Privacy Policy

TUKOLE is a location-based marketplace that connects people looking for work with people who need work done, in Uganda and beyond. It is operated by Havic Software Inc ("we", "us", "our"). This policy explains exactly what information TUKOLE collects, what other people can see, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

Because TUKOLE is designed to help people find and contact each other, much of what you put on a worker profile or job post is public by design. Please read Section 4 carefully before posting.

Contents

1. Information we collect
2. How we use your location
3. How we use your information
4. What is public
5. Who we share it with
6. Verification and payments
7. Data stored on your device
8. Security and storage
9. How long we keep data
10. Your rights and choices
11. Deleting your data and account
12. Children
13. Changes and contact

1. Information we collect

Account information

• Email address and password when you sign up. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider (Supabase) and are stored only in hashed form; we never see your actual password.
• Emails we send you for account confirmation and password reset.

Worker profile (if you create one)

• Name, role or skill, work category, rate and rate period (per day, week or month), short bio and skills list.
• WhatsApp / phone number (optional).
• Profile picture (optional).
• Up to 3 work samples or documents (photos or PDFs).
• The location of your device at the moment you save the profile (see Section 2).
• Your account email, stored with your profile.
• Availability: whether you are "available now", and the time you were last active. When you are signed in, TUKOLE automatically marks you as available; this expires if you haven't visited for 24 hours, and is switched off when you log out.

Employer profile (if you create one)

• Name, company or business name (optional), short description (optional), WhatsApp / phone number, profile picture (optional), and the location of your device when you save it.

Job posts

• Job title, category, pay and pay period, description, an "urgent" flag, up to 3 photos or documents, and a required WhatsApp / phone number so applicants can contact you.
• The location of your device when you post the job. When you edit a job, we ask whether to keep its original location or move it to your current one.

Applications, messages and ratings

• Applications: when you apply for a job we record the job, your account, your email address and any message you include.
• Messages: the text of conversations between applicants and employers inside TUKOLE.
• Ratings: star ratings (1 to 5) and optional comments you leave about another user, and the ones others leave about you.
• Reports: if you report a profile, job or conversation, we record what you reported, the reason and any details you add. The person you report is never told who reported them.
• Blocks: a list of the people you have blocked, so their content stays hidden from you.

Verification information (only if you apply for a verified badge)

• The type of ID document you choose (National ID, Driving License or Passport) and photos of it (front and back where required).
• The plan you choose, the amount, your name and email, and the payment reference and status returned by our payment provider. See Section 6.

Search and usage

• Words you type into the search bar. Longer, sentence-style searches are sent to our server to be interpreted by an AI service (see Section 5).
• Basic technical information that any web service receives, such as your IP address, browser or device type, and error logs, processed by our hosting and infrastructure providers.

We do not collect your contacts, call logs, SMS, microphone or camera feed (photos are only uploaded when you choose a file), and TUKOLE does not show advertising.

2. How we use your location

Location is central to how TUKOLE works. With your permission, the app reads your device's location:

• While you have TUKOLE open, to show how far away each job and worker is, sort results by distance, filter by radius, and show "you are here" on the map. Your location keeps updating while the app is open so distances stay accurate if you move. We do not track your location when TUKOLE is closed.
• To name your area. Your coordinates are sent to Google's Geocoding and Places services to turn them into a place name (for example, "Entebbe"), shown to you in the app.
• When you save a profile or post a job, the coordinates at that moment are stored with it so it can appear to people nearby and on the map.

Your live location while browsing is not saved to your account; only the location attached to a profile or job you choose to save is stored. If you deny location permission, you can still browse, but results won't be sorted by distance and you won't be able to save a profile or post a job.

3. How we use your information

• To create and run your account, and to send confirmation and password-reset emails.
• To show workers and jobs near you, and to display your profile and job posts to others.
• To let people contact each other by WhatsApp, phone call or in-app messages.
• To understand search requests and return matching results.
• To display ratings and show who is verified.
• To review ID documents, process verification payments and apply the verified badge.
• To review reports, remove content or accounts that break our Terms, limit unverified accounts to one job post, prevent spam, fraud and misuse, and keep TUKOLE secure.
• To show overall platform totals (such as number of workers and jobs), which never identify individuals.
• To meet our legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

4. What is public

Anyone who visits TUKOLE, including people who are not signed in, can see the following:

Map pins are placed at the exact coordinates saved with the profile or job, and the map offers directions to that point. If you save a profile or post a job from your home, people will be able to see where that is. Consider saving from a public place such as your shop or work site.

When you apply for a job, the employer can see your email address and application message. Messages are visible only to the two people in that conversation.

Reporting and blocking

Every worker profile, job post and conversation has a Report button, and you can Block any user. Blocking hides that person's jobs, profile, map pins and messages from you; they are not notified. You can see and undo blocks under Blocked users in your profile menu. We review reports and may remove content or suspend accounts that break our Terms.

When you use the Share button, TUKOLE creates a link to that profile or job and passes it to the app you pick (WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, email, or your clipboard). What happens after that is governed by that app's own privacy policy.

5. Who we share it with

We share information only with service providers that help us run TUKOLE, and only what each one needs:

Some of these providers process data on servers outside Uganda. We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to respond to valid legal requests, or to protect the safety and rights of our users or the public.

6. Verification and payments

• Verification is available on the TUKOLE website (tukole.net). It cannot be purchased inside the Android app.
• Verification is optional. It gives your profile a blue-tick badge for the plan period you choose (3, 6 or 12 months) and removes the one-job posting limit.
• The ID photos you upload go to a private storage area that is not publicly accessible. We use them only to confirm your identity for the badge.
• Payments are completed on Pesapal's secure page. We never see or store your mobile money PIN or card number. We store the payment reference, amount, plan, status and the date your badge expires.
• Your verified status and its expiry are shown on your profile, job posts and the map.

7. Data stored on your device

TUKOLE stores a small amount of information in your browser or app storage to work properly. This stays on your device and is not used for tracking or advertising:

• Your sign-in session, so you stay logged in.
• Your chosen theme (light or dark), and whether your worker or employer profile is the active one.
• Your list of recently viewed workers and jobs, used for the "Recently viewed" sort.
• Whether you've already seen the "Add to Home Screen" tip.
• A cached copy of the app's basic files, so it can open faster or without a connection.

You can clear this at any time by logging out and clearing your browser's site data, or by clearing the app's storage in your phone settings.

8. Security and storage

All data travels between your device and our servers over encrypted HTTPS connections. Access to stored data is restricted by database security rules, so users can only change their own profiles, jobs and messages. ID documents are kept in private storage. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information and will notify affected users of a serious breach as required by law.

9. How long we keep data

• Profiles and job posts: until you delete them or your account is deleted.
• Messages, applications and ratings: while your account exists. They are deleted along with your account, including ratings you left about others and ratings others left about you.
• ID documents: for as long as your verification is active. They are deleted automatically by a daily clean-up once your verification has ended for 90 days, immediately if you delete your account, or within 30 days if you ask us to remove them.
• Payment records: kept for as long as required for tax and accounting purposes.
• Deleted accounts: removed immediately when you use Delete account in the app, or within 30 days of an email or WhatsApp request, except payment records we must keep by law.

10. Your rights and choices

Under the Uganda Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, and other laws that may apply to you, you have the right to:

• Ask what personal data we hold about you and get a copy of it.
• Correct inaccurate data. You can edit your profiles, jobs, name, phone number, email and password yourself inside the app.
• Delete your data, either yourself in the app (Section 11) or by asking us.
• Object to or limit certain uses of your data.
• Withdraw permissions such as location at any time in your device settings.
• Complain to Uganda's Personal Data Protection Office if you believe we have mishandled your data.

To exercise any of these, email havicsoftwareinc@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.

11. Deleting your data and account

Delete things yourself, inside TUKOLE

• Worker profile: tap your profile picture, open your worker profile, then tap Delete profile.
• Employer profile: tap your profile picture, open your employer profile, then tap Delete profile.
• Job posts: tap your profile picture, then Your postings, then Delete on any job.

Delete your whole account, inside TUKOLE (instant)

1. Sign in, tap your profile picture at the top of the screen.
2. Tap 🗑 Delete account. You can also find Delete my account at the bottom of the account settings screen.
3. Confirm twice. Your account is deleted immediately.

This permanently removes your login, worker and employer profiles, job posts, applications you sent and received, messages, ratings, your block list, profile pictures, work samples, job photos and ID documents. Reports you filed are kept without your name so we can still act on them. It cannot be undone.

Or ask us to delete it

If you can't sign in, or prefer not to use the app, email havicsoftwareinc@gmail.com with the subject "TUKOLE account deletion request", or send the same request by WhatsApp to +256 757 721 714. Send it from the email address you signed up with so we can confirm the account is yours. We will delete everything listed above within 30 days and confirm when it's done.

Payment records (amount, plan, date and payment reference) are not deleted with your account, because we are required to keep them for tax and accounting purposes. They are no longer linked to an active account and are retained only for that period. Unused verification time is not refundable after account deletion.

12. Children

TUKOLE is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account or appears in a profile or job post, contact us and we will remove it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as TUKOLE changes. We will update the effective date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, tell you inside the app. If you keep using TUKOLE after an update, the updated policy applies.

Questions? Contact Havic Software Inc at havicsoftwareinc@gmail.com or +256 757 721 714.