United States International University - Africa ("USIU-Africa", "we", "our") operates as the Data Controller under the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019). This Privacy Policy details how we collect, process, and safeguard personal information via the USIU-Africa Mobile Application ("App").
1. Categories of Information Collected
Depending on your usage of the App, the following categories of information may be collected:
- Identity & Institutional Profile: Full name, student/staff identification number, institutional email address, and authentication tokens provided via university single sign-on.
- Academic & Commencement Records: Degree level, school affiliation, program enrollment, graduation honors, and ceremonial attendance status (including in-person and in-absentia records).
- Device Geolocation: Real-time device location (GPS/Network coordinates), requested solely when you choose to use the interactive campus map for venue navigation, marquee discovery, and parking guidance. Location data is processed ephemerally on-device and is not logged to permanent tracking profiles.
- Diagnostics & Device Metrics: Device model, operating system version, anonymous crash logs, and network connection status used to optimize runtime performance.
2. Purpose of Processing
Information is collected and processed for the following legitimate purposes:
- Facilitating secure user authentication and access to university resources.
- Publishing and rendering commencement orders of proceedings, speaker texts, and venue pathways.
- Displaying official academic rosters and commencement verification for graduands and their families.
- Maintaining platform stability, security hardening, and addressing technical faults.
3. Cloud Infrastructure & Third-Party Processors
To deliver real-time features and secure cloud hosting, the App utilizes trusted cloud infrastructure providers managed under strict technical agreements:
- Google Cloud Platform & Firebase: Provides real-time synchronization (Cloud Firestore), telemetry, and application asset distribution.
- OpenStreetMap / Mapping Providers: Serves vector tile layers and geospatial campus boundaries.
Neither USIU-Africa nor KNOEyes Technologies Limited sells, rents, or monetizes user data to third-party advertisers or data brokers.
4. Data Protection & Security Controls
In adherence to the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), USIU-Africa and KNOEyes Technologies Limited implement robust technical safeguards, including HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit, strict database access rules, principle-of-least-privilege access, and encrypted device storage for local sessions.
5. Data Retention
Personal data is retained only for the duration necessary to satisfy the educational, administrative, and ceremonial objectives outlined in this policy, or as mandated by university archiving and statutory retention requirements.
6. Your Data Rights
Under Kenyan data protection law, you have the right to:
- Request access to personal information held about you.
- Request rectification of inaccurate, out-of-date, or incomplete data.
- Withdraw device permissions (such as location access) at any time via your device operating system settings.
- Lodge an inquiry or objection with the university’s Data Protection Officer regarding the processing of your data.
7. Children's Privacy
The App is intended for university students, employees, alumni, and invited adult guests. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 13 years of age without verified guardian authorization.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect operational, legal, or technical changes. Any revisions will be published on this page with an updated revision date.
9. Contact Details
For inquiries, rights requests, or data privacy questions, please contact:
- Data Protection Officer (USIU-Africa): dpo@usiu.ac.ke
- ICT Helpdesk (USIU-Africa): helpdesk@usiu.ac.ke | Nairobi, Kenya
- Technical Development Partner (KNOEyes Technologies Limited): privacy@knoeyes.com