Privacy
What NaviSpace keeps.
No accounts, no email addresses, no phone numbers, no location and no tracking. Here is everything NaviSpace does keep, why, and for how long.
Your device and your nickname
The first time you open NaviSpace, your phone or computer makes up a random code for itself. It isn't linked to your name, student number, email or phone. It's how NaviSpace knows this seat, this post or this conversation is yours. Other students never see it: the site only shares a scrambled version.
Your nickname is whatever you typed. It appears next to your seat, on the study board, and on things you post or claim in Lost & Found. Use a nickname rather than your full name if you prefer.
What's kept, and for how long
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| The seat you hold | So the map shows it's taken and the library keeps it for you. | Until you leave |
| Your sittings | When you sat, where, and for how long: "Your week" on the home page. | 8 weeks |
| Study board points | The days you studied this week, with your nickname. | 2 weeks after you last studied |
| Notification sign-up | The address your browser gives NaviSpace for sending seat reminders and Lost & Found replies. | Until you turn them off |
| Waiting for a seat | That this device asked to be told when a seat frees up, and for which area. | Until you're told, or 3 hours |
| Lost & Found posts | The photo, description and place you post. Everyone can see these. | 30 days, or until returned |
| Lost & Found messages | Only the finder and the claimant can read them. If either of you reports the conversation, library staff can read it too. | Until returned, at most 30 days |
| Usage counts | How many check-ins a day, and how many different devices, using scrambled codes only. Shows the library how the space is used. | 120 days |
| How full the library is | Averages per hour, for "Busiest" on the home page. About no one in particular. | Ongoing |
Your browser also keeps your nickname, your device code and a few settings on your own device.
Who handles it
NaviSpace runs on Render (the server) and Upstash (the database), which store it on NaviSpace's behalf. Notifications travel through Apple's, Google's or Mozilla's push service, depending on your browser. Nothing is sold, shared for advertising, or used to track you across other websites. The site loads nothing from other websites: no ads, no analytics, no outside fonts.
Library staff can see who holds which seat (by nickname), free a seat someone forgot, see Lost & Found posts and read a conversation only after it's reported.
Your rights
Under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) you can ask what's kept about you, have it corrected, or have it deleted. Your nickname can be changed on any seat page. To delete everything kept under this device, use the button below.
Questions? Ask at the library's front desk.
Delete my data on this device. This frees any seat you hold, deletes your sittings, study board points, notification sign-up and any wait for a seat, removes your Lost & Found posts and claims with their conversations, and forgets your nickname here. It can't be undone.