Privacy Policy

Nigerian LawCompass ("NLC," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of everyone who uses this platform. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and the rights you have over it, in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDPA) and its General Application and Implementation Directive (GAID) 2025.

By using nglawcompass.com, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

1. Who We Are

Nigerian LawCompass is a legal research platform providing access to Cases, Ratios, Statutes, and Rules of Court for legal practitioners, students, and researchers in Nigeria. For the purposes of the NDPA, NLC is the data controller for personal data collected through this website.

2. Data We Collect

We collect different categories of data depending on how you use the platform:

Account Information

When you register, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored in encrypted form, never in plain text).

Membership & Payment Information

If you subscribe to a paid membership tier, our membership system processes your subscription details. We do not directly store your full card or bank details on our own servers — payment processing is handled by our payment processor, who has their own security and privacy obligations.

Usage Data

To provide features like Continue Reading, Search History, Favourites, and content ratings on your Dashboard, we store records of the content you view, search for, bookmark, and rate on the platform. This data is tied to your account and used only to power these features for you.

Technical Data

Like most websites, we automatically collect certain technical information when you visit: your IP address, browser type, device type, and pages visited. This helps us maintain security and understand how the platform is used in aggregate.

Communications

If you contact us through our Contact form, we collect the name, email, and message you provide, solely to respond to your inquiry.

3. How We Use Your Data

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so, in line with Section 25 of the NDPA. The table below sets out our main purposes and the lawful basis for each:

Where we rely on your consent for a specific purpose, you may withdraw that consent at any time — see Section 9 (Your Rights) below.

4. Cookies & Local Storage

We use a small number of strictly necessary cookies and browser storage mechanisms to operate the platform, including:

• Keeping you logged in to your account
• Remembering your Card/List view preferences on search and archive pages
• Enabling offline access to previously-visited pages through our Progressive Web App

These are strictly necessary for the platform to function and do not require separate consent under the NDPA. We do not currently use non-essential tracking or advertising cookies. If this changes in the future, we will update this policy and request your consent where required.

5. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We only share it with:

• Our hosting provider, to store and serve the platform
• Our payment processor, to process membership subscriptions
• Regulatory or law enforcement authorities, only where required by law

Any third party that processes personal data on our behalf is required to handle it securely and only for the purposes we specify.

6. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Some of our service providers (such as our hosting infrastructure) may process data on servers located outside Nigeria. Where this occurs, we take steps to ensure an adequate level of protection is in place, consistent with Sections 41–43 of the NDPA, before any such transfer takes place.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active, and for a reasonable period afterward to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. If you delete your account, we will remove or anonymize your personal data, except where we are legally required to retain it.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encrypted password storage, access controls, and secure hosting infrastructure. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

In the event of a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights, we will notify the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and affected users within 72 hours, in accordance with the NDPA's breach notification requirements.

9. Your Rights

Under the NDPA, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal exceptions
• Restriction — request that we limit how we process your data in certain circumstances
• Portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly-used format
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 12 below. We will respond within the timeframe required by the NDPA.

10. Children's Privacy

Nigerian LawCompass is intended for legal practitioners, students, and researchers, and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page when we do. Significant changes will be communicated more prominently where appropriate.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise any of your rights under the NDPA, please contact us through our Contact page.