DATA PRIVACY STATEMENT
1.0 Introduction
Our Customer’s privacy is paramount to that effect when you opt in and out of our SMS services and at all times. This privacy statement expounds on our Customer’s personal information that you provide to us when you subscribe to our Services and when you update the same. We later collect this personal information and use them in allowing you Access our online SMS self-service platform in order to purchase the available SMSs depending on your personal interests and theme.
This privacy statement must be read at all times together with the Terms of Use of our Online SMS services and with full regard to any conflict that may arise, this Privacy statement will prevail.
This Data Privacy Statement applies to all our esteemed Customers and all visitors frequenting any of the services in this platform
2.0 Definitions
“You” means: the customer- the person who subscribes to, uses or purchases any of our online SMS services or accesses our websites and includes any person who accesses any of the services you have subscribed to.
“Any visitor” that is any person, new subscribers and/or any third parties who gains access to our Services.
“SMS” the Short Message Services on our platform available for purchase, including Bible Verses, Love messages, inspirational quotes, News updates, Quotes and any daily subscriptions generated from our online SMS platform.
“Includes” means all that follows, including all the listed examples given and situations included in the meaning or explanation of that text.
3.0 Collection of Information
Once a customer opts in to our services, we automatically collect all their personal information with their knowledge and consent when they do any of the following; (please note that this list is not exhaustive):
a) Register for a specific service, this includes any of the SMS topics of interest and daily subscriptions.
b) Purchase, subscribe to or use our SMS services online, on a mobile or other devices, via our Website.
c) Subscribe to our SMS premium rates services, Short Message Service (SMS), email or social media platforms;
d) Ask us for more information about our SMS service or contact us with a query or complaint;
e) Respond to or participate in a survey, marketing promotion, prize competition or special offer;
f) Visit, access or use our websites;
g) We may also collect your personal details from other organizations including credit-reference bureaus, fraud prevention agencies and business directories;
h) We may collect your personal details when you interact with us as a visitor as prescribed in this statement;
i) We also collect personal details when you visit any of our premises.
3.1 The information we collect and store about you includes but is not limited to the following: Your identity, including your name, age, gender, photograph, address, location, phone number, identity document type and number, date of birth, email address.
3.2 Your preferences for particular SMS services, based on information provided by you, Your contact with us, such as when you: call us or interact with us through social media, our email (we may record your conversations, social media or other interactions with us), register your biometric information such as your voice, fingerprints etc., visit our Office, Your call data records: phone numbers that you call or send messages to (or receive calls and messages from), messages or data sessions from our network and your approximate location (save for customer service interactions as noted above we do not record or store message or call contents).
3.3 The information will be retained by us in the event of any incidents and claims for damages.
4.0 Age limit
Our Services are not accessible to persons under the age of majority and we do not onboard minors (any person under 18 years of age) except where you additionally register on their behalf as their Parent and/ or legal guardian. If you allow a child to use our services, you should be aware that their personal information could be collected as described in this statement.
5.0 Use of Information
We may use and analyze your information for the following purposes:
5.1 Processing SMS services that you have purchased from us on our online self-service platform
5.2 Billing you for using our services or purchasing our Services
5.3 Responding to any of your queries or concerns;
5.4 Verifying your identity information through publicly available and/or restricted government databases in order to comply with applicable regulatory requirements;
5.5 Keeping you informed generally about new services and contacting you with offers or promotions based on how you use our online SMS services unless you opt out of receiving such messages (you may contact us at any time to opt out of receiving such messages);
5.7 To comply with any legal, governmental or regulatory requirement or for use by our lawyers in connection with any legal proceedings;
5.8 To protect our Services and Website including to manage the volume of queries, texts, calls and other use of our network;
5.9 To understand how you use our services for purposes of developing or improving the same;
5.10 Preventing and detecting any fraud or other cyber-crimes.
6.0. Categories of Data
Personal Data as defined in the Data Protection Act of Kenya may be processed depending on the particular types of services you have subscribed to in our Website/Platform.
6.1. We will collect and process your personal information based on any of the lawful basis provided for under the Data Protection Law:
6.2. The performance of a Service Agreement with you;
6.3. Our legitimate business interests;
6.4. Compliance with a mandatory legal obligation;
6.5. Consent you provide;
6.6. Your vital interest.
6.7. Retention of Information We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements.
We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, the need to comply with our internal policy and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.
7.0 Disclosure of Information
7.1 Any disclosure of your information shall be in accordance with applicable law and regulations. We shall assess and review each application for information and may decline to grant such information to the requesting party.
7.2 We may disclose your information to: any law-enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, courts or other statutory authorities in response to a demand issued with the appropriate lawful mandate and where the form and scope of the demand is compliant with the law, our subsidiaries, associates, partners, software developers or agents who are involved in delivering our Online services you purchase or use; Emergency service providers when you make an emergency call (or where such disclosure to emergency service providers is necessary for your rescue, health and safety) including your approximate location and any other person that we deem legitimately necessary to share the data with.
7.3 We shall not release any information to any individual or entity that is acting beyond its legal mandate.
7.4 We will get your express consent before we share your personal data with any third party for direct marketing purposes.
8.0 Opting Out
You can ask us to stop sending you SMS messages at any time by writing to us or logging into our website, unchecking relevant boxes to adjust your preferences or by following the opt out option on any message sent to you or by attending to us or contacting us at any time through the provided contacts.
8.1 Where you opt out of receiving these SMS messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a service already purchased.
9.0 The Use of Cookies
9.1 We may store some information (using “cookies”) on your computer when you visit our websites. This enables us to recognize you during subsequent visits. The type of information gathered is non-personal (such as: The Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer, the date and time of your visit, which pages you browsed and whether the pages have been delivered successfully.
9.2 We may also use this data in aggregate form to develop customized services – tailored to your individual interests and needs. Should you choose to do so, it is possible (depending on the browser you are using), to be prompted before accepting any cookies, or to prevent your browser from accepting any cookies at all. This will however cause certain features of the web site not to be accessible.
10.0 The Use of Hyperlinks
10.1 Our websites may provide hyperlinks to other locations or websites on the Internet. These hyperlinks lead to websites published or operated by third parties who are not affiliated with or in any way related to us and have been included in our website to enhance your user experience and are presented for information purposes only.
10.2 We do not endorse, recommend, approve or guarantee any third- party products and services by providing hyperlinks to an external website or webpage and do not have any co-operation with such third parties unless otherwise disclosed. We are not in any way responsible for the content of any externally linked website or webpage.
10.3 By clicking on a hyperlink, you will leave the our webpage and accordingly you shall be subject to the terms of use, privacy and cookie policies of the other website that you choose to visit.
11.0 Access to and Updating your Information
To update your information, visit our Website and sign in to look at your personal information. You can change how we get in touch with you and your account details whenever you like.
12.0 Safeguarding and Protection of Information
We have put in place technical and operational measures to ensure integrity and confidentiality of your data via controls around: information classification, access control, cryptography, physical and environmental security and monitoring and compliance.
13.0 International Data Transfers
From time to time we may need to transfer your personal information outside the Republic of Kenya to provide a particular service. Where we send your information outside Kenya, we will make sure that your information is properly protected in accordance with the applicable Data Protection Laws.
14.0 Your Rights
14.1 Subject to legal and contractual exceptions, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. These are listed below: –
a) Right to be informed that we are collecting personal data about you;
b) Right to access personal data that we hold about you and request for information about how we process it;
c) Right to request that we correct your personal data where it is inaccurate or incomplete;
d) Right to request that we erase your personal data noting that we may continue to retain your information if obligated by the law or entitled to do so;
e) Right to object and withdraw your consent to processing of your personal data. We may continue to process if we have a legitimate or legal reason to do so;
f) Right to request restricted processing of your personal data noting that we may be entitled or legally obligated to continue processing your data and refuse your request;
g) Right to request transfer of your personal data in [an electronic format]. If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us via the availed support email.
14.2 We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
14.3 We try to respond to all legitimate requests within reasonable time. Occasionally it could take us longer if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
15.0 How to Contact Us
If you would like to contact us on any topics in this Data Privacy, you can email us on provided support email or submit a request via our digital platforms.
16.0 Right to Lodge Complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority that is tasked with personal data protection within the Republic of Kenya.
17.0 Non-Compliance with this Statement
We shall have the right to terminate our services with you for failure to comply with the provisions of this privacy statement and reject any application for information contrary to this statement.
18.0 Amendments to this Statement
We reserve the right to amend and/or modify this statement at any time. Upon updating the new version of this Statement, you can access the current version of the updated privacy statement by refreshing our website so that you will always know how your personal information is being used or shared and any other updates on the platform. Any amendment or modification to this statement will take effect from the date of notification on our website.
Statement Effective Date: 4th Day of October 2023.