Privacy policy

Makwete is built and run by SYSTEMLUP (PTY) LTD (“SystemLup”). SystemLup decides how your information is used on Makwete and is responsible for it. Contact us at rampelwahulisani@gmail.com.

• Account details: your email, your name, and whether you signed up as a listener or an artist. Your password is stored by our sign-in provider in a scrambled (hashed) form. We can't read it.
• Artist profile: name, optional stage name, picture, Inspiration and About, your privacy choice for them, and the Platform Owner you chose.
• What you share: songs, videos, podcasts, covers and album details, with the dates you uploaded them.
• What you do on Makwete: songs you like, playlists you make, the Platform Owner you activate, and records of reviews and deletes made by admins and owners.
• Studio (artists and owners): lyrics and notes you paste, the breakdowns, beat directions and FL Studio packs made from them, what you like or pass on, and a record of Studio credits granted, shared and used. If you send back a final version of a beat, we read the MIDI file to compare it with the Studio's beat, and from an FL Studio project (.flp) we read only the names of its instruments, samples and effects. We keep that comparison and those names, never the files, folder paths or plugin settings. Your Artist DNA is built from these, plus any notes about your sound you add to it. If you record your lyrics instead of typing them, only the text that ends up in the lyrics box reaches Makwete, never the recording.
• Technical details: sign-in cookies that keep you signed in, and the short-lived request logs our hosting providers keep to run and protect the service.

We don't use advertising or tracking cookies, and we don't sell your information.

• To run your account: sign-in, password resets, email changes and confirmations.
• To play music to you and keep your Library, likes and playlists.
• To review uploads and profiles before they go public, and to rank the Top 10 and artists' stars.
• To keep Makwete safe: stopping abuse, fake likes and rights problems.
• To run the Studio: normally one AI drafts and the other reviews, and both receive your lyrics, notes, requests and Artist DNA, only to create your breakdown, beat directions and packs. SystemLup can switch to one AI, and only that AI then receives Studio requests. Your Artist DNA (your likes, passes, final versions and notes) goes with those requests so later suggestions fit your sound, for you only.

We only email you about your account. We don't send marketing.

SystemLup can see what's needed to run Makwete, such as accounts and review queues, and only uses it for that.

We use trusted providers to run Makwete. They only handle your information to provide their service to us:

• Supabase: our database, sign-in and account emails.
• Vercel: hosting the app and storing uploaded files privately.
• An email delivery service that Supabase uses to send our account emails.
• Anthropic (Claude): one of the Studio's two AIs. Normally one drafts and the other reviews. Claude receives the lyrics, notes, requests and Artist DNA sent from the Studio, only to draft or review a result. It never receives your email, password, uploaded music, or your MIDI and project files.
• xAI (Grok): the other Studio AI. It receives the same lyrics, notes, requests and Artist DNA, only to draft or review a result. It never receives your email, password, uploaded music, or your MIDI and project files.
• Your browser's speech service (for example Google in Chrome, or Microsoft in Edge): only if you use Record in the Lyric Lab. Your browser sends your voice to its own speech service to turn it into text, under that company's privacy terms. Makwete never receives or keeps the recording.

Normally one AI drafts and the other reviews. Both receive that Studio material. SystemLup can switch to one AI, and only that AI then receives Studio requests. If only one AI's key is set, that AI does the request alone. SystemLup chooses which one drafts and which one reviews.

These providers may store information on servers outside your country. We choose providers that protect it to recognised security standards.

• Your account details stay while your account exists.
• Deleted uploads are removed from Makwete and from file storage straight away. Copies can stay in our providers' backups for a short time before they expire.
• Rejected uploads are deleted from storage when they're rejected.
• Studio sessions stay until you close your account. The credit record is kept so balances stay correct.
• A final-version comparison is deleted with its Studio session. “Start fresh” on your Artist DNA clears your notes and stops counting earlier likes, passes and final versions.
• If you close your account, we delete or anonymise your information unless the law requires us to keep it.

• Change your email or password, and see your privacy settings, on your Account page.
• Unlike songs, delete playlists or deactivate your Platform Owner at any time in Library.
• Artists choose who sees their Inspiration and About.
• You can ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, or to delete your account. Write to rampelwahulisani@gmail.com from your account's email address. We aim to reply within 30 days.
• If you're unhappy with how we handle your information, tell us first. You can also complain to the data protection authority where you live. In South Africa, that's the Information Regulator.

Uploaded files are stored privately and only played through Makwete. Database rules decide who can see each piece of information, and every page follows them. No system is perfectly secure, so use a strong password you don't use elsewhere. If we find a breach that affects you, we'll tell you.

Makwete is for people aged 13 and over. If you're under 18, ask a parent or guardian before you sign up. If you think a child has given us information without permission, contact us and we'll remove it.

We'll update this policy as Makwete changes. When we make important changes, we'll update the date at the top and let you know on Makwete.