ChuoLinkWho we are
This policy explains how Africa Chuolink Limited ("ChuoLink", "we") collects and uses personal information through the ChuoLink app and chuolink.net, and the choices you have. We handle personal information in line with the Personal Data Protection Act of Tanzania.
What we collect
Your account: your phone number or email, your name, gender and date of birth, your language and app settings, and your agreement to our terms.
What you tell us: the courses, universities, countries and levels you ask about or apply for, where you are in your studies, and messages you send us.
Student files: when ChuoLink takes on a student, our staff keep a file with the student's profile, documents, applications, stages, invoices and payments. This is collected from the student and the family for the service they asked for.
Payments: the amount, the method, the phone number used for mobile money and the payment provider's reference. Card numbers and PINs are handled only by the payment provider.
Device and usage: your device type, app version, push notification token, IP address, when you sign in, the screens you open and the searches you make in the app. We use this to keep the app secure, fix problems and understand what helps users.
How we use it
We use personal information to: sign you in and keep your account secure; provide our consultancy service, including applications, admissions, scholarships, visas and travel; show linked accounts the progress of a student's file; process and confirm payments and issue receipts; send notifications and emails about your account and the files you follow; answer your questions; and improve the app. We do not sell personal information.
Who can see a student's file
ChuoLink staff who work on the student's file can see it, each according to their role.
Accounts that our staff link to the file, on the request of the student or the family, can see the file's stages, applications and status, invoices, payments and receipts in the app. They do not see the student's documents or passwords. A student or family may ask us at any time to add or remove a linked account.
Who we share it with
Universities and scholarship bodies the student applies to, and embassies, immigration and other authorities, as each application or visa requires.
Service providers who work for us under confidentiality: our payment provider (Selcom) for mobile money and card payments; Google Firebase to deliver push notifications; SMS and email services to deliver sign-in codes and messages; DigitalOcean, which hosts our systems and stores documents.
Authorities, when the law requires it.
How long we keep it
An app account is kept while you use it. When you ask to delete it, it is deleted 30 days later unless you sign in again before then. A student's file, its documents and its financial records are kept for as long as the service needs them and as the law requires for financial and immigration records. Records of who changed what are kept to protect students and ChuoLink.
Security
Sign-in codes and session tokens are stored only as hashes. Documents are stored privately and opened only through links that expire within minutes. Passwords kept for a student's applications are encrypted. Staff access is limited by role and recorded. No system is perfectly secure, and we will tell you if a breach affects you.
Your rights
You may ask to see, correct or delete your personal information, or object to how we use it. You can correct your details and delete your account in the app. For anything else, write to info@chuolink.net and we will answer within 30 days.
Children
ChuoLink is for users aged 13 and over. Information about a student under 18 is collected with the involvement of a parent or guardian.
Changes to this policy
We may change this policy. We publish the new version with its date, and the app asks you to agree to it before you go on.
Contact
Africa Chuolink Limited, Tanzania. Email: info@chuolink.net.