Sika — Privacy Policy
Business management software for Ghanaian shop owners.
Effective: 25 August 2026This Privacy Policy explains what information Sika ("we," "us," "the Service") collects when you use the app, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it. Sika is operated by AvantGarde Technologies, based in Ghana. If you don't agree with this policy, please don't use the Service.
1. Who this applies to
Sika is used by shop owners, managers, and staff to manage sales, stock, customer accounts, and finances. This policy covers information about you as a Sika account holder or staff member, and information you enter about your own customers/debtors as part of running your business.
2. Information we collect
Account & shop information
- Shop/business name, owner name, and phone number
- Staff names, phone numbers, and assigned roles (owner, manager, attendant)
- A unique payment reference code generated for your shop
- Subscription plan, status, and payment history
Business data you enter
- Product, stock, pricing, and category information
- Sales transactions, receipts, and refunds
- Customer/debtor records you create: name, phone number, amounts owed and paid
- Expenses, suppliers, restocking and purchase order records
- Cash/MoMo balance reconciliations
Device & offline data
Sika works offline. While offline, a copy of your recent products, customer records, and pending sales is stored locally on your device (in your browser's local storage) so you can keep working without a connection. This local copy syncs to our servers once you're back online, and is separate from — not a replacement for — the data controls in this policy.
Authentication
We don't use passwords. You sign in with a one-time code (OTP) sent by SMS to your registered phone number. Optionally, you may set a 4-digit PIN for quick offline access on a device you already trust — this PIN is hashed before it's stored and is never sent to our servers.
3. How we use your information
- To operate your account: authentication, running the POS, stock, and ledger features you use
- To send OTP codes, daily sales-summary reports, low-stock alerts, and subscription reminders by SMS or push notification
- To process subscription payments and manually confirm Mobile Money (MoMo) payments against your reference code
- To provide customer support when you contact us
- To maintain the security of the Service (fraud prevention, rate limiting, abuse detection)
We do not sell your data, and we do not use it for advertising or third-party marketing.
4. Who we share information with
We share the minimum information necessary with the following service providers, solely to operate Sika:
| Provider | What they receive | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| SMS gateway (SimplyTxt) | Phone number, message text (OTP codes, reports, alerts) | Delivering SMS messages |
| Paystack | Payment details for card transactions | Processing card payments (subscription/debt repayment) |
| Browser push notification services (e.g. Google, Mozilla) | An anonymous device push token | Delivering in-app notifications |
| Our hosting provider | All data described in Section 2, as stored in our database | Running the servers Sika operates on |
We do not use any third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking services in Sika.
We may also disclose information if required by Ghanaian law, to respond to a valid legal request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Sika, our users, or the public.
5. Cookies
Sika sets exactly one cookie:
| Cookie | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
sk_jwt | Keeps you signed in between visits | Strictly necessary (not tracking/advertising) | 7 days, or until you sign out |
This cookie is HttpOnly (not readable by page scripts) and sent only over encrypted connections. We do not use tracking, analytics, or advertising cookies, and we don't share cookie data with any third party. Because this cookie is strictly necessary for the Service to function — you can't stay signed in without it — no separate cookie consent banner is shown; using Sika while signed in means this cookie is in use.
6. Data retention
We keep your account and business data for as long as your account is active, so that your sales history, stock records, and customer accounts remain available to you. If your subscription lapses, your data is retained (not deleted) so you can pick up where you left off if you renew.
7. Your rights
Under Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data. Sika does not currently have a self-service "delete my account" button — to exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 9 and we will act on your request within a reasonable time.
8. Security
We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed credentials, signed session tokens, rate limiting on sensitive actions, and parameterized database queries to prevent injection attacks. No system is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable steps to protect your data.
9. Contact us
For any question about this policy, or to exercise your data rights, contact us at marteye85@gmail.com.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll update the effective date above. Continued use of Sika after a change means you accept the updated policy.