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Privacy Policy
Last updated: 19 April 2026 · Effective: 19 April 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Twende Technologies Ltd ("we", "us", "Twende") collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information when you use any of our products: the Twende passenger app, Twende Dereva driver app, Twende Venda merchant app, the Twende web portal, our backend services, and any related services we provide (together, the "Services").
By using the Services you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.
1. Who this policy applies to
Twende serves three groups of users, and we collect different information from each:
- Passengers — people who order rides or deliveries via the Twende app.
- Drivers — people who accept ride and delivery requests via the Twende Dereva app.
- Merchants — businesses (restaurants, shops, pharmacies, etc.) that list products and receive orders via the Twende Venda app.
Where this policy says "you", it refers to whichever of these roles applies to you.
2. Information we collect
2.1 Information you give us
| Type | What | Why |
|---|
| Phone number | Your login identifier; verified via one-time password (OTP) | Account creation, sign-in, security |
| Full name | Your name as you provide it | Displayed to the other party in a transaction (e.g. driver name shown to passenger) |
| Business name and category (merchants) | The name and type of your business | Shown to customers in the Twende app and on receipts |
| Address and GPS coordinates (merchants) | Pickup location of your business, optionally entered via Google Places autocomplete | Shown to passengers and used to calculate delivery distances |
| Photos (merchants) | Optional logo, banner, and menu-item photos you choose to upload | Displayed in the customer app to help shoppers recognise your business and items |
| Vehicle details (drivers) | Make, model, plate, type | Shown to passengers; used to calculate fares |
| Driver documents (drivers) | Licence, insurance, identity documents | Verification, regulatory compliance |
| Mobile-money payout details (merchants and drivers) | Phone number and provider for M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, or Halopesa | Disbursing your earnings |
| Order, ride, delivery, and review content | Order items, ride routes, customer reviews, merchant replies | Operating the Service, dispute resolution |
| Customer service messages | Anything you send us via support channels | Responding to your request |
2.2 Information we collect automatically
- Device and other identifiers — Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token, Android advertising ID where applicable, device model, OS version, app version. Used for push notifications and crash diagnostics.
- Precise location — when the relevant role is active (e.g. a driver online accepting ride requests, a passenger placing an order, a merchant setting up their pickup location). Used to match passengers with nearby drivers, calculate fares, dispatch orders, and show maps. Drivers' live location is shared with passengers during an active trip.
- App activity — screens viewed, actions taken inside the app, ride and order history. Used to operate the Service, prevent fraud, and improve usability.
- Crash logs and diagnostics — stack traces and device state at time of crash. Used to fix bugs.
- Network information — IP address, approximate location derived from IP, carrier. Used for security and fraud prevention.
2.3 Information from third parties
- Mobile-money providers confirm whether a payout was successful.
- SMS providers confirm whether an OTP was delivered.
- Google Maps and Places return geocoding results when you search for an address.
We do not buy personal data from data brokers, and we do not collect data from publicly available sources.
3. How we use your information
We use the information listed above to:
- Create and authenticate your account (phone + OTP).
- Operate the core service: match orders to drivers, route rides, dispatch deliveries, settle earnings, send notifications.
- Send you SMS for one-time passwords, order status, payout confirmations, and important account updates (e.g. policy changes).
- Provide customer support and resolve disputes.
- Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, spam, and policy violations.
- Comply with applicable Tanzanian law and regulatory requests (e.g. LATRA, tax reporting).
- Improve the Service — bug fixes, performance monitoring, feature development. We use aggregated, non-identifying analytics for this.
We do not use your personal information for advertising, behavioural targeting, or to build profiles for sale.
4. Who we share your information with
We share information only when needed to operate the Service or as required by law.
- The other party in a transaction. Passengers see the name, phone number, vehicle details, and live location of the driver assigned to their trip. Drivers see the name, phone number, and pickup/dropoff addresses of their passenger. Merchants see the customer's name, phone, and delivery address for orders they receive.
- Service providers that help us operate the Service:
- Google Cloud / Firebase — authentication backend, push notifications (FCM), crash reporting (Crashlytics).
- Google Maps Platform — maps, geocoding, place search, route estimation.
- DigitalOcean — backend application hosting.
- Cloudflare — CDN, SSL, DDoS protection.
- Mobile-money operators (Vodacom M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, Halopesa) — processing payouts.
- SMS gateways — delivering OTP and order-status messages.
- Regulatory bodies. LATRA and law enforcement when required by law.
- Legal requests. We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by Tanzanian law, court order, or to protect the safety of any person.
- Business transfers. If Twende is acquired or merged, your information may be transferred to the new entity, which must honour the commitments in this policy.
We never sell your personal information.
5. International data transfers
Twende's primary servers are located in DigitalOcean's data centres. Some service providers (notably Firebase and Google Maps) operate globally and may process your information outside Tanzania. We rely on these providers' standard contractual safeguards for international transfers.
6. How long we keep your information
- Account data (phone, name, profile) — retained while your account is active. If you delete your account we remove personal identifiers within 30 days, except where retention is required by law (e.g. tax records).
- Order, ride, and delivery records — retained for at least 7 years in line with Tanzanian commercial-records requirements.
- OTP codes — purged after use or after 10 minutes, whichever is sooner.
- Crash logs — retained up to 90 days.
- Backups — encrypted and rotated; older copies expire automatically.
7. Security
We protect your information using industry-standard measures:
- All traffic between the apps and our servers is encrypted with TLS 1.2+.
- Passwords (where applicable, e.g. staff sub-accounts) are stored as bcrypt hashes — we never store plaintext passwords.
- OTP codes are single-use and short-lived.
- Authentication tokens are JWTs scoped per-role and per-user.
- Database access is restricted, audited, and rotated.
- Backups are encrypted at rest.
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If a breach occurs we will notify affected users within 72 hours via SMS or in-app notification, in line with Tanzanian regulatory expectations.
8. Your rights
You can:
- Access the personal information we hold about you — email [email protected] with the subject "Data access request".
- Correct your information — most fields are editable inside the apps; for anything you can't change, email us.
- Delete your account — open the app, go to Settings → Sign Out, then email [email protected] with the subject "Account deletion request" and we will remove your data permanently. Account deletion removes personal identifiers within 30 days, subject to the legal-retention exceptions in Section 6.
- Object to certain processing — email [email protected].
- Withdraw consent to optional features (e.g. push notifications, precise location) via your device's system settings or in-app preferences.
- Lodge a complaint with the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) if you believe we are mishandling your information.
We respond to verified requests within 30 days.
9. Children
The Twende Services are not intended for children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with information, please contact [email protected] and we will delete it.
10. Permissions explained
The apps request the following Android permissions. You can revoke any of them at any time via your device's system settings, but doing so may disable features.
| Permission | Why |
|---|
INTERNET | Talk to our backend |
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION | Show maps, calculate fares, match drivers, dispatch deliveries |
ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION (driver only) | Update your live location while you are online accepting rides |
CAMERA, READ_MEDIA_IMAGES (merchant only) | Take or pick photos for your business profile and menu items |
POST_NOTIFICATIONS | Show push alerts for new orders and status changes |
SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW (merchant and driver) | Show a floating bubble over other apps so you don't miss new orders |
FOREGROUND_SERVICE | Keep the bubble service alive in the background |
RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED | Restore the bubble after device restart if you opted in |
READ_PHONE_NUMBERS | Pre-fill your phone number on first sign-in (optional) |
RECEIVE_SMS, READ_SMS | Auto-fill OTP on Android (optional) |
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced via in-app notice and email/SMS at least 14 days before they take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change. Continued use of the Services after a change means you accept the updated policy.
12. Contact us
If you have questions, requests, or complaints about this policy or about how Twende handles your personal information:
Twende Technologies Ltd
Kijitonyama, COSTECH Building, 3rd Floor
P.O. Box 4302, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +255 767 369 355
We will respond to all enquiries within 30 days.