Privacy Policy
Your search is private. This explains exactly what we hold, what we never hold, and what you can ask us to do about it.
01The short version
Your search is private. We do not publish what you look at, we do not sell your data, and a landlord never receives your phone number until you choose to contact them. Your shortlist and your saved places stay on your own phone.
This policy explains what we collect, why, and what you can do about it. It is written to be read, not to be impenetrable.
Nkwata is the data controller. We operate under Law No. 2024/017 of 23 December 2024 on the protection of personal data in Cameroon.
02What we collect
| What | Why we need it | When |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | To identify your account and show a landlord who is contacting them | On signup |
| Your phone number | To verify you are a real person, and so a landlord can reply | On signup |
| Your email address | Account recovery and receipts | If you sign in with Google or email |
| Your Google profile name and picture | Only if you choose to sign in with Google | On signup |
| Listings you unlock | So you keep access to what you paid for | When you unlock |
| Payment confirmations | To prove a payment succeeded and to handle refunds | On payment |
| Identity and ownership documents | Only for landlords seeking a higher verification tier | If you choose to submit them |
| Basic technical data | To keep the service working and secure | Automatically |
We never collect, see, or store your mobile money PIN. Payments are processed by a licensed provider. Nobody at Nkwata can access your PIN, and nobody legitimate anywhere will ever ask you for it.
03What stays on your phone and never reaches us
Some things are deliberately kept on your device only, because they are not our business to hold:
- Your shortlist of saved houses
- The places you add for comparison — your workplace, your children's school, the market you use
- Your recent searches and filters
These are stored in your browser on your own phone. They are not transmitted to us, we cannot read them, and no landlord can see them. Clearing your browser data removes them.
04Why we are allowed to hold your data
Under Cameroonian law we must have a proper basis for processing personal data. Ours is your consent, which you give when you create an account, and which you can withdraw.
Where we must keep certain records — payment records for accounting, for example — we keep them because the law requires it, for as long as it requires.
05Who sees what
A landlord or caretaker sees your name and phone number only after you contact them about their property. Until that moment they know nothing about you.
- We do not publish or sell your personal data
- We do not show landlords who viewed or saved their listing
- We do not tell anyone what you searched for
- We do not share your data for advertising
We use a small number of service providers to run the platform — hosting, payment processing, message sending. They process data on our instructions only, and may not use it for anything else.
06Data leaving Cameroon
Our servers and some of our service providers are located outside Cameroon. This means your personal data is transferred abroad in the course of running the service.
We take the steps required under Law No. 2024/017 in respect of cross-border transfers, including obtaining the necessary authorisation and putting contractual protections in place with our providers.
If you would like details of where data is held, ask us and we will tell you.
07How long we keep things
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Your account and profile | Until you ask us to delete it |
| Listings you unlocked | While your account exists, so you keep what you paid for |
| Payment records | As long as accounting and tax law requires |
| Identity documents | Until verification is complete, then deleted unless the law requires otherwise |
| Technical logs | A short period, for security and troubleshooting |
When you delete your account we remove your personal data, except anything we are legally required to retain.
08Your rights
Under Cameroonian data protection law you may:
- Ask what personal data we hold about you
- Ask us to correct anything that is wrong
- Ask us to delete your data
- Ask for a copy of your data in a portable form
- Withdraw your consent at any time
- Object to how we are processing your data
- Complain to the national data protection authority
To exercise any of these, contact [CONTACT EMAIL]. We will respond within the period the law allows, and we will not charge you for a reasonable request.
09Keeping your data safe
We take security seriously and build for it rather than bolting it on:
- All traffic is encrypted in transit
- Access to personal data is restricted by role, enforced at the database level
- Identity documents are held in private storage, never publicly accessible
- Every change to a property record is logged
- We never store payment PINs or card details
If a breach occurs that puts your rights at risk, we will notify you and the authority as the law requires.
10Children
Nkwata is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has created an account, tell us and we will remove it.
11Changes to this policy
If we change this policy meaningfully we will say so on the platform. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.
Questions about this page? Contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL] or [YOUR PHONE].
Nkwata is a noticeboard connecting house-seekers with landlords and their caretakers. We are not an estate agent, we take no commission on any tenancy, and we never hold rent or deposits.