Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Hardal ("Hardal", "we", "our", or "us") respects your privacy.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose and protect your personal information when you use the Hardal website, administration portal and related services (collectively, the "Platform").

Hardal is committed to handling personal information responsibly and in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 and other applicable laws.

By using Hardal, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Who We Are

Hardal is an independent Christian directory that helps users discover verified giving information for:

• Churches
• Missions
• Christian Foundations
• Orphanages
• Christian Projects
• Christian Events
• Other Christian organizations

Hardal is not a payment processor and does not collect donations made through bank transfers.

3. Information We Collect

Depending on how you use Hardal, we may collect different categories of information.

A. Information You Provide

This includes information you voluntarily submit.

Examples include:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Organization name
• Ministry role
• Verification documents
• Messages
• Support requests
• Feedback
• Suggestions
• Error reports

B. Account Information

If you create an account, we may collect:

• Name
• Email address
• Password (stored securely through our authentication provider)
• Two-Factor Authentication status
• User role
• Login timestamps
• Account status

Hardal never stores your plaintext password.

C. Ministry Information

Where you manage a ministry, we may collect:

• Ministry details
• Branch information
• Official websites
• Contact information
• Bank account information
• Supporting verification documents
• Logos
• Project information
• Event information
• Impact stories

D. Automatically Collected Information

When you visit Hardal we may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device information
• Operating system
• Language
• Time zone
• Referring pages
• Pages viewed
• Search queries
• Click activity
• Session identifiers
• Cookies
• Security logs

E. Anonymous Activity Information

To improve the Platform we may collect anonymous statistics such as:

• Searches performed
• Copy button usage
• Anonymous "I Have Given" confirmations
• Popular ministries
• Popular projects
• Feature usage

These statistics are aggregated and are not intended to identify individual users.

4. Information We Do NOT Collect

Hardal does not collect:

• Debit card numbers
• Credit card numbers
• Bank account credentials
• Internet banking passwords
• Mobile banking PINs
• One-Time Passwords (OTPs)
• BVNs
• NINs (unless expressly required during identity verification for representatives and handled through approved verification providers)
• Donation amounts
• Records of bank transfers
• Payment authorization information

Hardal does not process payments.

5. Why We Collect Information

We collect information to:

• Operate the Platform
• Verify ministry information
• Process ministry claims
• Review suggested ministries
• Review reported errors
• Authenticate users
• Improve search
• Prevent fraud
• Detect abuse
• Respond to enquiries
• Improve Platform security
• Generate anonymous analytics
• Comply with legal obligations

6. Legal Basis for Processing

Where required by applicable law, we process personal information based on one or more of the following legal grounds:

• Your consent
• Performance of a contract
• Compliance with legal obligations
• Legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving the Platform
• Protection against fraud and abuse

7. Ministry Verification

When a ministry claims ownership of its listing, Hardal may collect additional information to verify authority.

This may include:

• Official email addresses
• Authorization letters
• Website ownership evidence
• Supporting documents
• Telephone verification
• Other reasonable evidence

Verification documents are used solely for identity and authority verification and are retained only as long as reasonably necessary.

8. Account Name Validation

Hardal may use approved third-party providers to validate bank account names before publication.

Only the information necessary to complete the validation is shared with the provider.

Successful validation does not guarantee that account information will remain accurate indefinitely.

9. Cookies

Hardal uses cookies and similar technologies to:

• Keep users signed in
• Maintain sessions
• Improve security
• Remember preferences
• Measure Platform performance
• Understand usage patterns

Cookies do not provide Hardal with access to your banking information or financial accounts.

Users may disable cookies through their browser settings, although some Platform features may not function correctly.

10. Analytics

We use analytics to understand how Hardal is used.

Analytics may measure:

• Page visits
• Search activity
• Device types
• Popular ministries
• Copy events
• Performance
• Errors

Where practical, analytics are aggregated or anonymized.

11. Public Information

Information published within ministry listings is intentionally public.

This may include:

• Ministry names
• Logos
• Branch locations
• Websites
• Contact numbers
• Publicly published giving accounts
• Project information
• Event information
• Verification status

Users should not submit personal information they do not wish to become public when contributing content intended for publication.

12. Error Reports

When submitting an error report you may optionally provide your email address.

Providing an email address is voluntary.

Your email address will only be used to:

• request clarification;
• acknowledge receipt;
• provide updates where appropriate.

Error reports are visible only to authorized Hardal personnel.

13. Ministry Suggestions

If you suggest a ministry, we may retain:

• submitted information;
• IP address;
• timestamps;
• communication history;
• moderation history.

Suggestions remain private until reviewed.

Submission does not guarantee publication.

14. Claimed Ministry Accounts

Representatives managing ministry pages may see and edit information relating to their ministry.

Hardal maintains audit records of significant administrative actions for security, moderation and accountability purposes.

These logs are not publicly visible.

15. Administrative Activity Logs

To protect the integrity of the Platform, Hardal records significant administrative actions, including:

• account creation;
• login events;
• ministry edits;
• bank account additions or removals;
• verification actions;
• approval or rejection of pending changes;
• role assignments.

These logs are used solely for security, auditing, fraud prevention and operational purposes.

16. Two-Factor Authentication

Where enabled or required, information relating to Two-Factor Authentication is processed to improve account security.

Hardal does not store recovery codes in plain text and encourages all privileged users to enable or maintain 2FA.

17. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share information only where necessary with:

• cloud hosting providers;
• authentication providers;
• email providers;
• analytics providers;
• fraud prevention services;
• account validation providers;
• professional advisers;
• regulators or law enforcement where legally required.

All third parties are expected to process information only for authorized purposes and with appropriate safeguards.

18. International Transfers

Some of our service providers may process information outside Nigeria.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, Hardal takes reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate contractual, technical or organizational safeguards are in place, consistent with applicable data protection laws.

19. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• provide the Platform;
• verify ministries;
• resolve disputes;
• investigate fraud;
• comply with legal obligations;
• maintain security records.

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

20. How We Protect Information

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, including:

• encryption in transit (TLS/HTTPS);
• encrypted storage where appropriate;
• role-based access controls;
• multi-factor authentication for privileged accounts;
• audit logging;
• security monitoring;
• regular software updates;
• least-privilege administrative access.

While we strive to protect information, no method of transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

21. Your Privacy Rights

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

• access your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• request deletion of information where appropriate;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• object to certain processing activities;
• request restriction of processing;
• request a copy of your personal information in a portable format, where applicable.

Some rights may be limited where Hardal is required to retain information for legal, security or operational reasons.

22. Children's Privacy

Hardal is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under the age of 13.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 without appropriate legal authorization.

If you believe a child has provided personal information inappropriately, please contact us so we can investigate and, where appropriate, remove the information.

23. Third-Party Links

Hardal may contain links to:

• ministry websites;
• social media pages;
• third-party services;
• external resources.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.

Users should review the privacy policies of those services separately.

24. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• changes in the law;
• changes to our services;
• improvements to security;
• operational changes.

Material updates will be published on the Platform together with the updated effective date.

Your continued use of Hardal after such changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

25. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at:

Hardal

Email: info@givehardal.com

---

Summary of Our Privacy Commitments

Hardal is committed to:

• Being transparent about what information we collect.
• Collecting only the information necessary to operate and improve the Platform.
• Never selling your personal information.
• Protecting your information using appropriate security measures.
• Respecting your privacy rights under applicable law.
• Continuously improving our privacy and security practices.