some providers, support operations, billing services, authentication services, backups, or security systems may process information in other countries. We use service providers and safeguards intended to protect information when it is processed outside South Africa.

14. Complaints

Please contact us first at developer@wwgi.org.za so we can try to resolve privacy concerns. You may also contact South Africa's Information Regulator through https://inforegulator.org.za where applicable.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the apps, backend, law, or Google Play requirements change. The "Last updated" date shows when this page was last revised. Material changes may also be communicated in the app or through official WWGI channels.