Privacy Policy

WakaHustle ("we", "us", "our") operates a two-sided marketplace connecting Requesters with Runners for errands, small jobs, and local business discovery, through our mobile apps and this website (together, the "Platform"). This Policy explains what personal information we collect, why, how we use and share it, and the rights you have over it under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and its regulations ("Nigerian data protection law").

1. Who we are

WakaHustle is the data controller for the personal information described in this Policy, registered at 7 Etokeren, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. For any privacy question, request, or complaint, see Section 12 (Contact us) below.

2. Information we collect

Account information

Your phone number (used for OTP sign-in), name, and — optionally — an email address. WakaHustle uses phone-based sign-in rather than collecting a password-linked email by default.

Identity-verification information (Runners only)

Before a Runner can accept an errand, we collect their National Identification Number (NIN) or Bank Verification Number (BVN) and a live selfie, which our verification partner, Prembly, checks against official records on our behalf. WakaHustle does not store your raw NIN, BVN, or selfie image on our own servers — only Prembly's own verification reference and outcome (pass/fail, and for higher-trust errand categories, an enhanced-verification status) are retained, so we can confirm you're verified without holding the underlying document data ourselves. Enhanced verification for higher-trust errand categories also collects an address and an emergency-contact record.

Location data

With your permission, we collect your device's location — a Requester's, to match you with nearby Runners and show pickup/drop-off points; a Runner's, while online, to power matching, live tracking, and turn-by-turn errand progress. You can withdraw location permission at any time in your device settings, though this will limit or disable core features like matching and live tracking.

Payment information

Card and bank-transfer details you use to fund an errand or top up your wallet are collected and processed directly by Paystack, our licensed payment processor — WakaHustle never receives or stores your full card number. We do receive and store transaction records (amount, status, reference) and, where you save one, your payout bank/mobile-money account details for cashing out.

Communications & usage data

In-app chat messages between a Requester and Runner for a specific errand, support tickets you raise, and standard technical/usage data (device type, app version, crash diagnostics, and — on the website only, and only with your consent — analytics; see Section 7).

Push-notification token

A device token that lets us deliver errand updates, offers, and messages to your phone even when the app isn't open, via Expo's push-notification service.

3. How we use your information

• To create and manage your account, and verify your identity where required;
• To match Requesters and Runners, dispatch and track errands, and enable in-app communication between them;
• To process payments, hold funds in escrow, and pay out to Runners;
• To maintain trust and safety — fraud prevention, dispute resolution, abusive-content screening, and enforcing our Terms of Service;
• To provide customer support and respond to your requests;
• To send service notifications (errand updates, OTPs, receipts, security alerts);
• To understand how the website is used and improve it, only where you've consented to analytics (Section 7);
• To comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.

Our lawful basis for most of this processing is that it's necessary to perform our contract with you (running the marketplace you signed up for) or to comply with a legal obligation (identity verification, tax/AML-adjacent record-keeping). Where processing isn't strictly necessary for the service — such as website analytics — we rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

4. Who we share it with

We share personal information only as needed to run the Platform, never sold to third parties for their own marketing purposes:

• The other party to your errand — a Requester and matched Runner see each other's name, profile photo (if set), rating, and live location for the duration of that specific errand, plus chat messages exchanged;
• Paystack — to process payments and payouts;
• Prembly — to verify Runner identity;
• Termii — to deliver SMS one-time passcodes;
• Expo — to deliver push notifications to your device;
• Our infrastructure providers — database hosting and error-monitoring services that store or process data on our behalf, under contractual confidentiality obligations, never for their own purposes;
• Law enforcement or regulators — only where required by Nigerian law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of WakaHustle, our users, or the public.

If WakaHustle is ever involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to the same protections described here.

5. Data retention

We keep your account information for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterward to meet legal, tax, dispute-resolution, and fraud-prevention obligations — typically no longer than a few years after account closure, unless a longer period is required by law or an unresolved dispute. Identity-verification references (never the raw NIN/BVN/selfie — see Section 2) are kept for as long as your Runner account remains verified, plus a retention period consistent with applicable KYC record-keeping requirements. Chat messages are retained for the errand's own record and for safety/dispute purposes.

6. International data transfer

WakaHustle's primary infrastructure and our processors described in Section 4 may store or process data outside Nigeria. Where that happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure it receives a comparable standard of protection, consistent with Nigerian data protection law's requirements for cross-border transfer.

7. Cookies & analytics

Our website uses Google Analytics to understand how visitors use it, so we can improve it — but only if you say yes. Analytics is opt-in, not opt-out: the tracking script does not load, and no analytics cookie is set, until you actively accept the cookie banner shown on your first visit. If you decline, nothing loads at all — not a version that "loads but doesn't track." You can change your decision at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site, which will show the banner again. Our mobile apps use standard device-level analytics/crash-diagnostic tooling rather than website cookies. We do not use cookies or analytics for third-party advertising.

8. Your rights

Under Nigerian data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information (most account fields are editable directly in the app);
• Delete your account and associated personal information, subject to what we're legally required to retain (Section 5);
• Object to or restrict certain processing, including withdrawing analytics consent at any time;
• Data portability — receive a copy of the data you provided us in a structured, commonly used format;
• Lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 12. We'll respond within the timeframe required by Nigerian data protection law, and may need to verify your identity first.

9. Data security

We use industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your information — encryption in transit, access controls restricting who inside WakaHustle can see what, and never storing the most sensitive identity documents ourselves at all (Section 2). No system is perfectly secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security, but we work to reduce risk and to detect and respond quickly if something goes wrong.

10. If something goes wrong

If we become aware of a data breach that creates a real risk to your rights or freedoms, we will notify the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and affected users without undue delay, consistent with Nigerian data protection law's breach-notification requirements.

11. Children's privacy

WakaHustle is not directed at, and does not knowingly collect personal information from, anyone under 18 (see our Terms of Service, Section 2). If we learn an account belongs to someone under 18, we will take steps to close it and delete the associated personal information, subject to any legal retention requirement.

12. Contact us

For any question, request, or complaint about this Policy or how we handle your information, reach us through our Contact page, or at our registered address: 7 Etokeren, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. You may also lodge a complaint directly with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy as our Platform, processors, or legal obligations change. If a change is material, we'll give you reasonable notice in-app or by other means before it takes effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.