How We Protect Your Information

1. Introduction and Scope

This Privacy Policy explains how GSS Gwarinpa Contact Book ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you use our Service. This policy applies to all users of the Service, including visitors and registered members. By using our Service, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

We collect personal information you voluntarily provide when you:

• Register for an account: First name, last name, email address, password, graduation year, class, and username
• Complete your profile: Phone number, occupation, location, birthday (month/day), social media links (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn), and profile photo
• Interact with the platform: Comments on profiles, messages, feedback, and problem reports
• Contribute to the school directory: School names, locations, addresses, phone numbers, emails, categories, and suggested updates
• Create events: Event titles, descriptions, dates, times, locations, and cover images
• Submit blog posts: Article titles, content, summaries, and cover images
• Upload to gallery: Photos, captions, titles, tags, and associated metadata

2.2 Information Collected Through Third-Party Authentication

If you register or log in using a third-party service (such as Google OAuth), we may collect information that the third party makes available to us, including your name, email address, profile photo, and unique identifier. The information we receive depends on your privacy settings with that third party.

2.3 Automatically Collected Information

When you access our Service, we automatically collect certain technical information:

• Device information: Device type, operating system, browser type and version
• Usage information: Pages visited, time spent on pages, click patterns, referral sources
• Log data: IP address, access dates and times, error logs
• Cookies and tracking: Session identifiers, authentication tokens, and preference data (see Section 5)

2.4 Information from Other Sources

We may receive information about you from other users (such as when they tag you in photos, reference you in content, or submit information about schools you're associated with). We may combine this information with information we collect directly from you.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide and maintain the Service: Create and manage your account, display your profile to other members, enable directory searches, process contributions
• Communicate with you: Send account notifications, password reset emails, verification emails, administrative messages, and community updates
• Improve the Service: Analyze usage patterns, monitor performance, troubleshoot technical issues, develop new features
• Protect security: Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, spam, and unauthorized access; enforce our Terms of Service
• Personalize experience: Display relevant content, remember your preferences, customize your dashboard
• Fulfill legal obligations: Comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and governmental requests
• Manage rewards: Calculate and display contribution points, generate leaderboard rankings, track achievements
• Generate analytics: Create anonymized, aggregate statistics about platform usage, member demographics, and community trends
• Promote the Service: Market the platform, showcase success stories, share community achievements (with appropriate anonymization where required)

We may use your information for other purposes with your consent or as permitted by applicable law.

4. How We Share Your Information

4.1 Public Information

Certain information you provide will be visible to other logged-in members, including:

• Profile information you choose to make visible (name, photo, graduation year, class, location, occupation, social media links)
• Comments you post on profiles
• School contributions you make (your username is displayed as the contributor)
• Blog posts, events, and gallery photos you submit (after admin approval)
• Leaderboard rankings and contribution statistics

You control the visibility of most profile information through your privacy settings. However, some information (such as your name, username, graduation year, and contributions) may always be visible to enable core platform functionality.

4.2 Service Providers and Partners

We may share your information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Service, including:

• Hosting providers: Cloud infrastructure and database services
• Email services: Transactional and notification email delivery
• Authentication providers: OAuth services like Google
• Media storage: Image and file hosting services
• Analytics providers: Usage tracking and performance monitoring
• Security services: Fraud detection, abuse prevention, and security monitoring

These service providers are contractually obligated to use your information only as necessary to provide services to us and to protect your information. They may not use your information for their own marketing purposes.

4.3 Legal Requirements and Protection

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to:

• Comply with legal obligations, court orders, or governmental requests
• Enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements
• Protect and defend our rights, property, or safety
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or the public
• Investigate and prevent fraud, security breaches, or illegal activity

4.4 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or similar business transaction, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

4.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you explicitly consent to such sharing.

4.6 Aggregated and Anonymized Data

We may share aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. For example, we may share statistics about total alumni members, popular graduation years, or platform usage trends.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

5.1 Essential Cookies

We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar technologies to:

• Keep you logged in and maintain your session
• Remember your preferences and settings
• Enable security features and prevent fraud
• Provide core platform functionality

These essential cookies are necessary for the Service to function properly and cannot be disabled without significantly impairing functionality.

5.2 Analytics and Performance

We may use analytics tools to understand aggregate usage patterns, monitor performance, and identify areas for improvement. These tools may use cookies or similar technologies. We do not use behavioral tracking pixels or serve targeted advertisements.

5.3 Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of the Service.

5.4 Cookie Policy

For detailed information about the cookies we use, how long they last, and how to manage them, please see our comprehensive Cookie Policy. The Cookie Policy provides information about:

• Specific types of cookies we use (essential, functional, analytics)
• Third-party cookies from authentication and service providers
• How to control and delete cookies through your browser
• Cookie retention periods and expiration
• Your rights under GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy laws

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide the Service and maintain your account
• Comply with legal obligations and regulatory requirements
• Resolve disputes and enforce agreements
• Maintain security and prevent fraud
• Preserve historical community records and contributions

When you delete your account, we remove most of your personal information from our live systems within a reasonable timeframe (typically 30-90 days). However, some information may be retained:

• Community contributions (school listings, approved updates) remain to preserve the integrity of the community database
• Anonymized analytics and aggregate data may be retained indefinitely
• Information required for legal, security, or regulatory purposes may be retained as required by law
• Backup copies may persist for a limited time as part of our disaster recovery procedures

7. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including:

• Encryption: TLS/SSL encryption for data in transit; secure storage for sensitive data
• Access controls: Restricted access to personal information based on role and necessity
• Authentication: Strong password requirements and secure authentication mechanisms
• Monitoring: Regular security assessments, vulnerability scanning, and intrusion detection
• Employee training: Privacy and security awareness training for team members

While we strive to protect your information, no system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

8. Your Rights and Choices

8.1 Access and Update

You can access and update most of your personal information by logging in to your account and visiting your settings page. You have the right to review the personal information we hold about you.

8.2 Delete Account

You can delete your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting support@dankoresoft.com. Account deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed.

8.3 Data Portability

You may request a copy of your personal information in a structured, commonly used format. Contact support@dankoresoft.com to request your data export.

8.4 Correct Inaccurate Data

You can update inaccurate information directly in your account settings. If you believe we hold inaccurate information about you that you cannot correct yourself, contact us.

8.5 Opt-Out of Communications

You can opt out of promotional emails by following the unsubscribe link in those emails or adjusting your email preferences in account settings. You cannot opt out of essential service-related communications (such as password resets or account security alerts).

8.6 Privacy Settings

You can control the visibility of certain profile information through your privacy settings. However, some information must remain visible for core platform functionality (such as your name, username, and contributions to the school directory).

9. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that compromises your personal information, we will:

• Investigate the breach promptly and assess its scope and impact
• Take immediate steps to contain and remediate the breach
• Notify affected members via email or platform notification within a reasonable timeframe
• Provide information about the nature of the breach, types of data affected, and protective steps you can take
• Notify relevant authorities as required by applicable law

We will document all security incidents and maintain records of our response activities.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is designed for alumni and is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at support@dankoresoft.com and we will delete such information.

11. International Data Transfers

Our Service is primarily hosted in and serves users in Nigeria. However, our service providers may store or process your information in other countries. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to countries outside Nigeria that may have different data protection laws. We take reasonable steps to ensure adequate protection of your information regardless of where it is processed.

12. Do-Not-Track Signals

Because there is no common industry standard for responding to Do Not Track ("DNT") signals, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals. We will reassess our DNT practices if a clear standard emerges.

13. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources (such as external school websites or social media profiles). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

14. California and Regional Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident or reside in a region with specific data protection laws (such as GDPR in the EU or NDPR in Nigeria), you may have additional rights including:

• Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, and sold
• Right to request deletion of personal information
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (note: we do not sell personal information)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights
• Right to data portability
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to object to processing

To exercise these rights, contact us at support@dankoresoft.com. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy
• Post the revised policy on this page
• Notify registered members via email or platform notification for material changes

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the revised policy constitutes acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the modified policy, you should discontinue use of the Service.

16. Contact Us About Privacy

If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: support@dankoresoft.com
Data Controller: GSS Gwarinpa Contact Book
Service Provider: Dankore Software
Response Time: We aim to respond to privacy inquiries within 5-10 business days

For data protection concerns specific to Nigeria, you may also contact the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) at ndpb.gov.ng.

17. Acknowledgment

By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to its terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.