This policy explains what VeraStaff collects, why, and your rights under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA) and the General Application and Implementation Directive 2025 (GAID). VeraStaff is operated by Analytical Mind Geeks Data Solutions Ltd (AMG). Our regulator is the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), with which we are registered as a data controller/processor of major importance (Registration ID NDPC/DCP/12858).
1. Who we are
VeraStaff is a verified marketplace connecting people who want to hire (employers) with people offering informal, domestic and freelance work (workers) across Nigeria. The data controller is Analytical Mind Geeks Data Solutions Ltd. You can contact us at support@verastaff.app.
2. Information we collect
Account information
Your phone number (used to sign in), and an email address you choose to add for receipts.
Identity and verification data (workers)
To be visible on VeraStaff, a worker completes a National Identification Number (NIN) check. We may also process, where a worker chooses optional verifications: Bank Verification Number (BVN), residential address, guarantor details, referee details, and police-clearance consent. Identity checks are carried out through a licensed verification provider (currently Prembly).
We practise data minimisation. We do not store your NIN or BVN. The number you enter is transmitted to the verification provider to perform the check and is then discarded. For NIN we retain only a one-way hash (which cannot be reversed back into your NIN) to prevent the same identity being registered on more than one profile, together with the verified name, which is locked to your profile. For BVN and other optional checks we retain only a record that the check was completed, not the underlying number or document.
Third-party data
VeraStaff offers two distinct optional checks involving other people. A guarantor is someone who formally vouches for a worker and agrees to be accountable for them. A referee is a past employer or client who confirms the worker's previous work and carries no such accountability. Where a worker provides a guarantor or a referee, we collect that third party's name and phone number for the sole purpose of completing that specific verification. We do not display these details to employers; they are accessible only to our verification team.
Profile and activity data
Role or roles, availability, a profile photo, a description of services, your approximate location (state and local government area, derived from your device location at registration), references and ratings, connections, reports, and saved shortlists.
Payment data
Payments for connections and verifications are processed by our payment provider (Paystack). We do not store full card details; we receive confirmation of payment and a reference.
Device and technical data
We may collect your IP address and a per-app device identifier (Apple IDFV or an app-generated identifier, never a hardware identifier or advertising ID) for fraud and abuse prevention only. This is used on our servers to detect manipulation of references and is not used for advertising or cross-app tracking.
Notifications
If you allow notifications, we store a push token to send you reminders, such as feedback prompts.
3. Why we use your information (lawful basis)
We process your information to: operate the marketplace and match employers with workers (performance of a contract); verify identity and build trust scores (legitimate interest in a trustworthy platform, and your consent for optional checks); prevent fraud and abuse, including detecting manipulated references (legitimate interest); process payments (contract); send service messages and reminders (consent or legitimate interest); and comply with legal obligations.
4. What we show to others
An employer sees a worker's profile: name, role or roles, location, trust score, verification badges (which checks passed, not the underlying details), services, and references. A worker's contact details are revealed to an employer only after the employer pays a connection fee. Guarantor and referee contact details are never shown to employers.
5. Keeping contact details in-app
To protect users, we detect and block attempts to share phone numbers, emails, or social handles inside profile text and descriptions. This keeps contact exchange within the verified flow.
6. Sharing your information
We share data only with: our verification provider (currently Prembly, for identity checks), our payment provider (currently Paystack, to process payments), our notification and messaging providers (to deliver reminders), and authorities where required by law. We do not sell your personal data.
7. International data transfers
Some of our service providers process data outside Nigeria. In particular, our database and hosting infrastructure are located in Ireland (European Union) and the United States. This means your personal data may be transferred to, and stored or processed in, those countries. Where we transfer personal data outside Nigeria, we do so in line with the NDPA 2023, relying on appropriate safeguards and lawful transfer mechanisms, and we remain responsible for that data. By using VeraStaff you understand that your data may be processed in these locations for the purposes described in this policy.
8. Retention
We keep account and reputation data while your account is active and as needed for trust history. Verification inputs, including guarantor and referee contact details, are retained only as long as necessary to evidence the check, after which they may be minimised or deleted. Payment records are kept as required by law.
You can delete your account at any time from within the app. When you do, we erase your personal data, including your profile, name, contact details, verification records, saved shortlists, connection history, and any feedback linked to you. Two limited exceptions apply. First, payment records are kept in anonymised form (with no name or phone number attached) for the period required by accounting and tax law, after which they are deleted. Second, where an account is deleted while it has unresolved trust or safety concerns, we retain a one-way hash of the verification ID (which cannot be reversed into the underlying number) for up to 12 months, for the sole purpose of preventing the same person from evading their record by re-registering. No other personal data is kept in that case.
9. Your rights
Under the NDPA you have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of your personal data, to object to certain processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent. You can delete your account and personal data directly in the app, or contact support@verastaff.app to exercise any of these rights. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
10. Security
We use technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit and access controls. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and to limit who can access verification details to our verification team.
11. Children
VeraStaff is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.
12. Changes
We may update this policy. We will post the new version here with an updated date, and notify you in-app of material changes.
13. Contact
Analytical Mind Geeks Data Solutions Ltd. Email: support@verastaff.app.