Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

SkillTech Academy ("we", "us", "our", "the Academy") is a Kenyan-owned digital skills training platform operating under the domain skilltechacademy.top. We provide practical, affordable digital skills training to Kenyan youth and learners across Africa.

Our platform includes online courses, an eBook library, the Academy Store, an Affiliate Program, Support Our Mission, a Sponsorship Program, Career Services, a Jobs & Paid Tasks board, One-on-One Training, and a WhatsApp Community.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information whenever you interact with any part of our platform. It is compliant with the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019 and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Information We Collect

We only collect personal information at two points: when you create an account and when you complete a checkout. No other page on our platform collects personal data beyond what is described here.

a) At Registration

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Password (encrypted)

b) At Checkout (processed via WooCommerce)

• Billing details (name, email, phone)
• Order details (product purchased, quantity, amount)
• Payment method (M-Pesa, card, or bank)
• Transaction reference number
• IP address (for fraud prevention)

c) Collected Automatically

• IP address and browser type
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and referring source
• Cookie identifiers (see Section 5)

We do not store full card numbers, PINs, or CVVs. All payments are handled by PCI-DSS compliant providers.

3. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used strictly for the following purposes:

• To create and manage your account
• To process orders, enrollments, and payments
• To grant access to purchased courses and eBooks
• To deliver download links and receipts
• To process refunds where applicable
• To manage affiliate commissions and payouts
• To verify and process sponsorship applications
• To process donations and issue acknowledgements
• To send transactional messages and service updates
• To send newsletters (only with your consent)
• To improve our platform and user experience
• To detect fraud and prevent abuse
• To comply with Kenyan legal and tax obligations

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data under the following legal bases:

Contractual necessity — to complete the orders, enrollments, and services you have requested from us.

Consent — for marketing communications, non-essential cookies, and any optional data sharing.

Legitimate interest — for security, fraud prevention, analytics, and platform improvement.

Legal obligation — to comply with Kenyan tax, accounting, and data protection laws.

Vital interest — where necessary to protect the safety of an individual.

5. Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience and analyze traffic on our platform.

Types of Cookies We Use

Essential cookies — required for login, cart, checkout, and site functionality. These cannot be disabled.

Performance cookies — analytics that helps us understand how users interact with our site (aggregated, non-identifying).

Functional cookies — remember your preferences, such as language, region, or last viewed content.

Marketing cookies — used to measure the effectiveness of our ad campaigns and content.

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect your ability to log in, use the cart, or complete checkout.

6. How We Share Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only in the following circumstances:

Payment processors — M-Pesa, card providers, and banks, to process payments, refunds, and affiliate payouts.

Email & SMS providers — to deliver transactional messages, receipts, and service confirmations.

Hosting & cloud providers — to store and secure our website and user data on secure servers.

Analytics providers — aggregated, non-identifying traffic data only, to help us improve our platform.

Course platform providers — to host lesson content and track your learning progress securely.

Affiliate tracking systems — to attribute commissions to the correct affiliate based on verified referrals.

Legal authorities — where required by Kenyan law, a court order, or a lawful request.

7. Data Retention

We keep your data only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy:

Account data — retained while your account is active and up to 24 months after last activity.

Order records — retained for 7 years to comply with Kenyan tax and financial laws.

Affiliate records — retained for 3 years for commission and tax compliance.

Sponsorship records — retained for 5 years for audit and impact reporting.

Donation records — retained for 7 years for accounting and audit purposes.

Newsletter subscriptions — retained until you unsubscribe.

Career service files — retained for up to 2 years for revision requests, then securely deleted.

8. Your Rights

Under the Kenya Data Protection Act and GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Correction — you can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete information.

Deletion — you can request deletion of your data, subject to our legal retention requirements.

Objection — you can object to certain types of processing, such as marketing communications.

Withdraw consent — you can withdraw your consent at any time, where consent is the basis for processing.

Restriction — you can ask us to restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.

Data portability — you can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.

Complaint — you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner of Kenya (ODPC).

To exercise any of these rights, email admin@skilltechacademy.top with the subject "Data Rights Request". We will respond within 30 days.

9. Data Security

We take the security of your data seriously and implement the following safeguards:

SSL/TLS encryption — enabled on all pages to protect data in transit.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) — along with DDoS protection to block malicious traffic.

Brute-force protection — rate limiting on login attempts to prevent unauthorized access.

Encrypted passwords — passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text.

Restricted access — user data is accessible only to authorized personnel.

PCI-DSS compliant payments — handled by trusted providers; we never store card details.

Regular backups — and malware scanning to keep our systems healthy.

If you suspect unauthorized access to your account, contact us immediately at admin@skilltechacademy.top.

10. Learning & Course Data

When you enroll in a course, we process:

• Course progress (lessons completed, quiz scores)
• Certificates earned
• Interaction with discussion boards and one-on-one sessions

Progress data is visible to you in your LMS Dashboard. It may also be shared with the instructor supporting you or, where applicable, with the sponsor funding your enrollment. Session recordings for one-on-one training are made only with your awareness and stored securely for training quality purposes.

11. Affiliate Program Data

As an affiliate, we process:

• Referral click data and conversion tracking
• Commission calculations and payout history
• Payment details (M-Pesa or bank)

Payouts are processed monthly. You are responsible for complying with applicable tax laws on your earnings.

12. Sponsorship & Donation Data

For sponsorship applications and donations:

• Applications require personal, educational, and financial information for eligibility review
• Submitting an application does not guarantee sponsorship
• Progress reports shared with sponsors use anonymized or consented data only
• Donors may choose to give anonymously at any time
• Donation records are retained for 7 years for audit purposes

13. Career Services Data

Career services (CV writing, LinkedIn optimization, portfolio websites, interview coaching) require you to share career documents and goals. These are:

• Treated confidentially
• Used only for the service requested
• Stored for up to 2 years for revision requests
• Never shared with third parties without your explicit consent

14. Community & WhatsApp Data

Joining our WhatsApp Community is voluntary. By joining:

• Your name and phone number are visible to other members
• Information you share publicly is your responsibility
• We do not share community data with third parties for marketing
• Members who violate guidelines may be removed without notice

15. Minors & Guardian Consent

• Our primary audience is 18 years and above
• Learners under 18 require verifiable guardian consent
• We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13
• Guardian contact details are required for sponsored minors

16. Third-Party Services

We use third-party providers including payment gateways, hosting, analytics, email/SMS delivery, course platforms, affiliate tracking software, and social media integrations. Each provider has its own privacy policy, and we encourage you to review them.

17. International Data Transfers

Some providers may process data outside Kenya. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including standard contractual clauses or equivalent protections, and limit transferred data to what is strictly necessary.

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. When we do, the "Last Updated" date at the top of the page will be revised. For material changes, we will notify you by email or via a prominent notice on our website. Continued use of our services constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

19. Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or data-related requests, contact our Data Protection team by email: