Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective date: [effective date to be set on lawyer review] · Version: 2.0 draft · Applies to the Mlinzi app and mlinziapp.com.

This policy is written plainly on purpose. If anything here is unclear, ask us before you register.

1. What we collect

  • Residents: name, phone number, house number, vehicle registration and your estate's guard number.
  • Visitors: name, phone number and vehicle or taxi plate, as entered by the resident hosting them, plus the date and time of verified entry.
  • App use: the distress contacts you choose, and logs needed to keep the service running and investigate faults.
  • This website: the details you submit through forms (name, contact details, estate information).

2. Why we collect it

To let estates verify visitors, to alert residents by SMS when a guest enters, to send your distress SMS to your chosen contacts, to provide support, and to keep a verifiable entry record for your estate.

3. Device permissions the app requests

  • SMS — to send arrival alerts and your preset distress message.
  • Phone calls — to let you call your estate's guard line from inside the app.
  • Contacts — to help you pick your distress contacts. We do not upload your address book.
  • Notifications — for in-app confirmations and updates.
  • [Confirm full permission list against the current build before launch, including whether location or camera are requested.]

4. Where data is stored

Your estate's register (residents, visitors, entries) is held on Mlinzi's servers so your estate and its guards can search it. [Hosting provider and country to be confirmed.] Some data also lives on your phone so the app works offline. The website and the app say the same thing.

5. Who can see it

  • Guards at your estate see today's expected visitors and search results needed to verify entry.
  • Your estate's administrator sees the register for their estate only.
  • Mlinzi staff access data only to run and support the service, under confidentiality obligations.
  • Your distress contacts receive your preset SMS only when you tap the distress button.

We do not sell personal data. We do not share it with advertisers.

6. How long we keep it

[Retention periods to be confirmed — e.g. visitor entries kept for X months, resident profiles until deregistration.] When data is no longer needed it is deleted or anonymised.

7. Your rights

You can ask for a copy of your data, correct it, or have it deleted. Use the self-service deletion page or contact your estate administrator. We verify identity against your registered phone number and respond within 30 days.

Visitors: a resident entered your details for their visit. You can ask for those records directly using the same deletion page — you do not need to go through the host.

8. Breaches and official requests

If a breach risks your data we will notify affected estates and users as required by law. Requests from police or authorities are verified and handled in line with Kenyan law; we disclose only what we are legally required to.

9. The law

Mlinzi processes personal data under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019. ODPC registration status: [registration number if registered, to be confirmed]. Complaints can also be taken to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

10. Contact

Privacy questions and requests: +254 752 770 015 · WhatsApp · [Support email to be confirmed].

Drafted for review. This page is a plain-language statement of intent, not legal advice — the client's lawyer should review before launch.