Privacy Policy & Data Deletion

Scope and who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how Watan Ledger (also called “Watan,” “we,” “us” or “our”) handles information when a person uses the Watan Ledger mobile application, progressive web application, website or related support services (together, the “Service”). Watan Ledger is the service and app identified by that name in the relevant Apple App Store or Google Play listing.

Watan acts as the operator of the Service and is responsible for the limited account information it receives. A business user remains responsible for the lawfulness and accuracy of customer, staff, counterparty and transaction information that the user chooses to enter into their ledger.

This policy applies only to Watan. It does not govern WhatsApp, a telephone provider, an app store, a bank, a payment provider, or another service a user independently chooses to open or use.

Our privacy principles

• Purpose limitation: information is used to provide, secure, support and improve the accounting Service—not to build advertising or marketing profiles.
• Data minimisation: we aim to request only what is reasonably necessary for an account and its business ledger.
• User control: users decide what business records and optional details to enter and when to export or share them.
• No sale: Watan does not sell or rent personal or business information.
• Limited retention: information is kept only for the periods described in this policy, with a maximum six-month deletion period after an account closes.

Information we process

Depending on the features a user chooses, Watan may process the following categories.

Account and authentication information

Full name, email address, an account reference code, password submitted for authentication, session information, and password-reset information. The app uses these details only to create, identify, secure and recover the account.

Business profile information

Business or shop name and, when the user chooses to provide them, business phone number, city and address. These details may appear on the user’s statements, receipts and reports.

User-entered ledger information

Amounts, currencies, exchange rates, dates, notes, expenses, investments, balances, hawala details, customer and counterparty account details, staff or team details, and other records deliberately entered to operate the business ledger.

Optional attachments

Photos or images a user deliberately attaches to a transaction, such as a receipt or supporting note. Watan does not scan a photo library; the device picker lets the user choose the specific images to attach.

Subscription, billing and referral information

Plan status, Watan payment references or confirmations, billing history, referral codes and referral-credit status. A manually entered payment reference is not access to a user’s bank account.

Support communications

Information a user chooses to include when requesting help, together with their business or account code when included so support can identify the correct account.

Limited operational information

Our server and hosting infrastructure may temporarily process standard connection and security information, such as an IP address, request time, requested endpoint and error details, where needed to deliver requests, prevent abuse and diagnose failures. Watan does not use this information for advertising or cross-app tracking.

Information we do not collect or access

In the current version of Watan Ledger, we do not:

• connect to or access a user’s bank account;
• request bank usernames, banking passwords, card PINs, mobile-money PINs or online-banking credentials;
• initiate, receive, transmit or settle funds on behalf of users;
• read a device’s contacts, precise location, call log, messages or microphone;
• scan a photo library without the user selecting a specific attachment;
• use advertising identifiers, behavioural advertising SDKs or cross-app tracking;
• sell data, create marketing lists from ledger information, or send third-party marketing; or
• use browser cookies or tracking pixels.

Recording a cash movement, bank transfer reference, hawala, exchange or customer balance manually in Watan does not give Watan access to the related financial account. Watan stores the record the user entered; it does not verify or execute the underlying transaction.

How information is used

We use the information described above only where reasonably necessary to:

• create and authenticate an account and maintain a signed-in session;
• save, calculate, display and synchronise the user’s business ledger;
• prepare user-requested balances, statements, receipts, reports and calculations;
• support offline use and send queued entries when connectivity returns;
• provide app lock, account recovery, fraud prevention and service security;
• administer subscriptions, billing status and user-requested referral features;
• respond to support, privacy and deletion requests;
• identify and correct failures, protect the Service and enforce our Terms; and
• comply with a binding legal requirement that applies to Watan.

We do not repurpose ledger content for direct marketing, targeted advertising, credit scoring, sale to data brokers, or unrelated profiling.

Reasons for processing

Where a law requires a stated legal basis, Watan relies on the performance of its agreement with the user to operate the account and ledger; the user’s consent for optional information and user-directed sharing; Watan’s legitimate interests in securing and supporting the Service; and compliance with a binding legal obligation. A user may withdraw consent for an optional feature at any time, but this does not affect processing already carried out lawfully.

On-device storage, offline use and cookies

No browser cookies

Watan does not set or use browser cookies for authentication, analytics, advertising or tracking in the current version of the Service.

Essential device storage

The app does use local device storage and a service-worker cache. These are not cookies. They store the authenticated session, a cached copy of the signed-in user’s business ledger, preferences, the app shell, and entries waiting to synchronise. This is necessary for Watan to open quickly and continue working when the device has weak or no connectivity.

Because this information is held on the user’s device, the user should protect the device with its screen lock and may enable Watan’s app-lock option. Signing out removes the active Watan session, but an offline ledger cache or unsent queue may remain on that device so unsynchronised business records are not silently destroyed. Clearing the app’s site data or uninstalling the app removes device-held copies, subject to the operating system’s own backup behaviour. Watan cannot erase an exported file or an offline copy on a device it can no longer reach.

When information is shared

Watan does not sell personal or business data. Information may be disclosed only in these limited situations:

• Infrastructure providers: hosting, storage and network providers may process data on Watan’s instructions to operate and secure the Service. They may use it only to provide those services and must protect it consistently with this policy and applicable law.
• User-directed sharing: when a user taps Share, WhatsApp, email, save or another export option, the selected statement, receipt, report or message is sent to the service and recipient chosen by that user. The receiving service’s own terms and privacy policy then apply.
• Legal and safety needs: Watan may disclose the minimum required information if compelled by a valid legal process, or where reasonably necessary to protect users, prevent fraud, investigate abuse, or defend legal rights.
• Business reorganisation: if the Service changes ownership, information may transfer subject to confidentiality safeguards and continued notice of the practices that apply.

Watan does not permit an infrastructure provider to use ledger data for that provider’s own marketing or advertising. If Watan later adds analytics, advertising or another materially different third party, this policy and the relevant app-store disclosure must be updated before that collection begins.

International processing

The Service may be operated or hosted in a country different from the user’s country. Where information crosses borders, Watan applies reasonable contractual, organisational and technical protections required by applicable law. By using the Service, users understand that their information may be processed where Watan or its service infrastructure operates, subject to this policy.

Retention and data deletion

While an account is active, Watan retains the limited account and business information needed to provide that account, keep its ledger available and resolve support or security issues. We do not keep active-account data for an unrelated marketing purpose.

Step-by-step instructions for requesting deletion, the full list of what is deleted and what is kept, and the expected timeline are set out on our dedicated Delete Your Account & Data page.

After an account is closed or a verified deletion request is accepted, Watan will delete or irreversibly anonymise identifiable account information and associated server-held ledger data as soon as reasonably practical and, in every case, no later than six months after closure or verification of the request. Routine backups and recovery copies are overwritten within the same six-month maximum and are not used for ordinary business operations during that period.

If an account is closed and no earlier deletion is requested, its identifiable data is automatically deleted within six months. A user who wants their data deleted sooner can email help@watanledger.com with the subject line Delete my data.

The six-month maximum covers information under Watan’s control. It does not cover a statement or receipt that the user exported, a copy the user sent to another person, data remaining on a user-controlled device, or information independently retained by WhatsApp, an app store, a telephone provider, a payment provider or another third party under its own policy.

Watan may keep permanently anonymised totals that cannot reasonably identify an account, person or business. If a binding law requires Watan to preserve a specific record, Watan will retain only the record and period strictly required and will explain that requirement to the affected user where legally permitted. Watan does not retain the rest of the account merely because one limited record must be preserved.

Your rights and choices

Subject to applicable law, a user may ask Watan to provide access to, correct, export, restrict or delete information associated with their account, and may object to or withdraw consent for optional processing. A user can also edit many business profile and ledger details directly within the app.

To protect the account, Watan may ask the requester to sign in or confirm the registered email address, account code or another existing account detail. A deletion request is for permanent deletion of the full account, not temporary deactivation. Once completed, the account and its server-held ledger cannot be recovered. The user should export any records they are legally or operationally required to keep before requesting deletion.

How to request data deletion

Users may start a privacy or deletion request through Watan’s Help & Support screen or the contact options below, including by emailing help@watanledger.com with the subject line Delete my data. We will confirm receipt, explain any identity check required and keep the user informed. Once we receive a deletion request and complete any required identity check, we normally delete the data in less than 48 hours. During unusually busy periods, this may take a little longer.

Security

Watan uses reasonable administrative and technical safeguards designed for the nature of the Service, including authenticated sessions and encrypted network transport. Access is limited to what is needed to operate or support the Service. No internet service or storage method is completely secure, so Watan cannot promise absolute security.

Users are responsible for protecting their password and device, enabling the device lock where appropriate, signing out on shared devices, and checking that records waiting offline have synchronised. Users should contact Watan promptly if they believe an account or device has been compromised.

Information about customers, staff and other people

A business user may enter information about customers, staff, counterparties, senders, receivers or other people. The business user—not Watan—decides why that information is entered and is responsible for giving any required notice, obtaining any required permission, limiting access, maintaining accurate records and deleting information when it is no longer lawful or necessary to keep.

A person who believes their information appears in a Watan business ledger should normally contact the business that created that ledger. Watan will assist with a valid request where required by law and where the relevant account can be identified without exposing another user’s confidential business records.

Children

Watan is a business accounting service and is not directed to children. A person must be legally capable of operating or acting for the relevant business to create an account. Watan does not knowingly create accounts for children or use information about children for marketing. If a child’s account information was provided without proper authority, contact us so it can be reviewed and removed.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the Service, law or our data practices change. The current version will remain available at this URL and will show its effective date. If a change materially expands how identifiable data is collected, used or shared, Watan will provide an appropriate in-app notice or request consent before the new practice begins where required by law.

Contact us

Contact Watan Ledger for questions, complaints, access requests or account and data deletion. Please do not send a password, bank credential, card PIN or other secret. Include only enough information to identify the account, such as the registered email or Watan account code.