Terms and Conditions

Last updated 27 September 2026

1About these terms

These terms are an agreement between you and [COMPANY NAME] (Pty) Ltd, registration number [REG NO], of [ADDRESS], South Africa ("StepNation", "we", "us"). They apply to the StepNation apps for iPhone and Apple Watch, our website and related services (the "Service").

By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

2Who can use StepNation

• You must be 18 or older. [CONFIRM MINIMUM AGE]
• You must give accurate details and keep your sign-in secure. You're responsible for activity on your account.
• One person, one account. Accounts can't be sold or transferred.

3Health and physical activity

StepNation encourages walking. It is not a medical device and doesn't give medical advice. Speak to a doctor before starting a new exercise routine, especially if you have a health condition. Stop if you feel pain, dizziness or shortness of breath.

Walk only where it's safe and legal to do so. Obey traffic laws, stay aware of your surroundings and never use the app in a way that puts you or others at risk. Don't enter private property to claim hexes or check in.

4Safety features

Safety alerts, trusted people and hazard reports are community tools. They do not contact the police, ambulance or any emergency service, and we don't monitor alerts. Delivery depends on your phone, its network and your recipients' devices, so we can't guarantee an alert will arrive. In an emergency call 112 from a mobile or 10111 for SAPS.

Hazard reports come from other walkers. We don't verify them and they may be wrong or out of date.

5Fair play

Leaderboards only mean something if everyone plays fair. You must not:

• fake steps, walks or locations, including with shakers, vehicles, emulators or location spoofing;
• use more than one account, or share an account, to gain an advantage;
• interfere with the Service, its security or other walkers' use of it;
• scrape, copy or reverse-engineer the Service, except where the law allows.

We may remove points, crowns or badges earned unfairly, and suspend or close accounts that break these rules.

6Your content and conduct

You keep ownership of what you add, such as your walker name, profile photo, places and reports. You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, show and use that content to run the Service.

Don't post anything unlawful, hateful, sexual, harassing, misleading or that infringes someone else's rights. Don't include phone numbers, emails or other people's personal details in reports or place names. We may hide or remove content and review reported photos.

7Clans, communities and places

Matched clans may be reshuffled when a target is missed. Group scores for suburbs and nations may be cleared under bank-or-bust rules. Your individual steps and badges are not wiped by a bust. We may change targets, scoring and game rules to keep the game fair and fun.

Places on the map are for game purposes. Their presence doesn't mean they're open, safe or accessible, or that we have a relationship with them.

8Venue offers

Walk-in offers are provided by the partner venue, not by us. The venue sets and is responsible for the offer, its conditions and honouring it. We aren't liable if a venue changes or refuses an offer, but please tell us so we can follow up.

9Walker+ and payments

• Walker+ is an optional subscription sold through Apple's App Store at the price shown in the app, including VAT.
• It renews automatically each period until you cancel in your Apple account settings at least 24 hours before renewal.
• Payments, cancellations and refunds are handled by Apple under its terms. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act.
• Walker+ never gives extra points or scoring advantages.

10Teams accounts

If your employer or organisation gives you access through StepNation Teams, a separate agreement with them covers billing. Your use of the app is still governed by these terms and our Privacy Policy. Your organisation sees team totals and participation, never your health data or locations.

11Changes and availability

StepNation is in beta and will change. Features may be added, changed or removed, and the Service may sometimes be unavailable. We'll tell you about material changes to these terms in the app or by email before they take effect. If you keep using the Service after that, the new terms apply.

12Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time in the app. We may suspend or close your account if you seriously or repeatedly break these terms, or if the law requires it. Sections that by their nature should survive, such as liability and governing law, continue after your account ends.

13Liability

The Service is provided "as is". To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for injury, loss or damage arising from walking, the places you visit, venue offers, hazard reports or the failure of a safety alert. Our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that can't be excluded by law, including under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, or liability for our gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

14Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Please contact us first so we can try to resolve any dispute. If we can't, the courts of South Africa have jurisdiction, without affecting any right you have to approach the National Consumer Commission or another regulator.

15Contact and required information

As required by section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002:

• Full name and legal status: [COMPANY NAME] (Pty) Ltd, a private company registered in South Africa, registration number [REG NO]
• Physical address and address for service of legal documents: [ADDRESS]
• Email: legal@[DOMAIN] · Telephone: [PHONE]
• Directors: [NAMES]

Privacy Policy

Last updated 27 September 2026

1Who we are

[COMPANY NAME] (Pty) Ltd ("StepNation", "we") is the responsible party for personal information processed through the StepNation apps and website, under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").

Information Officer: [NAME], privacy@[DOMAIN], [ADDRESS].

2What we collect

• Account information: email address or Apple/Google sign-in identifier, walker name, password (stored only as a secure hash), nation, home city, daily goal and age range.
• Activity information: step counts and walking workouts from Apple Health and Apple Watch, and height and weight if you allow access.
• Location information: your device's location when you check in, add a place, track a walk or send a safety alert. We don't collect location in the background at other times.
• Private places: the map hex (not the address) of your home, work and up to three family places.
• Content you add: profile photo, places, safety reports, votes and clan activity.
• Safety information: your trusted people, clan-helper setting and alert history.
• Device information: push notification token, app version and basic technical logs needed to keep the Service running and secure.

3Health information

We treat step counts, workouts, height and weight as health information, which is special personal information under POPIA. We process it only with your consent, which you give when you allow StepNation to read from Apple Health. You can withdraw consent at any time in the Health app or your iPhone's Settings. Withdrawing doesn't affect processing that already happened, but step-based features will stop working.

We never use health information for advertising and never share it with employers, venues or advertisers.

4Why we use it

• To provide the game: scoring, leaderboards, clans, communities, badges, passport and crowns (to perform our agreement with you).
• To verify check-ins and walks and keep the game fair (our legitimate interest in fair play).
• To deliver safety alerts to the people you chose (to perform our agreement with you, and your consent).
• To moderate profile photos and reports (legitimate interest in a safe community).
• To send service messages and, if you opt in, game notifications.
• To produce anonymous, aggregated statistics for partner venues and Teams customers that can't identify you.
• To comply with the law.

5What other people can see

• Public: your walker name, profile photo, nation, city, clan and your scores on leaderboards.
• Map: areas are shown as hexagons. Your exact location, routes and private places are never shown.
• Passport: private by default. If you make it public, others see only countries, badge levels and totals.
• Safety alerts: your trusted people and chosen clan helpers see your location only while an alert is open.
• Safety reports: shown anonymously, with the location rounded to about 100 metres.

6Who we share it with

We never sell personal information. We share it only with:

• Service providers who process it for us under contract: Supabase (database, sign-in and file storage), Apple (sign-in, Health and push notifications), Google (sign-in, if you use it) and Apple's App Store for subscriptions. [ADD ANY OTHERS, e.g. email or analytics]
• Your organisation, if you use StepNation Teams: team totals and participation only.
• Authorities, when the law requires it or to protect someone's life or safety.
• A buyer or successor, if our business is sold or restructured, under the same protections.

7Transfers outside South Africa

Our database is hosted by Supabase in Frankfurt, Germany (EU). Apple and Google may process information in the United States and elsewhere. We transfer personal information only where the recipient is subject to laws or binding agreements that give protection substantially similar to POPIA, as section 72 requires.

8How long we keep it

• Account, activity and game data: while your account is active, and erased within 30 days after you delete it.
• Safety alert locations: cleared 24 hours after the alert ends.
• Safety reports: expire after 24 hours unless other walkers confirm them.
• Photos removed by moderation: kept for review, then deleted within [X] days.
• Records we must keep by law, such as tax and payment records, for the period the law requires.

9How we protect it

Information is encrypted in transit. Direct database access is locked down so only our server functions can read or write it. Your iPhone keeps your long-lived sign-in token; your Apple Watch receives only short-lived access. Staff access is limited to what's needed. If a breach affects you, we'll notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

10Your rights

Under POPIA you can:

• ask whether we hold your personal information and request a copy;
• ask us to correct or delete it;
• object to processing based on our legitimate interests;
• withdraw consent, including for health information;
• opt out of marketing messages at any time.

Email privacy@[DOMAIN]. We'll respond within 30 days and may need to confirm your identity. You can also delete your account yourself in the app.

11Children

StepNation is for adults. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it. [CONFIRM MINIMUM AGE]

12Changes to this policy

We'll tell you about material changes in the app or by email before they take effect. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.

13Complaints

Please contact our Information Officer first. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): inforegulator.org.za.