Privacy Policy

HopNaija determines how personal information is used to operate the service and is responsible for that processing as the data controller. You can contact us about privacy, account deletion or this policy at support@hopnaija.com.

Our handling of personal information is subject to the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and other applicable data protection requirements. Reading this policy or using the app does not, by itself, give consent to optional data processing.

The information we collect depends on the features you use. Information needed to create an account or use a particular feature is identified when it is requested. If you do not provide required information, we may be unable to provide that account or feature.

Account. Your name or display name, the email address or mobile number used for sign-in, account identifiers, verification status and any profile photo you choose to upload. Password accounts may also use email verification and password reset. Google sign-in, where used, is handled by Google.

Activity. Saved operators, searches or filters you use, profile views, selections of the call button, reports or feedback you submit, and booking or meet-up details you choose to share (such as pickup place, destination, date and time).

Support. Messages, attachments and other details you provide when asking for help, reporting a problem or exercising your privacy rights.

Technical. We also process technical records needed to operate and protect the service, such as your IP address, device or browser type, app version, sign-in events, push notification tokens where you allow them, and diagnostic information.

We obtain information directly from you and automatically through your use of the service. We may also receive relevant information from our sign-in providers, authorised onboarding agents (where used), or users who submit reports about interactions involving you. A report may contain someone else’s account of an event; it is not automatically treated as an established fact.

If you register as an operator in the same app, we collect the information needed for your operator profile, including your contact number, city, transport type, vehicle details and photographs, service areas, operating hours, availability and any description you provide.

Today’s onboarding does not ask for a government ID, driving licence or similar identity documents. If we introduce an extra verification check later, we will explain what is required when we ask for it. Supporting documents would be used to check the operator or vehicle, handle related complaints and reduce impersonation or misuse. They would not be shown on the public operator profile.

Where authorised field agents help you enter information, the same privacy rules apply. You can contact support to correct information submitted on your behalf.

With your permission, we use your device location to suggest a city, identify nearby operators and calculate approximate distance. An operator who marks themselves Available can provide location updates so passengers can find nearby transport. Device location can be precise even when the app shows users only an approximate distance.

We use operator location updates for nearby discovery while the operator is Available. When the operator switches to Unavailable, we stop updating their location for that purpose. Your device settings control location access, and the permission notice explains whether access is requested only while using the app or also in the background.

Public operator profiles show approximate distance or nearby status rather than exact live coordinates. Passenger location is used for discovery and is not automatically sent to an operator simply because a passenger views a profile or taps Call. If a passenger chooses to share a pickup spot (or similar meet-up details) for a trip, that place is shown to that operator for that trip. Temporary location may also be used during an active meet-up so both sides can find each other.

You can deny or revoke location permission in your device settings. This may limit nearby results or an operator’s ability to appear as nearby. Revoking permission prevents future access covered by that permission; it does not itself delete information already collected. You can request deletion as described below.

We use personal information for the purposes below. The legal ground depends on the purpose, rather than a single blanket consent for all processing.

• Account, listings, favourites, bookings, meet-ups and support you request. Performance of our service agreement with you, or steps you request before entering it.
• Check operator information, investigate reports, prevent fraud and protect accounts and the service. Our legitimate interests in a reliable and secure service, assessed against your rights and interests.
• Optional device location, promotional messages, or non-essential tracking tools. Your specific consent, which you can withdraw.
• Necessary operational records, fault diagnosis and service performance. Our legitimate interests in maintaining the service. Consent applies where non-essential tracking requires it.
• Meet a binding legal duty or respond to a valid legal requirement. Compliance with a legal obligation. Disclosure is limited to what that obligation requires.

We assess whether processing based on legitimate interests is necessary and whether your rights outweigh those interests. We explain a new purpose before using your information in a materially different way and obtain consent where required.

An operator profile is intended to be discoverable. It displays the operator’s name or display name, profile and vehicle photographs, transport and vehicle details, service areas, operating hours and availability. The contact number provided for passenger enquiries is made available through the contact feature.

Your passenger favourites, private account details and reports are not published as part of your operator profile. Using both roles does not make all of your account information public. We may need to share relevant details of a complaint to investigate it fairly or comply with law, but we limit that disclosure to what is necessary.

Selecting the call button connects you through your phone service. The operator may see your caller ID, and information you share during a call is received directly by the operator. A call-button event does not by itself establish that a call connected or that a journey occurred. Telecom providers handle calls under their own privacy terms.

An operator is responsible for how they use personal information received directly from a passenger. Contact HopNaija if you believe information obtained through the service has been misused. Other users can copy information made public, although their use of it remains subject to applicable law.

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only for the purposes described in this policy or another lawful purpose explained to you.

Service providers receive information needed for services such as authentication, cloud hosting, data storage, maps or place search, and communications. Our infrastructure includes Google Firebase. Providers processing information on our behalf are subject to appropriate data protection terms.

Authorised staff and onboarding agents can access information needed for their assigned work, such as helping with registration, checking an operator’s details or investigating a report.

We may disclose relevant information to competent authorities or professional advisers when lawfully necessary to meet a legal requirement, handle a claim or investigate serious misuse.

If the business is reorganised or transferred, personal information may be disclosed to an adviser or successor only where there is a lawful basis, with appropriate confidentiality and protection. We will explain any material change in who is responsible for your information.

The app and website use storage or similar technologies needed for functions such as keeping you signed in and protecting account access. Where we use non-essential cookies or tracking technologies, we explain their purpose and ask for consent before enabling them. You can refuse or withdraw that consent. Device settings and browser controls can also limit permissions or storage, although some functions may stop working.

We may send account, security and service messages needed to operate your account. Promotional messages require your consent and include a way to stop receiving them. Withdrawing marketing consent does not stop essential account messages.

If you test HopNaija through Apple TestFlight, Apple may share usage information, crash logs and feedback you choose to submit. If you join Google Play closed or internal testing, Play and related tools may also provide crash or feedback data we use to fix problems. Tester name and email visibility depends on how you join the test. Some automatic test-platform collection cannot be switched off while you stay in the test programme.

Cloud hosting and support services may involve processing information outside Nigeria. Where information is transferred abroad, we must have a lawful transfer basis and appropriate protection under the Nigeria Data Protection Act. This may involve contractual safeguards or another mechanism allowed by law. Use of HopNaija alone is not consent to an otherwise unlawful transfer.

You can contact us for information about the countries in which your data is processed and the safeguards applying to those transfers.

We retain personal information only while there is a specific need and a lawful basis to keep it. Different records serve different purposes:

• Account information, favourites, bookings and operator profiles are kept while needed to provide the account or features you choose. When the account is deleted, information no longer needed is deleted or irreversibly anonymised.
• Location records are kept only as needed for nearby discovery, an active meet-up you started, and any separately identified lawful purpose. Showing an operator as unavailable is different from deleting previously collected location records.
• Support messages, reports and security records are kept while needed to resolve the matter, investigate abuse, meet a specific legal duty or establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

Backup copies may remain until the relevant backup expires and must remain protected from ordinary use. When information is no longer required and no legal ground for retention applies, we delete it or make it irreversibly anonymous.

You can request deletion through Account Settings, on our Delete Your HopNaija Account page, or by emailing support@hopnaija.com. Deleting your HopNaija account applies to its passenger and operator information, subject to the limited lawful retention described above. Uninstalling the app, signing out, switching roles or marking yourself unavailable is not an account-deletion request.

We may ask for proportionate information to verify that a deletion request is yours. We do not ask you to send passwords or one-time sign-in codes to make a privacy request. If some information must be retained, we explain the reason unless the law prevents us from doing so.

Subject to the conditions and exceptions in applicable law, you can ask us to:

• Confirm whether we process your information, explain that processing and provide a copy of your personal information.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information, delete information, or restrict its processing in the circumstances provided by law.
• Stop processing to which you validly object, including direct marketing. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider your objection and any overriding lawful grounds.
• Provide eligible information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or transfer it to another provider where legally required and technically possible.

You can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not make earlier processing unlawful, but a feature dependent on that consent may no longer work.

Send requests to support@hopnaija.com. We verify identity only to the extent reasonably needed, respond without unreasonable delay and within applicable legal time limits, and explain any lawful refusal or restriction.

You have the right to complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission. Information about its complaint process is available at ndpc.gov.ng. You do not have to resolve a complaint with HopNaija before contacting the Commission.

We use technical and organisational measures appropriate to the information and risks involved, including controlling access to personal information and limiting access to people who need it for authorised work. We take steps to prevent unauthorised access, loss and misuse. No internet service can guarantee absolute security.

If a personal data breach occurs, we assess it, take appropriate action and notify affected people and the relevant authority when required by law. Contact support@hopnaija.com if you suspect an account or privacy incident.

HopNaija accounts are intended for people aged 13 or older, whether they use the app as a passenger or an operator. We do not knowingly collect account information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through an account, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate steps, including deletion where required.

The app uses information such as city, transport type, availability and approximate distance to filter or order discovery results. We do not use solely automated processing to make decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects. You can ask support to review a decision affecting your account.

We will update this policy when our practices or legal requirements change and show the date of the updated version. For material changes, we will provide an appropriate notice through the app, website or account contact details. We will obtain fresh consent before new processing where consent is required.

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, contact support@hopnaija.com.