Privacy Policy
Version 2026-10 — draft pending legal review. Prepared under Angolan Law 22/11 of 17 June (Personal Data Protection Law).
1. Who processes your data
Ekulihiso is the controller of the data described in this policy. Privacy contact: ler@ekulihiso.com.
2. What we collect
- Account: name, email, password (stored hashed) and preferred language.
- Mobile number: once confirmed by SMS. It ensures each person has only one account and votes only once. It is never shown publicly.
- Writers: pen name, biography, photo and submitted works.
- Voting: to protect the prize against fraud, for each vote we record the account, date, IP address and a technical identifier of the device.
- Book requests: name, mobile number, city, address and any notes you add.
- Interest in new regions: name, email, country and whether you are a writer or reader.
- Reading: where you stopped in each book or work, your reader settings (background, typeface, margins), favourite books and your notes (highlights, notes and bookmarks). They are private: only you can see them.
- Library statistics: which chapters were opened and whether the reader reached the end of the sample or book. For visitors without an account we only keep an anonymous, hashed session identifier, with no name or IP; writers and the team only see totals.
- Followed authors: if you follow an author, we email you when they publish. You can turn these emails off in your account or through the link in each email.
- Technical data: server logs (IP address, date, requested page), kept for security.
3. What we use it for
To run your account, publish works, organise the vote and the prize, handle book requests, reply to you and protect the platform from abuse. We do not sell data or use it for advertising.
4. Legal basis
The consent you give when creating your account, performing the service you ask for (such as a book request) and our legitimate interest in platform security and vote integrity.
5. Cookies and on-device storage
We only use essential cookies: session, protection against forged requests (CSRF) and your chosen language. Reading preferences and, for visitors without an account, the reading position are stored on your device; chapters you opened in the reader may be kept on the device for offline reading. We use no advertising or third-party analytics cookies.
6. Who we share it with
- Our website hosting provider.
- Our SMS provider — only the number and the message containing the code.
- Cloudflare (Turnstile), to tell people from bots on forms.
- Amazon, only if you click a purchase link; Amazon’s policy applies from then on.
Some of these providers process data outside Angola. Such transfers are made in accordance with Law 22/11 and the required authorisations.
7. How long we keep it
For as long as your account exists. Voting records are kept for up to two years after the results of the relevant edition are announced, so that complaints can be checked. Technical logs are deleted after 14 days.
8. Your rights
You can access, correct, object to the processing of, or ask for the deletion of your data at any time. On the “My account” page you can download a copy of your data and delete your account. You may also lodge a complaint with Angola’s Data Protection Agency (APD).
9. Security
Passwords are stored hashed, connections use HTTPS and access to the back office is restricted to the team.
10. Changes
If this policy changes significantly, we will let you know before the change takes effect.