Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3 September 2026

Before going live: confirm the registered legal entity name in the bracketed field below and your registration position with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner under the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021, and have this document reviewed by a Zambian lawyer.
Contents
  1. Who is responsible for your data
  2. What we collect
  3. How and why we use it
  4. Lawful bases
  5. Reviews are public
  6. Sharing your data
  7. Cookies and analytics
  8. International transfers
  9. How long we keep data
  10. Security
  11. Your rights
  12. Children
  13. Changes
  14. Contact and complaints

1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is [Vookamba Limited], Plot 10445S/D/7F, Off Great East Road, Chainama, Lusaka, Zambia. For any privacy question, or to exercise your rights, contact us at hello@vookamba.com or on +260 953 443767.

This policy explains how we handle personal data in line with the Data Protection Act No. 3 of 2021 of Zambia and other applicable law.

2. What we collect

Information you give us:

  • Account data: display name, email address, password (stored only as a secure hash), and optionally your location and a short bio.
  • Content: the reviews, ratings, replies, reports and messages you submit, and any evidence you send us to verify an experience or a business claim.
  • Business claims: your role and work email address when you claim a business profile.
  • Correspondence: messages you send us through the contact form or by email.

Information we collect automatically:

  • Technical data: IP address, browser type, device and operating system, referring pages, and the pages you visit, collected through server logs and cookies.
  • Usage data: actions such as searches, votes and submissions, used to operate and improve the Platform and to detect fraud.

We do not intentionally collect special categories of personal data. Please do not include such data, or other people’s personal data, in your reviews.

3. How and why we use it

  • To create and manage your account and authenticate you.
  • To publish your reviews and replies, and to calculate and display business ratings.
  • To moderate content, verify experiences and business claims, and detect and prevent fake reviews, fraud, abuse and security incidents.
  • To respond to your enquiries and provide support.
  • To send service messages (for example email confirmation, password resets, and notifications about your reviews or claims).
  • To analyse and improve the Platform and develop new features.
  • To comply with legal obligations and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
  • With your consent, to send occasional updates about Vookamba. You can opt out at any time.

4. Lawful bases

We rely on: performance of a contract (to provide the Platform to you); legitimate interests (to keep the Platform safe and trustworthy, prevent fraudulent reviews, and improve our services, balanced against your rights); consent (for non-essential cookies and marketing messages); and legal obligation (to respond to lawful requests and keep required records).

5. Reviews are public

Content you post is intended to be public. Your display name, your review text and rating, the date, and any business reply are visible to anyone on the internet and may be indexed by search engines, quoted, or shared. Your email address and IP address are never shown publicly. Think carefully before including information that could identify you or others.

6. Sharing your data

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

  • Service providers who host and support the Platform (for example our web host, Hostinger, and email delivery), under contracts that require them to protect it and use it only on our instructions.
  • A business you review — it can see the public content of your review and your display name, the same as any other visitor. If you send us verification evidence, we do not share that evidence with the business.
  • Authorities, courts or advisers where necessary to comply with law, enforce our Terms, or protect the rights, property or safety of Vookamba, our users or the public.
  • A buyer or successor if Vookamba is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, subject to this policy.

7. Cookies and analytics

We use a small number of cookies that are strictly necessary to run the site (for example to keep you signed in and to protect forms against cross-site request forgery). We may also use privacy-friendly analytics to understand aggregate usage. See our Cookie Policy for details and how to control cookies.

8. International transfers

Some of our service providers may store or process data outside Zambia. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we take steps to ensure it receives a level of protection consistent with the Data Protection Act, including through contractual safeguards.

9. How long we keep data

  • Account data: for as long as your account is open, then deleted or anonymised within a reasonable period after closure.
  • Reviews: for as long as the business is listed. If you delete a review or account, we remove it from public view but may keep an anonymised copy so ratings remain accurate.
  • Verification evidence: only as long as needed to complete the check, then deleted.
  • Logs and fraud-prevention records: typically up to 24 months.
  • We keep records longer where the law requires it or to defend legal claims.

10. Security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encryption of traffic over HTTPS, hashed passwords, access controls and regular updates. No system is completely secure; if a breach affects your rights we will notify you and the Data Protection Commissioner as required by law.

11. Your rights

Subject to the conditions and exemptions in the Data Protection Act, you have the right to:

  • be informed about how we use your data (this policy);
  • access a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
  • have inaccurate data corrected;
  • have your data erased (“right to be forgotten”) where there is no overriding reason to keep it;
  • restrict or object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests and any direct marketing;
  • data portability for data you provided to us;
  • withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent.

To exercise any right, contact hello@vookamba.com. We will respond within the timeframe set by law. We may need to verify your identity first.

12. Children

The Platform is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes

We may update this policy. We will post the new version with an updated date and, for material changes, notify registered users.

14. Contact and complaints

Contact us at hello@vookamba.com or via the contact page. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner of Zambia.