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Device supervision

What supervision is, what it is used for, and what it does not do.

Last updated 16 August 2026

This document is in draft and under legal review. It is published for transparency and does not yet constitute the final agreement.

Read this before you choose a phone. Supervision is not the same on every phone PataSimu finances, and on some devices it may not be available at all. Which method applies to the phone you pick — or whether any applies — is confirmed by the agent at the shop, before you sign. Nothing on this website should be read as a promise that a particular phone can, or cannot, be supervised.

1. What supervision is

Supervision is software on the phone that connects it to your instalment plan. It lets PataSimu remind you on the phone itself when a payment is due, and, where a plan falls behind, restrict what the phone can do until the plan is back on track. It is the reason we can hand over a phone before it has been paid for.

2. What we use it for

  • Reminding you about a payment.
  • Restricting the phone while a plan is in arrears, and releasing it again once the plan is back on track.
  • Confirming, at the end of the plan, that the phone can be released outright.

3. What we do not use it for

These are commitments PataSimu makes about how supervision is used:

We do not

  • read your messages, photos, contacts or files;
  • listen to your calls;
  • use supervision to advertise to you, or to build a profile of you;
  • pass anything from your phone to anyone for their own purposes.

We do

  • use it only to manage the instalment plan it is attached to;
  • remove it when your plan is complete;
  • tell you at the shop, before you sign, what is being put on your phone.
[The supervision supplier or suppliers, the technical capability each method actually has, and precisely what data the supervision software collects, how often, where it is stored and for how long — to be established by the device supervision workstream and confirmed by legal, then reflected here and in the Privacy Notice. The commitments above are policy statements; the technical description that supports them is not yet written.]

4. It is not the same on every phone

Different manufacturers provide different ways of supervising a device, and they do not all behave alike. For some phones the method is well established; for others it works differently, or is not available. PataSimu will not pretend otherwise on a marketing page. The agent will tell you which position applies to the phone you have chosen before you sign, and you can choose a different phone if you would rather.

[The per-device supervision matrix: for each model PataSimu finances, which supervision method applies, its enrolment path, the commercial agreement behind it, and what PataSimu's position is where no method exists — to be established by the device supervision workstream. At least one launch brand currently has no supervision mechanism owned by anyone; this page must not be finalised until that is resolved.]

5. What a restriction actually looks like

If a plan falls behind, the phone's use may be limited until the payments are up to date. What exactly is limited depends on the phone and the supervision method, and we are not going to guess at it in writing.

[Exactly what a restricted device can and cannot do under each supervision method, including whether emergency calls remain possible, whether the customer can still reach PataSimu to make a payment, what notice is given before a restriction is applied, and how quickly a device is released once a plan is back on track — to be confirmed by the device supervision workstream and by legal. This is the clause a customer most needs, and it will not be written until it is known.]

6. When your plan finishes

When you have made every payment, supervision is removed and the phone is yours outright, with no further connection to PataSimu.

[The removal process and the timescale PataSimu commits to, and what a customer should do if supervision is still present after their plan has completed — operations and legal to confirm.]

7. If the phone is lost or stolen

Tell us as soon as you can, and report a theft to the police. Supervision is not a tracking service and is not a substitute for insurance. The balance on your plan continues to be owed — see Instalment plans explained.

8. Your data on the phone

Photos, messages, apps and accounts on the phone are yours. Supervision is not used to reach them. Please still keep your own backups: as with any phone, if it is lost, damaged or reset, what was only on the phone is gone.

Supervision is explained to you at the shop and forms part of the agreement you sign. If you are not comfortable with it, you do not have to sign, and you can buy a phone for cash instead.

[The operative supervision clauses of the instalment agreement, the notice and consent language required of a credit provider, and the customer's remedies if supervision is applied in error — legal to draft.]

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