Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 30, 2026
At Veritas Social ("we," "our," or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our web and mobile services.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information you provide directly to us when you:
- Create an account (email, name, username, profile photo)
- Use our messaging features (message content, voice notes, images)
- Interact with posts and other users
- Use Veritas Housing features (property address, tenancy dates, landlord details, and repair evidence)
- Contact us for support
Automatically Collected Information:
- Device information (device type, operating system, unique identifiers)
- Usage data (features accessed, time spent, interactions)
- Log data (IP address, browser type, access times)
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve our services
- Process and deliver messages between users
- Provide real-time translation services
- Provide Housing features, including generating landlord notices and tracking repair response targets
- Send you notifications about activity on your account
- Respond to your comments, questions, and support requests
- Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities
- Detect, prevent, and address technical issues, abuse, and fraud
3. Cookies and Analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to remember your preferences, measure site performance, and improve the student experience. This includes essential cookies to select and remember your regional/market preference (e.g. veritas_market). You can manage cookie preferences at any time through the cookie banner.
4. Data Protection & Privacy Measures
We implement strong privacy protections:
- PII Scrubbing: Personal identifiable information (emails, phone numbers) is automatically removed from study chat messages before storage to protect your privacy.
- Server-Side Encryption: Private messaging content and housing documentation are encrypted at rest on our servers.
- Secure Storage: All data is stored on secure servers with encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest.
- Limited Retention: Images shared in chats are automatically deleted after 7 days. Messages are retained only as long as necessary to provide the service.
- No Data Selling: We never sell your personal information to third parties.
5. Sharing of Information
We may share your information in the following circumstances:
- With other users as directed by you (e.g., messages, posts, profile information)
- With landlords or managing agents as explicitly requested by you when dispatching official notices and repair logs
- With service providers who assist in our operations (hosting, address validation, email delivery, and translation services)
- To comply with legal obligations or protect our rights
- In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets
6. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services to process user data:
- VPS/Hosting Provider: Database execution, backups, and secure file storage (located in the United Kingdom)
- Resend: Transactional email delivery for tenancy notifications and official landlord notices (processed internationally under Standard Contractual Clauses)
- Postcodes.io: Postcode lookup and address validation (sends postcode only; no user identifiers, names, or contact info are shared)
- OpenAI: Translation and transcription services (text is anonymized before processing)
- Google ML Kit: Offline translation
- Expo Push Notifications: Delivering notifications to your device
- RevenueCat: Subscription management for Exam App in-app purchases
- Apple App Store / Google Play: In-app purchase processing and receipts
- Paystack: Web payments for Exam App (where available)
7. Exam App Subscriptions & Payments
Exam App offers paid subscriptions. Depending on your platform, payments are processed by the Apple App Store, Google Play, or Paystack (web). We do not store your full payment card details. Instead, we receive purchase identifiers and entitlement status from our payment providers to grant access.
- In-app purchases: Managed by Apple or Google. We receive purchase receipts and subscription status.
- Web payments: Managed by Paystack. We store transaction references and subscription status.
8. Veritas Housing Service Data Processing
If you use our Housing features (including logging tenancy details, documenting repairs, or sending landlord notices), we process specific categories of data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The ICO requires us to determine and document our lawful basis before processing starts.
| Data Category | Processing Purpose | Lawful Basis | Optional? | Recipients | Retention Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postcode & City | Validate property address and determine regional jurisdiction. | Contract (to set up tenancy record) | No (for Housing) | Postcodes.io (postcode lookup only; no identifiers shared) | While linked to active user property record. |
| Precise Location (GPS) | Help locate user region or address during setup. Geolocation is off by default. | Consent | Yes (can enter postcode manually) | None (retained only on device or discarded immediately after lookup) | Discarded immediately after lookup. Precise coordinates are not stored. |
| Property Address | Link tenancy and manage repair logs. | Contract | No (for Housing) | Landlord/Managing Agent (when notice is sent) | While linked to an active user record. |
| Tenancy Details & occupancy dates | Track tenancy period and calculate notice compliance/response targets. | Contract | Yes (Dates optional) | Landlord/Managing Agent (when notice is sent) | Active tenancy plus user-controlled archive period. |
| Landlord/Agent Details (Name, Email, Phone) | Dispatch official tenancy notices and communication. | Contract | No (to send notices) | Email operators (Resend); not visible to other users. | While linked to active user tenancy record. |
| Repair Issue Descriptions | Document issues and compile evidence records. | Contract | No (to report issue) | Landlord/Managing Agent (when notice is sent) | Until user deletes the issue, subject to account-deletion grace period. |
| Evidence (Photos, PDFs) | Support repair claims and legal records. | Contract | Yes | Landlord/Managing Agent (via secure signed URLs expiring in 15 mins) | Until user deletes it. Signed URL tokens expire in minutes, not days. |
| Sent Notices & Communication records | Compile and send formal template notices to landlords. | Contract | No (created when notice sent) | Landlord/Managing Agent | Until user deletes, subject to a stated 30-day grace period. |
| Notice Delivery & Webhook logs | Verify delivery, prevent duplicate webhook events, receive inbound replies. | Contract / Legitimate Interests (security & duplicate detection) | No (automated) | Infrastructure hosting provider, Resend | 12-24 months for notice logs; 12 months for webhook event IDs. |
| Housing Activity & Security Logs | Ensure service safety, detect abuse, and logging audit trails. | Legitimate Interests | No (automated) | None (internal infrastructure security logging only) | 90-180 days. |
Data Deletion & Export: Users can export their complete tenancy records, logged issues, and evidence at any time through the in-app settings, or request a complete export of account data. Active items can be deleted instantly; upon account closure, all associated records are permanently deleted or anonymized within 30 days.
9. Children and Younger Students
Because Veritas Social may be accessed by younger students (including those under 18 years old), we enforce strict, age-appropriate privacy defaults in line with the ICO Children’s Code:
- We never continuously track device location.
- Geolocation is off by default and must be explicitly enabled.
- Location permissions are never a condition of using Veritas Housing.
- We do not display home addresses or active tenancy information publicly.
- We do not include Housing activity on public user profiles.
- We never use location or Housing activity logs for marketing or advertising purposes.
- Landlord contact details are stored privately and are never exposed to other users.
10. Your Rights and Choices
Under UK GDPR and European privacy laws, you have the right to:
- Access, update, or delete your personal information
- Opt out of promotional communications
- Request a copy of your data (data portability)
- Withdraw consent for data processing at any time
- Restrict or object to specific processing operations
To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@veritassocial.org.
11. International Data Transfers & Remote Support
Veritas Social production databases, backups, and file storage infrastructure are hosted on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) located in the United Kingdom. However, international data transfers may occur under the following circumstances:
- Service Providers: We use email delivery services (such as Resend) that process metadata internationally. These transfers are secured using Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to ensure equivalent protection.
- Remote Administrative Access: Technical support staff operating under Southbyte Labs in Nigeria may access UK user records solely for troubleshooting, support, and administrative verification. This administrative access is strictly authenticated, logged, and restricted to necessary operations.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:
- Email: hello@veritassocial.org
- Address: SouthByteLabs Ltd., Lagos, Nigeria