Privacy Policy

Last updated 6 November 2026

NIFO Privacy Policy At NIFO, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. NIFO is a community platform created to connect Nigerians in the United Kingdom. It allows members to share information, participate in discussions, discover opportunities, communicate with one another and advertise products and services through Marketplace. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how we protect it and the choices and rights available to you when you use NIFO. It applies to the NIFO website at https://nifo.app, the NIFO mobile application and related services. By using NIFO, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. 1. Who we are NIFO is operated by: Legal name: Nigerian Forum in the UK Trading name: NIFO Contact email: admin@nifo.app Business or registered address: Carlton Road Derby DE23 6HD United Kingdom For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, the organisation or individual identified above is the data controller responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is processed. In this Policy, references to “NIFO”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the operator identified above. 2. Information we collect The information we collect depends on how you use NIFO. You can browse much of the platform without registering for an account, but some features require an account. 2.1 Account and profile information When you register for a NIFO account, we may collect: Email address. Username. Display name. Profile photograph or avatar. Password and authentication information. Account creation date. Account settings and preferences. Optional contact information you choose to make publicly visible. Your password is handled through our authentication service. We do not display your password to other members. Your username, display name and profile photograph may be visible to other users. Your contact information is only displayed publicly where you have chosen to make it available. 2.2 Guest browsing and interactions You can access public content on NIFO without creating a registered account. Where you interact with posts as a guest, such as viewing, liking or sharing content, NIFO may create a temporary or anonymous account identifier to associate those interactions with a session. We may collect information such as: An anonymous or pseudonymous user identifier. Posts viewed or interacted with. Likes, shares and other recorded interactions. The time and date of interactions. This allows us to provide guest interaction features, measure content engagement and maintain the operation of the platform. An anonymous identifier does not necessarily identify you by name or email address. However, it may still be treated as personal data where it can be linked to an identifiable person or device. 2.3 Posts, comments and other content When you contribute to NIFO, we collect and process the information you choose to publish, including: Posts and discussions. Comments and replies. Photographs, videos and other media attachments. Forum and topic selections. Likes, saves, shares and other interactions. Dates and times associated with your activity. Information you publish in public areas of NIFO may be visible to other members and people who visit the website without an account. 2.4 Private messages When you use NIFO's messaging feature, we process information associated with your conversations, including: The sender and recipient of messages. Message content. Photographs, videos and other attachments. Dates and times of messages. Relevant delivery and interaction information. Private messages are intended for the participants in the conversation. However, authorised NIFO administrators or moderators may access relevant information where reasonably necessary to investigate reports, address abuse, maintain platform security or comply with legal obligations. Please do not use NIFO messaging to exchange information that requires a separate confidential or end-to-end encrypted communication service. 2.5 Marketplace information When you create a Marketplace listing, we may collect: Business or seller name. Product or service descriptions. Photographs and other listing content. Prices and availability. Contact information you choose to provide. Relevant listing and account information. Marketplace listings are visible to other users. Any contact information included in a listing may therefore be accessible to people viewing it. NIFO Marketplace is currently an advertising and discovery platform. It does not provide in-app checkout, payment processing or order management. Buyers and sellers arrange transactions directly with one another. 2.6 Technical and usage information When you access NIFO, certain technical information may be collected by our systems and service providers, including: Internet Protocol (IP) address. Device type and operating system. Browser type and version. Application version. Date and time of access. Diagnostic, error and security logs. General usage and interaction information. We use this information to operate NIFO, maintain security, troubleshoot technical problems and understand how the platform is used. 2.7 Notifications and communications Where you enable notifications, we may process information such as your notification preferences and device notification token to deliver relevant updates. We may also collect information you provide when contacting us for assistance, reporting an issue or communicating with our team. 2.8 Information from external sources The Trending Online section may feature news, stories, links and other content selected by NIFO administrators from publicly accessible sources, including social media platforms, news websites and other publishers. We may process relevant source information, links, publication details and content descriptions to display and attribute these posts. Where content links to an external website or social media platform, that service operates under its own privacy policy. NIFO does not control how those external services collect or use your information. 3. How we use your information We use personal information for the following purposes: Purpose Examples of information used Create and manage accounts Email, username, display name and authentication information Provide NIFO features Profile information, posts, comments, messages and Marketplace listings Enable guest interactions Anonymous identifiers, views, likes and shares Display community content Posts, comments, media, profile information and topic tags Provide private messaging Message content, sender and recipient details and attachments Deliver notifications Notification preferences and device tokens Moderate the community User content, reports, account information and relevant activity Protect the platform Technical logs, security information and suspicious activity Improve NIFO Usage information and engagement statistics Respond to enquiries Contact details and information included in your communication Meet legal obligations Information required for legal, regulatory or law enforcement purposes We may also use engagement information, such as views, likes, comments, replies and shares, to organise and rank posts according to the sorting options available on NIFO. We do not currently intend to make decisions about users solely through automated processing where those decisions have legal or similarly significant effects on them. 4. Our lawful bases for processing Where UK data protection law applies, we process personal information using one or more of the following lawful bases: Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to provide a service or feature you have requested, such as managing your account, publishing your posts or providing messaging functionality. Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These interests include operating and improving NIFO, preventing fraud and abuse, moderating content, maintaining security and understanding engagement with the platform. Consent: Where you have given permission for a specific activity, such as receiving optional marketing communications or using non-essential cookies where consent is required. You can withdraw consent at any time. Legal obligation: Where we need to process or retain information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders or lawful requests from authorities. Where we rely on legitimate interests, you can ask us for further information about the interests being pursued. 5. Public information and visibility on NIFO NIFO contains public community areas. You should understand the visibility of information before publishing it. 5.1 Public posts and comments Posts, comments, replies, photographs and videos shared in public areas may be viewed by: Registered NIFO members. Visitors who access NIFO without registering. Other people who receive a shared link. Public content may also be copied, shared, indexed by search engines or accessed outside NIFO. We cannot control what other people do with information they have legitimately accessed. 5.2 Profile information When someone selects your name or profile information on NIFO, they may see details such as your username, display name, profile photograph and date joined. Contact information will only be displayed where you have chosen to make it publicly visible through your profile settings. 5.3 Private messages Private messages are not public posts. They are intended for the sender and recipient, subject to the limited access by authorised NIFO personnel described in this Policy for safety, moderation, security or legal reasons. Please consider carefully what you share in private messages, especially personal, financial or sensitive information. 6. How we share your information We do not sell your personal information. We may share personal information in the following circumstances: 6.1 Service providers We use third-party providers to help operate NIFO. These providers may process personal information on our behalf where necessary to deliver their services. Our service providers may include: Supabase: Used for services such as account authentication, database management and file storage. Website and application hosting providers: Where applicable, to host and deliver NIFO. Email and notification providers: Where configured, to deliver account-related emails and notifications. Security and technical service providers: Where necessary to protect the platform, monitor technical performance and resolve problems. Service providers are only permitted to process personal information in accordance with applicable contractual and legal requirements. 6.2 Other NIFO users Information you publish publicly is available to other users as described in Section 5. Where you choose to contact another member or make your contact information publicly visible, you are sharing that information with the relevant person or people. 6.3 Administrators and moderators Authorised NIFO administrators and moderators may access relevant information to manage the platform, investigate reports, enforce community rules and protect users. Access should be limited to what is reasonably necessary for their responsibilities. 6.4 Legal and regulatory requirements We may disclose information where required by law or where reasonably necessary to: Respond to lawful requests from public authorities. Comply with court orders or legal proceedings. Protect the rights, safety and security of NIFO, its users or other people. Investigate suspected fraud, unlawful activity or serious misuse of the platform. 6.5 Business transfers If NIFO undergoes a merger, restructuring, acquisition or sale of relevant business assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable data protection requirements. 7. How long we keep your information We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes explained in this Policy, including providing NIFO, maintaining platform security, resolving disputes and meeting legal obligations. Retention depends on the type of information: Account information: Generally retained while your account remains active and for any additional period reasonably required to complete account closure, deal with disputes or meet legal obligations. Public posts and comments: Retained while they remain available on NIFO or for as long as necessary for moderation, safety and legal purposes. Private messages: Retained for as long as necessary to provide messaging functionality and address relevant safety, moderation or legal requirements. Marketplace listings: Retained while listings remain active and for any additional period needed for moderation, fraud prevention or legal purposes. Guest interactions: Retained for as long as necessary to maintain engagement information, platform functionality and security, after which they may be deleted or aggregated. Security and technical logs: Retained for a period appropriate to the security, diagnostic and operational purposes for which they were collected. Reports and moderation records: Retained for as long as necessary to investigate reports, enforce platform rules and address disputes or legal matters. 8. Your privacy rights Depending on the circumstances and applicable data protection law, you may have the right to: Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information. Erasure: Ask us to delete your personal information where the law gives you the right to do so. Restriction: Ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances. Data portability: Request certain information in a commonly used, machine-readable format where this right applies. Object: Object to processing based on our legitimate interests. We will consider your objection in accordance with applicable law. Withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew consent. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions. To exercise a right, contact us using the details in Section 15. We may need to verify your identity before responding. 9. Account closure and deletion requests You may request the closure or deletion of your NIFO account by contacting us. When we receive a valid request, we will review the information associated with your account and delete or anonymise personal information where appropriate and legally permitted. Some information may need to be retained for a limited period where necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, investigate abuse, protect other users or establish and defend legal claims. Deleting an account may also affect access to posts, messages, saved content and other NIFO features associated with that account. The treatment of content already shared with other users may depend on the nature of the content and applicable legal requirements. 10. Cookies and similar technologies NIFO may use cookies and similar technologies on its website or application. These technologies may be used to: Keep the website or application functioning. Maintain login sessions and account security. Remember necessary preferences. Understand how the platform is used, where analytics tools are enabled. Support other technical and operational functions. Strictly necessary technologies may be used where required to provide a service you have requested. Where non-essential cookies or similar technologies are used and consent is required, we will seek your permission before using them. You can manage your preferences through the cookie controls made available on the website. The specific cookies and technologies in use may change as NIFO develops. Any relevant changes will be reflected in our privacy and cookie information. 11. Children's privacy NIFO is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly permit individuals under 18 to create accounts or use account-based features. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 for account registration. If you believe a child has provided personal information to NIFO, please contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action. 12. How we protect your information We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. These measures may include: Access controls for authorised personnel. Appropriate authentication and account security measures. Secure data transmission where supported. Database and storage access restrictions. Monitoring and investigation of suspicious activity. Moderation and reporting procedures. Although we take security seriously, no website, application or method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should keep your login details confidential and notify us if you believe your account has been compromised. 13. External websites and services NIFO may contain links to third-party websites, social media platforms, news publishers and other external services. When you follow an external link, you leave NIFO and become subject to the privacy practices and terms of that third party. We are not responsible for the privacy policies, security or content of external websites and services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information. 14. Contact us and make a complaint If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your privacy rights or have concerns about how your information is handled, contact us: NIFO Privacy Team Email: admin@nifo.app We will review and respond to privacy requests in accordance with applicable data protection law. You also have the right to raise a concern with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator. Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ You may contact the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information. 15. Changes to this Privacy Policy We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in NIFO's features, services, technology, business operations or legal requirements. Where changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention. The latest version will always be made available on https://nifo.app. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how NIFO handles your information.