Privacy Policy

1. About Help Me Nigeria

Help Me Nigeria is an online crowdfunding platform that enables individuals, nonprofits, communities, and organizations to raise funds for personal, medical, educational, charitable, emergency, business, and community-related causes. Our Platform facilitates fundraising and donations but is not a bank or financial institution.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information directly from you, automatically through your use of the Platform, and from trusted third parties.

A. Information You Provide

When creating an account or using our Platform, we may collect:

• Full name
• Username
• Email address
• Phone number
• Residential address
• Date of birth
• Government-issued identification
• Selfie or biometric verification (where legally required)
• Password and authentication credentials
• Profile photographs
• Payment information
• Bank account information
• Tax information where required
• Campaign descriptions
• Images and videos uploaded to campaigns
• Donation messages
• Comments and communications
• Customer support requests

B. Donation Information

When you make a donation, we may collect:

• Donation amount
• Currency
• Payment method
• Billing address
• Donation message
• Anonymous donation preference
• Transaction reference
• Tax receipt information

Sensitive payment information is processed by certified third-party payment processors. We do not store complete payment card numbers.

C. Campaign Information

If you create a fundraiser, we collect:

• Campaign title
• Story
• Campaign category
• Fundraising goal
• Beneficiary details
• Identity verification documents
• Bank account for withdrawals
• Supporting documentation
• Photos
• Videos
• Updates posted during the campaign

D. Automatically Collected Information

When you use our Platform, we automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device information
• Device identifiers
• Operating system
• Language preferences
• Referring URLs
• Pages visited
• Clickstream data
• Session duration
• Time zone
• Cookie identifiers
• Location information (where permitted)

E. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use:

• Essential cookies
• Security cookies
• Authentication cookies
• Preference cookies
• Analytics cookies
• Performance cookies
• Marketing cookies (where permitted)

Users may manage cookie preferences through browser settings. Certain Platform features may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Create and manage user accounts
• Process donations
• Verify identities
• Prevent fraud
• Process campaign withdrawals
• Communicate with users
• Provide customer support
• Improve our Platform
• Personalize user experience
• Analyze Platform performance
• Conduct security monitoring
• Meet legal obligations
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce our Terms of Service
• Detect suspicious activities
• Conduct audits
• Send service notifications
• Send marketing communications (with consent where required)

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Where applicable, we process personal information based on:

• Your consent
• Performance of a contract
• Compliance with legal obligations
• Protection of vital interests
• Legitimate business interests
• Public interest where applicable

5. Identity Verification

To maintain trust and prevent fraud, we may require identity verification before:

• Publishing campaigns
• Receiving donations
• Withdrawing funds
• Updating payment information
• Accessing certain Platform features

Verification may include:

• Government-issued identification
• Selfie verification
• Address verification
• Phone verification
• Email verification
• Bank verification

We may use trusted identity verification providers.

6. Payment Processing

Payments are securely processed by licensed third-party payment providers. These providers may collect:

• Card information
• Bank account information
• Billing information
• Fraud prevention information

Their processing is governed by their own privacy policies.

7. How We Share Information

We may share information with:

Service Providers

Including providers of:

• Cloud hosting
• Payment processing
• Identity verification
• Fraud prevention
• Email delivery
• Customer support
• Analytics
• Marketing services

These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information.

Campaign Visitors

If you create a campaign, information you publish may be visible to the public, including:

• Campaign title
• Story
• Photos
• Videos
• Updates
• Fundraising goal
• Amount raised
• Organizer name (unless anonymous options are provided)

Donors

Depending on donor preferences:

• Name
• Donation message
• Donation amount (where displayed)

Anonymous donations will not publicly display donor identities.

Legal Authorities

We may disclose information when required by law, including in response to:

• Court orders
• Warrants
• Government investigations
• Regulatory requests
• Law enforcement requests

Business Transfers

If Help Me Nigeria undergoes a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing, or asset sale, personal information may be transferred as part of the transaction, subject to applicable law.

8. International Data Transfers

Your information may be processed or stored in countries outside your country of residence. Where required, we implement appropriate safeguards to protect personal information during international transfers.

9. Data Retention

We retain information only as long as necessary for:

• Providing services
• Fraud prevention
• Legal compliance
• Financial reporting
• Tax obligations
• Resolving disputes
• Enforcing agreements

Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and applicable legal requirements.

10. Security

We implement technical, administrative, and physical safeguards, including:

• SSL/TLS encryption
• Secure servers
• Encryption of sensitive data
• Firewalls
• Access controls
• Multi-factor authentication where available
• Security monitoring
• Regular vulnerability assessments
• Employee confidentiality obligations

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

11. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Access your personal information
• Correct inaccurate information
• Delete your information
• Restrict processing
• Object to certain processing
• Withdraw consent
• Request data portability
• Lodge complaints with a data protection authority

We may require identity verification before fulfilling requests.

12. Marketing Communications

With your consent where required, we may send:

• Product updates
• Platform announcements
• Campaign recommendations
• Newsletters
• Promotional offers

You may unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link or your account settings. Service-related communications will continue even if you opt out of marketing messages.

13. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not intended for children under the age required by applicable law to create an account independently. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate authorization. If we become aware that we have collected such information improperly, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

14. Fraud Prevention

To protect users and maintain the integrity of the Platform, we may:

• Monitor transactions
• Detect unusual activity
• Verify identities
• Suspend accounts
• Investigate suspected fraud
• Report suspected criminal activity to appropriate authorities where required

15. Third-Party Services

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites and services. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, content, or security. We encourage users to review the privacy policies of those third parties before providing personal information.

16. User Content

Campaign stories, updates, comments, images, videos, and other content that you choose to make public may be viewed, copied, indexed by search engines, or shared by other users. Please avoid posting sensitive personal information that you do not wish to make public.

17. Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your account by contacting us. We may retain certain information after account deletion where necessary to:

• Complete transactions
• Prevent fraud
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce agreements
• Maintain financial records required by law

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify users through appropriate means, such as posting a notice on the Platform, sending an email, or providing an in-app notification. Your continued use of the Platform after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

19. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact us:

If required by applicable law, you may also contact our designated Data Protection Officer using the contact details published on our website.

20. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), without prejudice to any mandatory rights available to users under applicable data protection laws in their jurisdiction.

21. Your Consent

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Help Me Nigeria Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Privacy Policy and consent to the collection, use, disclosure, and storage of your personal information as described herein, subject to applicable law.