Privacy notice

sikatree is a product of Ostra, built for vendors in Ghana. It turns a vendor’s WhatsApp catalogue into a storefront page that takes orders and service bookings. This notice explains what we collect when you join the waitlist, run a store, or order from one, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We handle personal data under Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843).

Who this covers

• Vendors — anyone who joins the waitlist or runs a store on sikatree.
• Customers — anyone who opens a vendor’s page, places an order or books a service.
• Visitors — anyone browsing the site.

What we collect

If you join the waitlist: your WhatsApp number (required), business name, what you sell (products, services or both), your estimated orders per month, an optional reserved link, the time you gave consent, how you found us (referral code and campaign tags), and basic technical data (IP address and browser) for security and rate limiting.

If you run a store: your business name, bio, location, category, WhatsApp number, item names, descriptions, prices and photos, stock, opening hours and blocked dates for services, delivery and ETA settings, your order history and support messages. Signing in uses a single-use link sent to your WhatsApp number and sets a session cookie.

If you order or book: your name, WhatsApp number, email, delivery address or landmark (delivery orders only), any note you add, the items or services you chose, the appointment time for bookings, the total, and any messages you send us. Customers check out as guests; there is no customer account.

From everyone: IP address and browser type, basic usage events (page views, scroll depth, button clicks) tied to a random identifier kept in your browser, and the contents of your cart kept in local storage. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party trackers, and those usage events are not linked to your WhatsApp number.

Payments

sikatree does not take card or mobile-money payments. Orders are paid directly to the vendor on delivery, at pickup or at the appointment. We do not collect or store card numbers, mobile money PINs or bank details. The vendor is responsible for the payment arrangement and for any tax or licence that applies to their sales.

Why we use it

• Hold your place in the waitlist and invite vendors to set up.
• Create and show a vendor’s page and catalogue.
• Take orders and bookings, and route them to the right vendor.
• Notify vendors on WhatsApp about new orders, bookings and messages.
• Let vendors manage their page, items, availability and orders.
• Answer support requests and keep the service secure.
• Understand which parts of the product work so we can improve them.

Our legal basis

Consent for the waitlist, for WhatsApp messages and for the optional details you add. You can withdraw at any time. Contract for running a store and handling orders and bookings. Legitimate interest for security, abuse prevention and aggregate analytics. Legal obligation for records we must keep.

Who we share it with

• The vendor you order from sees the details needed to fulfil the order: your name, phone, email, address or landmark, notes, items and appointment time.
• Meta / WhatsApp Business Platform carries our messages to vendors and customers and delivers replies to us.
• Supabase hosts the database and item photos. Cloudflare hosts the site and connects it to the database.
• Other service providers process data on our instructions only. We do not sell your data, and we do not share your number with other vendors.

Some providers may process data outside Ghana. Where that happens we rely on their contractual safeguards for personal data.

Cookies and local storage

• A vendor session cookie keeps you signed in to your dashboard. It is httpOnly and lasts 30 days.
• Your cart is kept in your browser’s local storage, separately for each store.
• A random analytics identifier is kept in local storage, and referral or campaign attribution is kept for your session, so we can credit invites and understand traffic.

You can clear these in your browser at any time. Clearing the cart empties it; clearing the session cookie signs you out of the dashboard.

How long we keep it

• Waitlist: while you are on it and for up to 12 months afterwards, unless you ask us to delete it sooner. Reserved handles that are not claimed are released after the reservation window shown at signup.
• Store and orders: while the store is live, and afterwards for as long as we need them for records, disputes and accounting. When we no longer need them we delete or aggregate them.
• Photos: while the item or store is live.
• Usage events: kept in aggregate; individual events for up to 12 months.
• WhatsApp messages: for as long as needed to run onboarding, orders and support.

Your rights

You can ask for a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, withdraw consent, restrict or object to our use of it. Reply STOP to any WhatsApp message to be removed from messages and to free your reserved handle. You can also email us. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Data Protection Commission of Ghana.

Security

Writes happen only through our server, the database is not publicly readable, the admin view is password protected, and secrets stay in the hosting platform. No system is perfectly secure, but we keep the data we hold to the minimum needed to run the service.

Children

sikatree is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes

If this notice changes in a way that matters, we will tell vendors and waitlist members on WhatsApp and update the date above.

Contact

Email hello@sikatree.africa or message us on WhatsApp. We aim to reply within five working days.