Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waka Care Solutions(“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you use the WakaHelper platform. It is written in compliance with Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act 2019 (PDPA) and the accompanying Data Protection and Privacy Regulations 2021.

1. Data Controller

The Data Controller for all personal data processed through WakaHelper is:
Waka Care Solutions
Kampala, Uganda
Email: privacy@wakahelper.com

We have designated a Data Protection Officer (DPO). You may contact the DPO at the email address above for any privacy-related concerns.

2. Personal Data We Collect

2.1 Data you provide directly

• Account data: Full name, email address, mobile phone number, password (stored as a salted hash, never in plain text).
• Profile data: Profile photo, biography, location (district/city), job description, skills, years of experience, expected salary range, availability, languages spoken.
• Identity verification data: Nationality, National ID number (Ugandans), passport number (non-Ugandans), a scanned or photographed image of your identity document. This data is sensitive and is treated under heightened protections — see Section 5.
• Employment data: Job listings you post, applications you submit, contracts you enter into.
• Payment data: Mobile money numbers used for transactions. Full card or banking details are processed directly by PesaPal and are never stored on our servers.
• Communications: Messages sent through the Platform’s chat system.
• Reviews: Ratings and written reviews you submit about other users.

2.2 Data collected automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, features used, time of access, session duration.
• Device data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type.
• Cookies and session tokens: Authentication tokens stored as HTTP-only cookies. See our Cookie Policy.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making that produces significant legal effects without human review.

4. Who We Share Your Data With

We share your personal data only with the following categories of third parties, and only as necessary:

• PesaPal Limited — payment processing. Data shared: mobile number, transaction amount, reference. PesaPal is bound by their own Privacy Policy and applicable Kenyan and Ugandan financial regulations.
• Cloudinary Inc. — cloud storage for profile photos and identity document images. Data shared: image files and associated metadata. Cloudinary servers may be located outside Uganda; see Section 7.
• Email service provider — transactional emails (receipts, notifications). Data shared: email address and relevant transaction content only.
• Waka Care Solutions staff — identity documents are accessed only by authorised staff members for the purpose of WakaVerified review. Access is logged.
• Law enforcement and courts — where required by a valid court order, warrant, or statutory obligation under Ugandan law.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party for marketing purposes.

5. Special Category Data — Identity Documents

National ID numbers, passport numbers, and identity document images are sensitive personal data under the PDPA. We apply the following protections:

• Identity document images are stored in a Cloudinary private/authenticated-delivery bucket. They are never publicly accessible via a direct URL.
• Only authorised Waka Care Solutions staff may generate a time-limited (10-minute) signed URL to view a document, and only for the purpose of identity verification.
• National ID and passport numbers are encrypted at rest in our database.
• Identity document data is never included in any public-facing API response.
• Access to identity document data is logged for audit purposes.
• Identity documents submitted for WakaVerified review are deleted from our systems within 90 days of the verification decision, unless retention is required by law.

6. Data Retention

7. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Some of our third-party processors (Cloudinary, email providers) operate servers outside Uganda. Where personal data is transferred outside Uganda, we ensure that adequate protections are in place, including contractual clauses equivalent to those required by the PDPA, consistent with Section 19 of the Act.

8. Your Rights Under the PDPA 2019

As a data subject under Ugandan law, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Restriction: Request that we restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Portability: Receive your data in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
• Lodge a complaint: File a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Office (PDPO) of Uganda if you believe we have violated your rights.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@wakahelper.com. We will respond within 21 days as required by the PDPA.

9. Security

We implement technical and organisational security measures including HTTPS encryption for all data in transit, bcrypt hashing for passwords, HTTP-only authentication cookies, role-based access controls, and database encryption for sensitive fields. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children

WakaHelper is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us immediately and we will delete the account.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email and/or a prominent notice on the Platform at least 14 days before they take effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

12. Contact

Privacy enquiries and data subject requests:
Data Protection Officer, Waka Care Solutions
Kampala, Uganda
Email: privacy@wakahelper.com