A South African chat app for every person. Sign in with your cellphone number, choose a handle, and message the people you know - with business showcases, menus and in-app buying on the way.
Who we are
Howzit Chat is owned and run by Brownblok Group (Pty) Ltd, a South African company based at 1 Antwerp Road, 1509 Founders Hill Crescent, Modderfontein, 1609. Under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA), Brownblok Group is the responsible party: it decides why and how your personal information is processed.
Responsible partyBrownblok Group (Pty) Ltd
Information OfficerThe director of Brownblok Group, reachable at info@howzitchat.co.za
Privacy contactinfo@howzitchat.co.za
What we collect
Cellphone number
Required. This is your account. We verify it with a once-off PIN sent by SMS.
Profile
A unique handle and display name are required. City and bio are optional.
Messages
The text of the one-to-one messages you send and receive, with the sender, recipient and time.
Push token
A token for your device so we can deliver message notifications, if you switch them on.
On-device data
Demo content, sample community posts and likes, and unread markers are stored only on your phone and are never sent to us.
What we don't collect
The app does not read your contacts list or your phone's GPS, collects no advertising identifiers, and runs no analytics or tracking. We never sell personal information.
Planned features
These features are in development and are not in the app today. When each one launches, this policy will name exactly what it collects, and we will announce the update in the app before it takes effect:
Moments: posts you choose to share - text, photos and video about what you're doing, where you're travelling and time with friends. Anything you post is information you choose to make visible to others.
Video uploads, stored on our hosting so the people you share with can watch them.
A business section with showcases, restaurant menus and buying in the app, which adds business pages and orders.
In-app payments by QR code, handled by a third-party payment provider for a set fee, with funds moving between client and supplier. We will name the provider and say exactly what it processes before payments launch.
Advertising: a small section where companies promote their products. We will explain how ads are chosen before this launches.
Moderation of public posts, to keep the platform safe.
Why we use it
To create your account and keep it secure, using SMS sign-in.
To show your profile to people you chat with.
To deliver your messages to the person you send them to.
To send message notifications, if you switch them on.
To keep the service secure and to fix problems.
Who processes it
We use a small number of service providers (operators under POPIA) that process only what their job needs:
Supabase
Hosts accounts, profiles and messages. Servers in Ireland, in the European Union.
SMSPortal
Delivers the SMS with your once-off sign-in PIN. Based in South Africa.
Expo and Google Firebase
Deliver push notifications to your phone. They process device tokens; a notification never contains your message text.
A payment partner (planned)
No payments run today. When in-app buying launches, a third-party payment provider will process QR payments between clients and suppliers for a set fee. We will name the provider here before launch.
Your information crosses a border
Supabase stores account, profile and message data in Ireland. POPIA allows a cross-border transfer when the recipient is bound by law or contract to protect the information to a similar standard. Supabase processes the data under European data-protection law and standard contractual safeguards.
How we protect it
Connections between the app and our servers are encrypted.
Database access rules limit every message to its sender and its recipient, and every device token to its owner.
Your sign-in session is kept in your phone's secure storage.
Not end-to-end encrypted
Messages are encrypted in transit, not end to end: the hosting infrastructure could technically access message content. Don't use Howzit Chat for anything that must stay secret from everyone but the recipient.
How long we keep it
We keep your information while your account is active. The app is still in testing and does not yet have an in-app delete option: email info@howzitchat.co.za and we will delete your account, profile, messages and push tokens within 30 days. Data stored only on your phone is removed when you sign out or uninstall the app.
Your rights under POPIA
Ask what personal information we hold about you.
Ask us to correct or delete it.
Object to how we process it.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Complain to the Information Regulator.
To use any of these rights, email info@howzitchat.co.za. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa):
POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za, using POPIA Form 5 from inforegulator.org.za.
General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za or 010 023 5200.
Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191.
Children
Howzit Chat is for people 18 years and older. We do not knowingly collect children's personal information. If you believe a child has signed up, email info@howzitchat.co.za and we will remove the account.
Changes to this policy
When this policy changes we update this page and the date below. Planned features such as moments, video uploads, business showcases, in-app payments and advertising will add new kinds of information to this policy before those features launch. If a change is material, we announce it in the app before it takes effect.