NOID Privacy Notice

Scope and roles

AIEng / NOID publishes the aieng.co.za website and operates the NOID service described on it. This notice applies to public website visits, client registration, communication routing, account access, device records, feedback, diagnostics, Rewards and optional features such as location sharing.

Third-party services have their own privacy responsibilities. A browser, operating system, internet provider, map provider, payment destination or advertising vendor can process information under its own terms. Links to an external site do not make that site part of NOID.

Privacy / Information Officer contact: info@aieng.co.za. You can contact us without creating or signing into a NOID account.

Information the service may process

• Account information: NOID address, chosen alias, PIN verifier, account status, settings and security events.
• Installation information: device credential, installation identifier source, client version, platform, operating-system or browser details and compatibility state.
• Operational communication metadata: participating NOID addresses, timestamps, direction, message type, delivery state, call duration, attachment size or type and connection measurements.
• Support information: feedback category, user-supplied description, diagnostic context and the account identity used to submit a private request.
• Rewards information: eligible client state, qualifying activity, unique-recipient checks, pending and available entries, anti-abuse signals and payment status.
• Public website information: request time, IP address, user-agent, requested URL, security logs, consent choices and advertising or aggregate measurement events.

Encrypted message text and attachment contents are not presented in the relay administrator message register. A recipient can, however, see content intentionally sent to that recipient, and a user can choose to include information in a support request.

Why information is used

Information is processed to authenticate installations, allocate and maintain NOID addresses, route calls and messages, show account activity, manage aliases and settings, retry delivery, prevent abuse, diagnose failures, respond to support, verify Rewards, secure the service, maintain records and comply with applicable obligations.

Public website data supports delivery of pages, security, consent management, aggregate performance measurement and advertising on eligible content. NOID does not describe private conversation content as advertising inventory.

Where processing depends on consent, the relevant choice can be declined or withdrawn through the available browser, device or consent controls. Some service functions cannot work without the operational information needed to perform them.

Optional permissions and location

Microphone access is requested for a call. Camera access is requested for a feature that uses the camera. The native Android app can request contacts access when you choose to import phone contacts. File access is requested when a user selects an attachment. Location is requested only when a user opens a feature that needs a position, such as location sharing, GPS messaging, tracking or geofencing.

The browser or operating system controls the protected permission prompt. A user can deny access or later withdraw it in device settings. A position intentionally shared with a selected recipient can be read by that recipient. Saved boundaries or tracking events can also create operational records needed to deliver the chosen feature.

Google advertising, identifiers and consent

Native Android app: the NOID Android app uses Google AdMob through the Google Mobile Ads SDK. A native adaptive banner occupies a separate area below the app content. The WebView resizes to leave room for it. The banner may remain visible while navigating, messaging or calling; private communication content is not supplied by NOID as ad-targeting data.

Google's SDK automatically collects or shares the device IP address (which can indicate approximate location), app and ad interaction information, diagnostics and performance information, and device or account identifiers where available and permitted, including the Android advertising ID and app set ID. Google uses this information for advertising, analytics and fraud prevention. SDK traffic uses TLS encryption. See Google's SDK data disclosures.

NOID does not put message text, attachments, call audio or video, PINs, phone contacts or precise GPS coordinates into its AdMob ad requests. Separate communication, contact-import and location-sharing functions still process information needed for the function you choose.

Google User Messaging Platform (UMP) manages native advertising consent and regional privacy messages. The app checks UMP before initializing advertising or requesting a banner. Where a consent message is presented, you can consent, decline or manage purposes and vendors. Declining does not disable NOID communication. Google may serve a limited or non-personalised ad where permitted; consent and ad availability can also mean no ad is shown. Consent to advertising is separate from accepting the service Terms.

Use Advertising privacy choices in the Android app to reopen the available consent or opt-out form and update or withdraw your choices. In applicable US states, these controls include opting out of sale, sharing or targeted advertising. Your device's Android advertising settings also let you reset or delete its advertising ID; that does not itself replace a consent or opt-out decision in NOID.

Public website: eligible information pages may use Google AdSense. Google and advertising vendors may use cookies, web beacons, IP addresses and other identifiers to deliver, personalise and measure ads where permitted. Public-browser consent controls are separate from native Android UMP choices. The standalone PWA and desktop shared web app do not embed AdSense; native AdMob is supplied only by the Android wrapper.

Google's partner privacy information, Privacy Policy and Ads Settings describe its processing and additional controls. The Advertising Standards distinguish public AdSense placements from the native AdMob banner.

When information may be shared

Information can be processed by infrastructure, security, analytics, consent, advertising or payment providers that help deliver the relevant function; by the selected NOID recipient when a user communicates or shares a location; or when disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect users, investigate abuse, operate the service or comply with a valid legal obligation.

NOID does not sell private message text or attachment contents as advertising data. Advertising vendors can receive the advertising information described above from eligible public pages or the native Android banner. Under some US state laws, sharing identifiers for cross-context behavioural advertising can count as a sale or sharing even without a payment for the data; the available advertising privacy controls address that processing.

Retention and security

Records are kept for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose that created them, security, fraud prevention, service reliability, dispute handling and applicable legal obligations. Retention differs by record type: a short-lived connection event, device registry entry, support request and verified reward ledger serve different needs.

Reasonable technical and organisational safeguards are used, including protected credentials, limited administrative access, authentication controls, security headers and separation of private utility pages from public advertising pages. No connected service can guarantee absolute security.

Google and other providers can process information outside your country, including in the United States and other countries where they or their providers operate. The countries and safeguards depend on the provider and service. Google describes its arrangements in its international data-transfer framework information. Contact the privacy officer for information about NOID service providers, retention or transfer safeguards relevant to your data.

User choices and requests

Contact info@aieng.co.za for privacy access, correction, deletion, objection, restriction, portability, consent withdrawal, an applicable targeted-advertising opt-out, or a complaint. You do not need an account to submit a request. Identify the request and the data concerned; do not send your PIN, private keys or installation credential. Where needed, we will use proportionate verification before disclosing personal information or changing account records.

The rights available depend on applicable law. You can also follow the public account-deletion instructions. Operational data may need to be retained for an applicable legal obligation, security or a dispute. Withdrawing consent does not make earlier lawful processing unlawful. Using advertising choices does not remove access to calling or messaging.

Browser cookies, device permissions and locally stored data can also be managed through your browser or operating system. Deleting browser or app storage can remove your local NOID credential, so use recovery or transfer options first if you want to retain your identity.

• EEA: GDPR rights can include access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection, as applicable, and a complaint to your data protection authority.
• United Kingdom: applicable UK GDPR rights and a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office.
• Switzerland: applicable Federal Act on Data Protection rights and privacy concerns addressed to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.
• Australia: applicable access and correction rights, direct-marketing opt-out and a privacy complaint to NOID; unresolved complaints can be taken to the OAIC where it has jurisdiction.
• United States: state-dependent access, correction, deletion, portability and opt-out rights, including sale/sharing or targeted advertising where applicable. You may use an authorised agent as permitted by law and may contact us to appeal a decision where that right applies. You will not be penalised for exercising applicable privacy rights. See the California privacy rights information and your state's regulator for local rights.
• South Africa: applicable POPIA rights include requesting access or correction, objecting to processing and lodging a complaint with the Information Regulator. NOID's privacy / Information Officer contact is info@aieng.co.za.

Children, teenagers and school use

NOID can be used by people under 18 and includes school-related functionality. A child or teenager's use does not constitute adult consent to personalised advertising. A school relationship also does not by itself authorise commercial ad profiling of a learner.

The Android app asks for an age group without asking for a date of birth. The choice is stored on that installation and is not sent to the NOID account server. You can revisit it through Advertising privacy choices. Under-18 and unknown-age users receive restricted advertising treatment through Google's Families-listed Mobile Ads SDK, with a general-audience ad content rating and flags that suppress personalised advertising and the advertising ID. An adult advertising consent prompt is not requested for these users. This age choice is not proof of parental permission or identity verification.

Child and school contexts identified by NOID suppress the native banner. Age-appropriate advertising, any required parental authorisation and the service's school-use safeguards must be considered separately from an adult advertising consent form. A parent or guardian can contact info@aieng.co.za about a child's data, access or deletion.

Changes and contact

This notice can change when the service, vendors, law or data practices change. The effective date is updated when material revisions are published. Earlier operational records remain governed by the notice and law applicable to their processing.