Privacy Policy
This policy explains how MFTrend ("MFTrend", "we", "us") collects, uses and protects your personal information, and the choices you have. MFTrend is a free dashboard that shows publicly available trends for short-form creators. We are based in South Africa and this policy is written to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA"). If you use MFTrend from elsewhere (for example the EU/UK or California), the sections on your rights below also describe protections available to you under laws such as the GDPR and CCPA.
We follow a simple principle: collect as little as possible, use it only to run the service, and never sell it.
Who is responsible for your information
The responsible party (data controller) is MFT (Pty) Ltd, operating the MFTrend service. You can reach our Information Officer about anything in this policy — including requests to access or delete your data — at privacy@mftrend.com.
What we collect
- Account details — only if you choose to sign in. We store your email address, and if you sign in with Google, the display name and profile image Google provides. Nothing more.
- Items you save — the trends, sounds, creators and stories you bookmark, so we can show them back to you and sync them across your devices.
- Basic technical data — standard server logs (such as IP address and browser type) generated by our hosting provider, kept briefly for security and abuse prevention.
- Privacy-friendly analytics — we measure aggregate usage and page performance (such as page views, approximate country, device type, and load speed) to improve the service. This is cookieless, does not track you across other websites, and does not build a profile that identifies you.
You can use most of MFTrend without an account at all — in that case your saved items stay only in your own browser and we hold no personal information about you. We do not collect payment details (the product is free), and we do not sell your information or run third-party advertising.
Where it comes from
We collect personal information directly from you when you sign in and use the app. If you choose "Continue with Google", we receive your basic profile information from Google to create your account. The trend content shown in MFTrend is drawn from public, third-party data feeds; that content is requested by our own servers and never includes your personal information.
Why we use it
- To create and maintain your account and sign you in.
- To store your preferences (such as niche and region) and the items you save.
- To keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and understand overall, aggregated usage.
We rely on your consent (which you give by signing in) and on our legitimate interest in running a secure, working service. You can withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.
Who we share it with
We don't sell or trade your information. We use a small number of trusted service providers (operators) to run MFTrend, and they may process your information only on our instructions:
- Our database and authentication provider, which securely stores your account and saved items.
- Our hosting provider, which runs the website and processes server requests.
- Google — only if you choose to sign in with Google.
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect our rights, users, or the public.
Information sent outside South Africa
Our service providers operate globally, so your information may be stored or processed on servers outside South Africa. As required by section 72 of POPIA, we only use reputable providers that are subject to laws or binding agreements offering an adequate level of data protection, and information is transmitted and stored over encrypted connections.
Cookies & local storage
We use only the cookies strictly necessary to keep you signed in. We don't use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Some preferences and your anonymous saved items are stored locally in your own browser, not on our servers.
Your rights
Under POPIA (and equivalent laws elsewhere) you have the right to:
- Be told what personal information we hold about you and access it.
- Ask us to correct information that is wrong or out of date.
- Ask us to delete your information and account.
- Object to, or withdraw your consent for, our processing of your information.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (details below).
The quickest way to delete everything is the "Delete my account & data"button in the You tab — it permanently removes your account and saved items immediately. You can also email privacy@mftrend.com from your account address and we'll action any request, normally within 30 days.
How long we keep it & how we protect it
We keep your account information for as long as your account is active, and delete it when you delete your account or ask us to. Access is protected by database row-level security, encrypted connections, and access controls. No system is perfectly secure, but we take the steps required by section 19 of POPIA to safeguard your information, and we will notify you and the Information Regulator of a breach affecting your personal information as soon as reasonably possible.
Children
MFTrend is not directed at children under 18 and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Complaints
We'd always like the chance to resolve a concern first, so please contact us. You also have the right to complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa:
- Email: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
- Website: inforegulator.org.za
Changes
We may update this policy from time to time; we'll revise the date above when we do. Continued use of MFTrend means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Questions about your privacy? privacy@mftrend.com