Privacy
What we keep, and the much longer list of what we don't.
This policy describes how Link Nova handles personal information for Homework Hero, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
This is a plain-language policy, written to be read by parents rather than by lawyers.
Who controls the account
The guardian owns the account. There is no separate learner login. A child does not interact with Homework Hero directly, and we do not knowingly collect information from a child.
What we collect
- A protected account identifier. Your WhatsApp number is stored as a one-way cryptographic hash, not as a readable number.
- Consent record. Whether and when you agreed to these terms.
- Learner grade and nickname. A grade between 4 and 9, and a nickname you choose. "My child" is a perfectly good nickname.
- Usage counts. How many coaching sessions you have used in the current period, so we can apply your plan.
- Operational records. Subject and topic tags, confidence flags and review status, used to measure and improve accuracy.
What we never ask for
We do not ask for a surname, a school, a date of birth, a home address, or an identity number. We do not need them to help with a fractions question, and not holding them is the strongest protection we can offer.
Homework text and photographs
Homework content is processed to produce your coaching reply and is not retained afterwards. We do not build a library of your child's work. We do not use your submitted homework or conversations to train models without separate, explicit consent.
Who we share it with
We use third-party processors to deliver the service: WhatsApp (Meta) to carry messages, and an AI model provider to generate coaching content. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers.
Where we report to a school, aftercare centre or sponsor, we report aggregated CAPS skill areas and usage. We do not share message content or anything identifying a specific child.
Your rights
- Delete everything. Send
DELETEon WhatsApp and your account record is erased immediately. - See what we hold. Send
PRIVACYon WhatsApp for a summary, or contact our information officer for a full record. - Withdraw consent. Stop messaging, or send
DELETE. There is no retention flow. - Complain. You may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.
Security
Traffic is encrypted in transit. Identifiers are hashed. Incoming WhatsApp webhooks are cryptographically signature-verified, so messages that do not genuinely come from Meta are rejected.
Contacting us
You can reach us on WhatsApp at +27 78 680 1366, or via the contact page.
This policy describes how Homework Hero actually operates today. It is kept under review, and we will update it here whenever our handling of personal information changes.