What Kova keeps, and why

What we keep, and why

Only what Kova needs to work. Most of it exists only if you use that part of Kova.

Your wallet

Its address, the name you choose and your passkey’s public key, so people can pay you by name and we can check it’s you. Your name, currency and contacts are also kept in a backup locked with your passkey; we can’t read it.

Your payments

The amount, the time, the addresses and the Monad transaction, to show your activity and receipts. A note on a payment is sealed so only the person you pay can read it. The note on a payment link travels with the link.

Your shop

Its name, items, photos, prices, orders and sales. An order can include a name, a table or a note your customer types.

Your Kova Card

The card’s address, its label, its last four digits and its limits. Your PIN is kept only as a one-way hash, never the PIN itself.

Keys you share

For an allowance, an AI agent or a teammate: the key’s name, who holds it, its limits and what it paid. The key itself is kept encrypted, so it can pay when its holder asks, and Monad stops it at its limit.

Kova for Business

The people and suppliers you pay: their names, wallet addresses and countries.

Naira in and out

To pay out to a bank: the bank, the account number and the account name. To pay in: an email address for the receipt.

Travel

A trip’s travellers and contact details, to book it. In the beta, fares are samples and nothing is booked with an airline or a hotel.

Kova on a basic phone

If you use Kova by USSD: your phone number. Your pocket’s key is kept encrypted, and its PIN only as a hash.

The iOS beta

Your email, and your name if you give it, only to send your TestFlight invite.

Keeping Kova safe

Your IP address on some requests, a log of changes to your account and shop, and which wallets claimed test dollars, to stop abuse and fix problems.

Who else sees it

We share only what each service needs to do its part. We don’t sell your data to anyone.

Monad

Every payment settles on Monad, a public blockchain. Anyone can read it, and no one can delete it, including us.

Railway

Runs Kova’s servers and database.

DeepSeek

Reads a photo of a menu or an item when you choose to add your shop’s items from a photo. It gets only that photo.

Paystack

Moves naira in and out of Nigerian banks. It gets the bank details or the email for that payment.

Ramp Network

Adding or cashing out dollars with a card or a bank on the website. Ramp asks for what it needs, such as your ID and bank details, under its own privacy policy.

Privy

Signs you in with email on the website, if you choose that. It sees your email.

Open Food Facts and UPCitemdb

Look up a product when you scan its barcode. They get only the barcode number.

Apple

TestFlight, passkeys in iCloud Keychain and Face ID run on Apple’s systems, under Apple’s privacy policy.

What the app asks for

Camera

To scan payment QR codes and product barcodes, and to photograph items for your shop. A photo leaves your phone only when you add it to your shop.

NFC

To read a Kova Card when you link it, and when your till takes a card payment.

Face ID

To approve payments with your passkey. Your phone checks your face; Kova never sees it.