Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how [BCODE Technologies Limited (registration pending)], operating the CareBridge platform, collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information. CareBridge is a caregiving marketplace connecting clients with independent caregivers in Ghana.

[BCODE Technologies Limited (registration pending)] is a Ghana-based entity affiliated with BCODE LLC (United States).

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, phone number, Ghana digital address, and city. Caregivers also provide their Ghana Card number, professional credentials, government-issued ID, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and a profile photo.

Profile Information

Caregivers provide a professional bio, years of experience, hourly rate, services offered, and caregiver type. Clients provide an address, city, and emergency contact details.

Booking Information

We collect booking dates, times, duration, service type, location, and any notes you provide to the caregiver. We also record booking status changes, cancellations, and reviews.

Payment Information

Payments are processed by Paystack. We do not store your full card numbers, bank account details, or mobile money PINs. We store Paystack transaction references, payment amounts, and refund records for accounting purposes.

Communication Information

We store in-app chat messages between clients and caregivers, support ticket conversations, and notification history.

Usage Information

We automatically collect your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and timestamps when you use CareBridge.

Location Information

During active bookings, caregivers may share their location for check-in verification. This data is used solely to confirm arrival at the booking location and is not tracked outside of active bookings.

2. How We Use Your Information

• Provide, maintain, and improve the CareBridge platform
• Process bookings, payments, refunds, and caregiver payouts
• Verify caregiver identities and credentials
• Send booking confirmations, reminders, and status notifications
• Facilitate communication between clients and caregivers
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and policy violations
• Generate tax reports for caregivers (as required by Ghana Revenue Authority)
• Comply with legal obligations under Ghana law
• Improve platform safety, security, and user experience

3. Information Sharing

We share your information only as necessary to operate the platform:

• With caregivers and clients: We share relevant booking details (name, phone, address, booking time, notes) between parties to a booking so they can coordinate care delivery.
• With Paystack: Payment details are shared with Paystack (registered in Nigeria, operating across Africa) to process transactions, refunds, and caregiver payouts.
• With Hostinger: Our platform is hosted on Hostinger infrastructure. Your data is stored on their servers.
• With email providers: We may share your email address with our email service provider (currently planned: Mailgun) to send transactional emails.
• With law enforcement: We disclose information when legally required by a valid court order or Ghana government authority request.
• In business transfers: If CareBridge or BCODE Technologies Limited is acquired or merged, user data may transfer to the successor entity. We will notify users before this occurs.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

4. Your Rights

Under the Ghana Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843), you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your data, subject to legal retention requirements (e.g., financial records must be kept for 7 years).
• Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent for data processing at any time (this may affect your ability to use the platform).
• Lodge a complaint: File a complaint with the Ghana Data Protection Commission if you believe your rights have been violated.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at management@bcodellc.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Care Recipients Without Accounts

CareBridge stores personal and medical information about care recipients (family members) that is entered by the booking user. This data is user-provided and not independently verified. Care recipients who do not have a CareBridge account retain the same data rights described above. To request access to, correction of, or deletion of your data, contact us at management@bcodellc.com with proof of identity. We will respond within 30 days.

5. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information:

• All data transmitted to and from CareBridge is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS.
• Sensitive fields (such as API keys and payment credentials) are encrypted at rest in our database.
• Access to user data is restricted to authorized personnel only.
• We regularly review our security practices and update them as needed.

While we strive to protect your data, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. If we become aware of a data breach that may affect you, we will notify you and the Ghana Data Protection Commission as required by law.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide our services and comply with legal obligations:

• Active accounts: Data is retained while your account is active.
• Inactive accounts: Accounts with no login for 2 years will be deleted, with 30 days advance notice sent to your registered email.
• Financial records: Booking records, payment records, invoices, and tax reports are retained for 7 years as required by the Ghana Revenue Authority.
• Chat messages: In-app messages are retained for 1 year from the booking end date.
• Support tickets: Retained for 2 years after resolution.

7. Children's Privacy

CareBridge is not intended for use by anyone under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If we learn that we have collected data from a minor, we will delete it promptly.

Parents and legal guardians may use CareBridge to book care services for their minor children. In these cases, the parent or guardian is responsible for providing and managing information about the child, and consents to its use as described in this policy.

8. International Users

CareBridge primarily serves users in Ghana. However, we welcome users from the diaspora (including the UK, US, Canada, and other countries) who wish to arrange care for family members in Ghana.

Your data is stored and processed in Ghana and on servers located in various regions through our hosting provider (Hostinger). By using CareBridge, you consent to this transfer and processing of your data.

For users in the European Union or United Kingdom, we acknowledge the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). While CareBridge operates primarily under Ghana law, we endeavour to handle your data in accordance with GDPR principles as a matter of good practice. You may exercise your data rights as described in Section 4.

9. Cookies and Tracking

CareBridge uses the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for login sessions, CSRF protection, and basic platform functionality. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: We may use analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) in the future to understand how users interact with the platform. We will update this policy when analytics tracking is enabled.

Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. Disabling essential cookies may prevent you from using CareBridge.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you via email and through an in-app notification at least 30 days before the changes take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact Us

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

• Email: management@bcodellc.com
• Entity: [BCODE Technologies Limited (registration pending)]
• Address: [Address to be provided upon registration]

You may also file a complaint with the Ghana Data Protection Commission at www.dataprotection.org.gh.