Privacy Policy

ReasonWhy · operated by Algorithm Zero (“we”, “us”)
Effective date: 23 June 2026

This policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you use the ReasonWhy learning apps and website (the “Service”). We are committed to processing your information lawfully and transparently in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) of South Africa.

Who we are. The Service is operated by Algorithm Zero, CIPC registration number K2012096870, a company registered in the Republic of South Africa. You can reach us at info@algorithmzero.co.za. For the purposes of POPIA, we are the responsible party.

1. A note about our learners (children)

ReasonWhy is intended for users aged 13 and older. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, please contact us at info@algorithmzero.co.za and we will delete it.

Many of our learners are between 13 and 18 and are therefore still children under POPIA. The Service is designed to collect as little personal information as possible:

You can use ReasonWhy anonymously for as long as you like — no name, email or phone number required. Your progress is saved on your device.
Linking an account is optional. If you want your progress saved across devices (so you don’t lose it if you change phones), you can add a mobile phone number and a display name. These are used only to save and restore your progress (see section 3).
We do not run targeted or behavioural advertising, and we do not share children’s information with advertisers (see section 6).

If you are under 18, you should use ReasonWhy with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian (a “competent person” under POPIA). A parent or guardian may contact us at any time to review or delete their child’s information.

2. Information we collect

Information	Why we collect it	Required?
An anonymous account identifier (a random ID created on first launch)	To save your learning progress on your device and sync it	Automatic
Learning data (lessons completed, quiz/drill scores, XP, streaks, review history)	To run the app and show your progress	Automatic
Mobile phone number	Only if you choose to save your progress across devices — to recover your own progress on a new device (one-time PIN sign-in)	Optional
A display name you choose	To personalise your experience (e.g. “Signed in as …”)	Optional
Your school, grade and Physical Sciences term marks	Only if you choose to add them — to personalise your experience and help you track your progress. You can use the app fully without providing these.	Optional
A push-notification token	To send study reminders (only if you allow notifications)	Optional
Basic technical/diagnostic data	To keep the app working and fix problems	Automatic

We do not collect your email address, contacts, location, photos, or an advertising identifier, and we do not ask for your real/legal name — a display name is whatever you choose.

3. About your phone number

If you choose to add a phone number, it is used to let you sign in and recover your saved progress, verified with a one-time PIN. We do not share it with third parties or use it for marketing. It is stored securely, and you can remove it by deleting your account (section 8).

4. Why we are allowed to process your information (lawful basis)

Under POPIA we process your information because it is necessary to provide the Service you have asked for, to pursue our legitimate interest in running an educational product, and — where required, including for the information of children — on the basis of consent given by you or your parent/guardian. You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.

5. How we store and protect your information

Your data is stored using Google Firebase, which acts as our operator (processor) under POPIA. Our database is hosted in the Johannesburg, South Africa (africa-south1) region.
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access is restricted by security rules.
Google may process limited data on our behalf outside South Africa as part of its global infrastructure; Google provides safeguards consistent with applicable data-protection law.

6. Advertising

The app may occasionally show promotions. Where it does:

Promotions are limited to educational content, or products and services intended for students. We do not show general consumer advertising.
Promotions are served by our own in-house system. We do not use any third-party advertising network or advertising SDK.
Promotions are not targeted or personalised. We do not build advertising profiles, use an advertising identifier, or track you across apps or websites.
We do not share your personal information with anyone whose content we feature.

7. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:

Google Firebase (our operator) to provide authentication, database, storage and notification services; and
where we are legally required to do so by law or a competent authority.

8. Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time:

In the app: go to Profile → Settings → Delete account and confirm. This removes the information that identifies you — your name and phone number — deletes your account, and clears your saved data from this device. Any learning data we keep afterwards (such as lesson progress and scores) is anonymised: it is no longer linked to you, cannot be traced back to you, and is used only in this de-identified form to help us improve the app.
By email: contact us at info@algorithmzero.co.za and we will do the same. A parent or guardian may make this request on a child’s behalf.

9. How long we keep your information

We keep your information only for as long as you use the Service. When you delete your account, your personal information is deleted from our active systems and removed from backups within a reasonable period. Anonymised data that can no longer identify you may be kept to help us improve the Service.

10. Your rights under POPIA

You (or your parent/guardian) have the right to: access the information we hold about you; ask us to correct or delete it; object to processing; and lodge a complaint. To exercise these rights, contact our Information Officer at info@algorithmzero.co.za.

Information Officer: Algorithm Zero — info@algorithmzero.co.za

11. Complaints to the regulator

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your information, you may complain to:

The Information Regulator (South Africa)
JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
Enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
inforegulator.org.za

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here and change the effective date above. Significant changes will be highlighted in the app.

13. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information? Email us at info@algorithmzero.co.za.