Free Basics in Kenya
Researcher: Njeri Wangari Wanjohi
Time period: March - April, 2017
This case study was conducted as part of a research project by Global Voices, an international
citizen media organization. The findings described here, along with findings from five other
countries and can be found in our final report, “Free Basics in Real Life: Six Case Studies on
Facebook’s Internet “On Ramp” Initiative from Africa, Asia and Latin America.” Read the final
report at https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/07/27/can-facebook-connect-the-next-billion.
Additional screenshots may be found at:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4CiTwxNUEN3aXppM3p4ZW9UMUk
Overview
Kenya became the third country in Africa where Facebook launched the Internet.org
Free Basics app in November 2014 through a joint partnership with telecom provider
Airtel (operated by Bharti Airtel, headquartered in India). Airtel offers Free Basics to all
of their subscribers.
ITU data shows that the percentage of individuals using the Internet in Kenya climbed
from 39% in 2013 to 45.6% in 2015. Mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants rose from
71.8% in 2013 to 80.7% in 2015. Official data from Communication Authority of Kenya
showed that in the second quarter of 2016, Airtel had captured 17.6% of the mobile
market, and that Safaricom led the market with a share of 69%.
1
The 2015 Freedom on the Net report gave Kenya a score of 28 out of 100 possible
points (with zero indicating a wholly “free” Internet and 100 indicating a thoroughly
“not free” Internet) in their methodology, which measures Internet access, limits to
online content, and user rights of privacy and free expression.
2
The most dominant telecommunication methods people use to communicate are
mobile cellular voice calls, SMS, fixed terrestrial line calls and internet via mobile data.
SMS and WhatsApp are the most commonly used messaging tools (followed by
Signal), with WhatsApp being the most dominant social media platform according to a
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1
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2017/04/safaricoms-market-share-hit-71-2pc-equitel-loses-study/
2
https://freedomhouse.org/report/table-country-scores-fotn-2016
recent GeoPoll survey.
3
Geopoll data also showed that most Kenyans get their news
through social media channels via smartphones.
How to buy a Free Basics plan
Users in Kenya must have an Airtel line and a smartphone in order to use Free Basics.
With a dual SIM phone, which is increasingly common in Kenya, one can switch data
plans and download the app in order to use it with an Airtel line.
To make any SIM card purchase in Kenya, one must supply a National, Alien ID or
passport (for non-Kenyans). An Airtel SIM costs about USD $1. The relevant personal
information that appears on an official ID is written in a SIM card/line application form
at the Airtel customer service center. These exist countrywide. The SIM card
registration process does not take more than one hour.
Once a SIM card is active, one must have an initial data plan or access to free wifi in
order to visit the Google Play store to download the Free Basics app. This could
present an additional obstacle for first-time users.
How do you set up the app? What information or actions are required?
Upon installation, the app does not ask for your location information, but it is able to
automatically pick up your data based on your phone number, which it uses for
registration.
The app does not require you to create a Facebook account. You can access other
features of the app without using Facebook.
Upon launch, the app requires you to agree to multiple policies and conditions. You
are required to agree to Terms of Use, a Data Privacy policy, and a policy concerning
promotions sent by Airtel. These are described in greater detail below.
User experience and interface
For an experienced Android user, the app is relatively easy to use. The interface is not
overly technical and the free service offerings are presented in a clear manner. There is
one version of the Free Basics app in Kenya, which allows the user to switch between
English and Kiswahili languages for app instructions.
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3
http://blog.geopoll.com/african-millennials-mobile-usage-and-media-consumption
Apart from the free services featured when you open the app, there are additional
services that can be found by selecting the drop-down menu from the upper right-
hand corner and selecting “More Free Services.” It is not clear why some services are
featured and others are listed more discreetly.
The list of additional services is very long and only appears sorted alphabetically, rather
than being arranged according to categories such as education, information, news,
games, et cetera. There is also no clear distinction between local/regional services and
services based outside of Kenya or Africa.
There is no logical basis of the criteria used to list the existing services/websites. News,
information, education, jobs and entertainment services are represented in no
particular order. I found that to be disconnected from the PR around Free Basics, which
lauds the service as a very functional one for those without internet access to find
useful information. I expected more government service websites that a lot of Kenyans
seek help from, such as the Huduma Center, which issues drivers’ licenses and other
forms of identification, or the eCitizen portal, which offers access to a wide range of
government offices and services. These are not included.
Although Free Basics is a free service, the various applications within the app show the
user links to external websites within the listed services in the app. These attract a data
plan cost which the user is warned of through a clear alert that pops up when you click
these links. If you do not have a paid data plan, you cannot access these services.
Connectivity, accessibility and language
Free Basics opens much faster than other apps, even on EDGE connectivity (i.e. a 2G
network.) The connection is steady, presumably because it is provided by Airtel, which
is known to have a very stable connection in Kenya. The services in the app also load
faster than they do with a regular Airtel connection.
The Free Basics version of each site is different from the regular version of that site as it
appears and functions on a regular mobile data connection. Most ads are stripped out
as well as various motion-based multimedia.
Although the app instructions are available in English and Kiswahili, the default
language for the app is English. Although Kiswahili is available as an alternative
language of instruction (the app is available in a Kiswahili interface), most sites are not
translated to Kiswahili for a user that opts to read content in that language. There are
very few services in Kiswahili. Most are in English.
The app does not use audio. It would be difficult to use for individuals who are semi or
illiterate, and for the seeing-impaired. For hearing-impaired individuals, all content is
presented in writing.
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
When one is launching the app for the first time, there is a summary with hyperlinks to
the Terms of Use and data policy, which one can select and read if desired. The user
however is not required to actively review or agree to these terms. Once you have
launched the app, the terms are also available under the “Options” menu.
Launch page for Free Basics in Kenya.
The Terms of Use come bundled with a notification indicating that the user may receive
SMS notifications from Facebook and can opt out of these at any time. However, the
user cannot opt out of the SMS notifications at this point in time, as this information is
conveyed alongside other policy information. Therefore, the user has to either agree or
decline to both terms using a single ‘continue’ button. If the user declines, she will not
be able to use the Free Basics service.
The first clause on Privacy leads to more pages of information on their data policy.
The ToU is not titled "Free Basics terms", but rather "Facebook terms". Thus the user
agrees to the terms of Facebook, instead of Free Basics, which evidently does not have
a unique ToU of its own though it does have its own Privacy Policy. This seems
peculiar, given that one does not need to create a Facebook account in order to use
the program. It is easy to imagine that a first-time user would be uncertain as to
whether the Free Basics app is the same as the Facebook app, as both sets of terms
are written for Facebook users.
Both policies are written in legal language that is not wholly accessible to the average
user, and might be particularly difficult to understand for a first-time Internet user. It
makes very many assumptions: that the average user has the time to go through
volumes of pages on terms. It also expects the average user to view the app as a very
separate entity whose sole objective is to connect the un-connected but beneath the
surface, it's not any different, it's just a tool to reach the previously hard to reach
masses.
The Terms of Use and data policy are written only in English. Although English and
Kiswahili are the official languages in Kenya, English is still very much the language for
business in Kenya, Kiswahili is more widely spoken among the lower middle and lower
income class Kenyans especially among the non- or less-educated. For the targeted
semi-literate, who often only understand Kiswahili or other local languages (and who
are among those least able to afford Internet access in Kenya) this choice in more use
of English as well as the presence of more English based services heavily limits the
utility of the Free Basics app.
Content Analysis
These are the services that appear in the main menu of the app:
Apps based outside of Kenya/Africa: Girl Effect, Messenger, OLX, Wattpad, Wikipedia,
Facts for Life, Facebook, AccuWeather, BabyCenter, BBC News.
Apps based in Africa: Jamii Forums, SuperSport, BBC Swahili.
Apps based in Kenya: Brighter Monday, Daily Nation, FUZU
Screenshot of Tier One services.
Only three local services and three regional services are listed in the free services
main menu of the app. They include:
Jamii Forums:
https://www.jamiiforums.com/
JamiiForums is a Tanzania-based social networking and messaging board website in
East Africa. The website emphasizes its use of user-generated content to avoid
penalties faced by traditional media for reporting issues in Tanzania.
The website has the latest Stories, Special Reports, News & Pictures, expert opinions,
insights and trends mainly in Tanzania.
Jamii is a private company founded by Maxence Melo and Mike Mushi in 2006.
Language/s: English and Kiswahili
Content limitations: Although the content is available in English and Kiswahili, the
language of instruction is English. There is in-app advertising. One can read the forum
discussions as a guest, but one is required to create an account in order to participate
in the discussions or to post any user-generated content.
SuperSport:
https://www.supersport.com/
SuperSport is a South African group of television channels owned by Multichoice and
carried on the DStv satellite platform. It provides sports content in South Africa and
abroad. It also provides sports coverage in many other African countries.
Ownership: Private
Language/s: English
Content limitations: The service has in-app advertising. Although the text content can
be read from within the service in the app, All the videos (and they are quite a number
of them) attract data costs. The service also has links to other Multichoice network
channel sites which are not part of the service. Accessing these urls attracts standard
charges. Interestingly, the ‘cancel’ option is greyed out with the ‘continue’ option
appearing more visible and already highlighted. However, one can press ‘cancel’ to
back to the Free Basics service.
There is also an option to visit the full SuperSport website. This also attracts data costs.
There is a section in the service that has quiz game competitions that users can
participate in and win. On selecting one of the quiz competitions, one is required to
agree to the terms and Conditions of the competition. A link is provided to the Terms
and Conditions page, however, for one to read all the terms, a link is provided. Data
charges apply if one wishes to read the full terms and conditions.
BBC Swahili:
http://www.bbc.com/swahili
International news service provided in Kiswahili
Ownership: The UK Government (national broadcaster)
Language/s: Kiswahili, English
Content limitations: Not all multimedia renders properly, such as images and
embedded videos. The BBC service has a cookies policy through which they collect
certain data about the user in order to enhance the user’s future experience. This
cookie policy is presented in English despite the service being a Kiswahili service. The
user is therefore required to read and accept these cookies as part of the service. This
is odd because their ‘Terms of use’ are fully in Kiswahili.
Brighter Monday:
https://www.brightermonday.co.ke
BrighterMonday.com is an East African jobs website. Founded in Kenya in 2006 and
operating in all East African markets, BrighterMonday is committed to the goal of
maximizing the opportunities for East Africa’s job seekers and employers.
Ownership: BrighterMonday is privately owned and forms part of the investment
portfolio of One Africa Media.
Language/s: Not able to determine. The whole service is behind data charges.
Content limitations: There is no aspect of the service that can be accessed free of
charge within the Free Basics app. When one taps on the service on the main menu,
the data charges prompt immediately appears. This negates the whole ethos behind
the project as this service gives no value whatsoever to Free Basics users.
Daily Nation:
http://www.nation.co.ke
Daily Nation is a Kenyan independent newspaper and one the leading news
publications in the country.
Ownership: The newspaper is published by Nation Media Group, a publicly traded
company.
Language/s: English
Content limitations: The Top videos section of the news site is not accessible through
the Free Basics app. Data charges apply for all videos on the site. Images of Google
ads served on the service do not load. The link to a desktop view of the site also
attracts data charges.
Fuzu:
https://www.fuzu.com
Fuzu is an online career and recruitment platform provides access to career advice,
online learning and jobs in Kenya.
Ownership: Fuzu Limited is a Kenyan-Finnish company that launched the Fuzu
employment platform in 2015.
Language/s: English and a bit of Kiswahili
Content limitations: Few limitations exist. The service has been fully customized for the
Free Basics app including all the job ads that one can view without being a Fuzu
member or being taken away from the app.
This case study was conducted as part of a research project by Global Voices, an international citizen
media organization. The findings described here, along with findings from five other countries and can
be found in our final report, “Free Basics in Real Life: Six Case Studies on Facebook’s Internet “On
Ramp” Initiative from Africa, Asia and Latin America.” Read the final report at
https://advox.globalvoices.org/2017/07/27/can-facebook-connect-the-next-billion. Additional
screenshots may be found at:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4CiTwxNUEN3aXppM3p4ZW9UMUk
This work is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-
SA-4.0) License.
