Privacy Policy

SmartSchool platform — how we handle personal information

Effective date: June 3, 2026. We may update this policy from time to time; the latest version will always be published on this page.

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how SmartSchool (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information when you use our websites, central administration tools, mobile experiences, and the school management software services we provide to subscribing institutions (“Services”).

SmartSchool is built for schools in Nigeria and similar markets. We take privacy seriously and aim to align our practices with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) framework, alongside generally accepted security practices.

2. Who is responsible for your data?

Platform operator: For the marketing website, central hub accounts operated by our team, and the underlying software platform, SmartSchool (SmartSchool Technologies Ltd. or the entity operating the service for your deployment) acts as a data controller for certain categories of data (for example, account details of platform administrators and visitors who contact us).

Your school (tenant): Each subscribing school or organisation using SmartSchool to manage students, staff, fees, academics, and communications is typically the data controller for pupil, parent, staff, and alumni information entered into that school’s workspace. We process that information as a data processor on the school’s instructions, as described in our agreement with them.

For privacy requests relating to a specific child or family, your first point of contact is usually the school; we will assist the school where required.

3. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with SmartSchool, we may collect:

  • Identity and contact data: name, email address, phone number, role (e.g. administrator, teacher, parent), and similar identifiers.
  • Account and technical data: login identifiers, security logs, device/browser type, IP address, timestamps, and diagnostic data needed to secure and operate the platform.
  • School operational data: academic, attendance, fee, communication, and related records that authorised users submit into the system on behalf of their institution.
  • Support and enquiries: information you provide when you contact us, book a demo, or submit forms (including message content and attachments you choose to send).
  • Billing data: where applicable, billing contact details and transaction references processed through integrated payment partners (we do not store full card numbers on our servers when payments are handled by certified payment gateways).

4. How we use information

We use personal information to:

  • Provide, host, maintain, and improve the Services;
  • Authenticate users, enforce access controls, and protect against fraud and abuse;
  • Communicate about the Services, security alerts, and (where permitted) product updates;
  • Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from public authorities;
  • Analyse aggregated or de-identified usage to improve reliability and user experience.

5. Legal bases (summary)

Where Nigerian or other applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on one or more of: performance of a contract with you or your school, legitimate interests (such as securing the platform and improving the Services, balanced against your rights), consent where we ask for it (e.g. certain marketing communications), and legal obligation where we must retain or disclose data by law.

6. Sharing and subprocessors

We do not sell your personal information. We may share data with:

  • Service providers who assist us (e.g. cloud hosting, email delivery, monitoring, backups), under strict confidentiality and data-processing terms;
  • Payment and messaging partners where your school enables integrations (e.g. Paystack, Flutterwave, SMS gateways);
  • Professional advisers where required (e.g. auditors, lawyers);
  • Authorities when required by law or to protect rights, safety, and security.

International transfers, if any, are carried out with appropriate safeguards as required by applicable law.

7. Security

We implement administrative, technical, and organisational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No method of transmission over the Internet is completely secure; schools and users should also protect passwords and device access.

8. Retention

We retain information for as long as necessary to provide the Services, meet legal, tax, and accounting requirements, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention periods may be set by your school’s policies where they act as controller; we support export and deletion workflows as agreed in our contract with the institution.

9. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, or portability of your personal data, and to object to certain processing. You may also withdraw consent where processing is consent-based. To exercise rights against data held for a school, please contact that school; for platform-level data held by us directly, contact us using the details below. You may lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) or your local supervisory authority where applicable.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies where needed for security, session management, preferences, and analytics. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling some cookies may limit certain features.

11. Children

SmartSchool is intended for use by schools and adults acting on behalf of institutions. Information about minors is typically provided by schools or parents. Schools are responsible for obtaining any required parental or guardian consent under local law.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in law or our Services. We will post the updated version on this page and adjust the effective date. Where changes are material, we will provide additional notice as appropriate.

13. Contact

For privacy questions or requests relating to SmartSchool as a platform, please contact us via our contact page or at [email protected] (replace with your organisation’s official privacy inbox if different).

This policy is provided as a standard template for SmartSchool deployments. It does not constitute legal advice; have qualified counsel review it for your jurisdiction and contractual arrangements.