MapTerra Privacy Policy

Important to note:

This privacy policy is a practical draft for MapTerra’s iOS and Android app submission process. Sayari Earth should review it against the final live app features, Firebase configuration, store data-safety declarations, and applicable legal advice before publishing it as the official policy URL.

1. Who We Are

MapTerra is a farm activity, livestock movement, camp monitoring, and file/photo upload application provided by Sayari Earth. This policy explains how Sayari Earth collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal information when users access MapTerra on iOS or Android.

2. Contact Details

For privacy questions, access requests, correction requests, deletion requests, or complaints, contact Sayari Earth at: aloha@sayari.earth.
Responsible party/operator context: For purposes of South African privacy law, Sayari Earth acts as the responsible party for the personal information it decides to collect and use through MapTerra. Firebase/Google and other service providers may act as operators or independent controllers depending on the service and configuration used.

3. Scope of This Policy

· This policy applies to the MapTerra mobile application on iPhone/iOS and Android.

· This policy applies to Farmers, Field Officers, and any authorised Sayari Earth team members who use the app.

· MapTerra is intended for adult users only. The app is not intended for children.

· This policy covers normal livestock movement submissions, photo-only uploads, file-only uploads, and account/profile data.

4. Information We Collect

MapTerra collects only the information needed to create accounts, submit farm activity records, verify and review submissions, support file/photo uploads, and keep the system secure.

Category	Examples	Purpose
Account and profile information	Full name, email address, role, Firebase user ID, and RMP number for Farmers. Older records may contain AMP number for compatibility.	Create and manage user accounts, assign roles, identify Farmers, and connect submissions to the correct user.
Authentication information	Email/password sign-in handled by Firebase Authentication. Sayari Earth does not store or view plaintext passwords.	Allow secure login, password reset, and account access control.
Farm activity and livestock information	Farm name, date, animal category/type, number of animals, from-camp, to-camp, notes, user name, user role, created timestamp, and related submission metadata.	Record and review livestock movements, camp use, grazing/rest activity, project reporting, and monitoring.
Photos and camera data	Photos captured or selected by the user, photo URLs, storage paths, photo metadata, timestamps, and related submission IDs.	Attach visual evidence or supporting records to farm activity submissions.
Files and document uploads	Selected file names, file types/MIME types, file size, file URLs, storage paths, file metadata, timestamps, and related submission IDs.	Allow users to upload supporting documents, reports, or records linked to farm activities.
Location data	GPS coordinates and approximate readable location names where available and where location permission is granted, especially for photos.	Verify the location of farm activity evidence and support monitoring and reporting.
Technical and security data	Firebase/Google may process technical logs, device/network information, IP address, crash or diagnostic information, and security metadata.	Operate the app securely, troubleshoot problems, prevent misuse, and maintain service reliability.

5. How We Collect Information

· Directly from users when they register, log in, update profile details, submit livestock movement records, type notes, upload photos, or upload files.

· Automatically through Firebase services and app/device permissions needed for authentication, storage, security, diagnostics, and app operation.

· Through device permissions chosen by the user, such as camera, file access, and location permission.

6. How We Use Information

· To create and manage MapTerra user accounts.

· To identify whether a user is a Farmer or Field Officer and apply the correct access permissions.

· To record, view, sort, filter, and download livestock movement records, photo-only uploads, and file-only uploads.

· To allow Field Officers to support, verify, monitor, and review Farmer submissions.

· To support search by RMP number for authorised Field Officers.

· To provide password reset and account recovery functions through Firebase Authentication.

· To store photos and files in Firebase Storage and link them to Firestore records.

· To maintain security, troubleshoot issues, prevent misuse, and improve app stability.

· To comply with applicable laws, project reporting requirements, and internal governance obligations.

7. Role-Based Access and Sharing Inside the App

Farmers: Farmers can view their own submissions, photos, files, and profile information. Farmers should not be able to view records belonging to other Farmers.

Field Officers: Field Officers may view Farmer submissions, photo-only uploads, file-only uploads, and related files/photos for monitoring, verification, support, and data quality purposes. Field Officers may be able to search by RMP number and access records for multiple Farmers.

Sayari Earth administrators/support: Authorised Sayari Earth personnel may access data when needed for app support, Firebase administration, security, data quality, reporting, or legal/compliance purposes.

8. Third-Party Service Providers

MapTerra uses Firebase and Google Cloud services to operate the app. These services may include Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Firebase Storage, and related security, hosting, logging, and diagnostic tools.

Firebase/Google may process personal information and technical data to provide authentication, database, storage, security, and infrastructure services. Sayari Earth aims to ensure that service providers protect user data appropriately and use it only for authorised purposes.

MapTerra does not sell personal information. MapTerra does not use personal information for advertising or third-party tracking in its current planned version.

9. App Permissions

Permission	Why It Is Requested	User Control
Camera	To take photos for farm activity records or photo-only uploads.	The user can allow or deny camera access in device settings.
Photos/files/document picker	To select files or photos for upload.	The user chooses which files/photos to attach.
Location	To attach GPS location to photos or related farm activity evidence where permission is granted.	The user can allow, deny, or revoke location permission in device settings.
Internet/network	To sign in, sync Firestore records, upload/download files/photos, and use Firebase services.	Internet access is required for authentication and uploads.

10. Legal Basis and POPIA Principles

Where South African privacy law applies, Sayari Earth processes personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), including principles of lawful processing, purpose specification, minimality, openness, security safeguards, and data subject participation.

· Consent, where users choose to register, submit records, upload photos/files, or grant camera/location permissions.

· Performance of the MapTerra service, where information is needed to provide app functions.

· Legitimate interests, such as security, monitoring, reporting, support, data quality, and project administration.

· Legal or contractual obligations, where Sayari Earth must retain or provide information for compliance, audit, or project reporting purposes.

11. How We Protect Information

· Firebase Authentication is used to help ensure that only signed-in users can access the app.

· Firestore and Firebase Storage security rules are used to restrict Farmers to their own records and to allow Field Officers broader authorised access.

· Access is role-based and linked to Firebase user IDs.

· Firebase and Google Cloud provide infrastructure-level security controls for authentication, database, and storage services.

· Users are responsible for keeping their login details secure and must not share passwords.

No system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Sayari Earth will take reasonable steps to protect personal information and respond appropriately if a data security incident occurs.

12. Data Retention

Sayari Earth keeps personal information and farm activity records for as long as needed to provide MapTerra, support project monitoring and reporting, meet legal or contractual obligations, resolve disputes, and maintain accurate records.

When information is no longer needed, Sayari Earth may delete it, anonymise it, or retain it in a restricted form where required by law, audit, reporting, or legitimate operational needs.

13. International Processing and Storage

Firebase and Google Cloud services may process or store information outside South Africa depending on service configuration and Google infrastructure. By using MapTerra, users understand that their information may be processed in other countries where service providers operate, subject to appropriate safeguards.

14. User Rights and Choices

· Request access to personal information held about them.

· Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.

· Request deletion of information, subject to legal, contractual, audit, reporting, or operational retention requirements.

· Withdraw or change device permissions such as camera, file access, or location permission through device settings.

· Request assistance with account access or password reset.

· Object to or complain about processing where applicable under POPIA.

Requests can be sent to aloha@sayari.earth. Sayari Earth may need to verify the requester’s identity before acting on certain requests.

South African privacy complaints: Users may also contact the Information Regulator (South Africa) if they believe their personal information has been processed unlawfully. Website: https://inforegulator.org.za/complaints/

15. User Responsibilities

· Users must submit accurate information and only upload records they are authorised to submit.

· Users should not upload unnecessary personal information, sensitive personal information, or confidential third-party information unless authorised.

· Users must keep their login credentials confidential.

· Field Officers must use broader access only for authorised Sayari Earth monitoring, verification, support, and project purposes.

16. Children

MapTerra is intended for adult users only. Sayari Earth does not knowingly collect personal information from children through the app. If Sayari Earth becomes aware that a child has used the app or provided personal information, Sayari Earth will take reasonable steps to delete or restrict that information where required.

17. Changes to This Policy

Sayari Earth may update this policy when MapTerra changes, when new features are added, when Firebase or other service providers change, or when legal/store requirements change. The updated policy will show a new “Last updated” date. Material changes may also be communicated in the app or through other appropriate channels.

Appendix A: App Store and Google Play Data Disclosure Summary

This appendix is included to help Sayari Earth align the public privacy policy with App Store privacy labels and Google Play Data Safety declarations. The final store answers must match the actual production app and SDK configuration.

Data Type	Collected?	Linked to User?	Purpose	Notes
Name	Yes	Yes	Account management and submissions	Stored in users and copied to submission records as userName.
Email address	Yes	Yes	Authentication and account support	Handled through Firebase Authentication and users records.
User ID	Yes	Yes	Access control and record ownership	Firebase Auth UID links users to records.
RMP number	Yes for Farmers	Yes	Farmer identification and search/filtering	Old records may contain AMP number for fallback compatibility.
Photos	Optional	Yes	Attach evidence to activity/photo uploads	Stored in Firebase Storage and linked through Firestore.
Files/documents	Optional	Yes	Attach supporting documents	Stored in Firebase Storage and linked through Firestore.
Location	Optional	Yes when attached to upload	Verify photo/activity location	Collected only when permission is granted and location is available.
Farm/livestock activity data	Yes when submitted	Yes	Core app functionality and reporting	Includes farm, camp movement, animal selections, counts, date, notes.
Diagnostics/technical data	May be processed by Firebase/Google	May be linked	Security, reliability, troubleshooting	Depends on Firebase/Google SDK configuration.
Advertising ID / tracking data	No in current version	No	Not used	Update this policy if advertising or tracking SDKs are added later.