SmartChurch

Menu

Privacy Policy

On This Page

Privacy Policy

  • Last Updated: 19 October 2026
1. Introduction

SmartChurch (“we,” “our,” or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of individuals who use our website, software application, and related services.

SmartChurch is a church management platform that helps churches and religious organisations manage members, attendance, finances, communications, follow-ups, branches, and other administrative activities.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal information when you visit our website, create an account, use our platform, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with our services.

By using SmartChurch, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. Where consent is the appropriate legal basis for processing, we will seek it as required by applicable law.

2. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to:

  • Visitors to the SmartChurch website.

  • Church administrators and staff who create or manage accounts.

  • Churches and organisations that subscribe to SmartChurch.

  • Members, visitors, volunteers, and other individuals whose information is entered into the platform by a church.

  • Individuals who contact our support team or interact with us through other communication channels.

When a church uploads or manages information about its members, the church may determine why and how that information is used, while SmartChurch processes it to provide the platform. The respective responsibilities depend on the particular processing activity and applicable law.

3. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with SmartChurch and which features you use.

3.1 Account and Registration Information

When you register for an account or subscribe to our services, we may collect:

  • Full name.

  • Email address.

  • Phone number.

  • Church or organisation name.

  • Account login credentials and authentication information.

  • Role, permissions, and administrative details.

  • Subscription plan and account status.

3.2 Church Member Information

Church administrators may enter information about their members, visitors, staff, and volunteers, including:

  • Names and contact details.

  • Membership and registration information.

  • Attendance and participation records.

  • Department, ministry, branch, or group affiliations.

  • Follow-up notes and communication preferences.

  • Other information that a church chooses to record through the platform.

Churches should collect and upload only information that is relevant to their activities and that they are authorised to process.

3.3 Financial and Transaction Information

When churches use our financial management features or purchase subscriptions and usage credits, we may process:

  • Church financial records and budget information entered into the platform.

  • Subscription and billing history.

  • Payment status and transaction references.

  • Records of purchased SMS units, email credits, or other paid services.

Payments may be handled by third-party payment providers. We may receive transaction confirmations and related payment information without directly storing complete payment card details, depending on the payment provider and integration used.

3.4 Communications Information

When you use our communication tools, we may process:

  • Recipient contact details.

  • Message content and delivery information, where necessary to provide the service.

  • SMS and email usage records.

  • Delivery status, timestamps, and related technical logs.

  • Communication preferences and relevant consent records.

Churches are responsible for ensuring that they have an appropriate legal basis to send communications to their members and other recipients.

3.5 Technical and Usage Information

When you access our website or platform, we may collect technical information such as:

  • IP address.

  • Browser type and version.

  • Device and operating system information.

  • Login timestamps and session information.

  • Pages, features, and functions accessed.

  • Error reports, performance information, and security logs.

We use this information to operate the platform, troubleshoot problems, protect accounts, and improve service reliability.

3.6 Support and Correspondence

If you contact us, we may collect your name, contact details, support requests, attachments, and other information you voluntarily provide to help us respond to your enquiry.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for legitimate purposes associated with providing and maintaining SmartChurch, including:

  • Creating and managing user accounts.

  • Providing church management and administrative features.

  • Maintaining membership, attendance, and financial records.

  • Processing subscriptions, payments, and usage-credit purchases.

  • Enabling SMS and email communication services.

  • Sending account notifications, service announcements, and security alerts.

  • Providing customer support and resolving technical issues.

  • Monitoring platform performance and preventing fraud or unauthorised access.

  • Maintaining backups and restoring data when necessary.

  • Meeting applicable legal, regulatory, and accounting obligations.

  • Improving the functionality, reliability, and security of our services.

  • Communicating product updates, where permitted by applicable law.

We will not use personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the original purpose of collection unless we have an appropriate legal basis to do so.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Where required by applicable data protection law, we process personal information on one or more lawful bases, depending on the circumstances.

These may include:

  • Contract: To create accounts, provide subscribed services, process payments, and fulfil our contractual obligations.

  • Consent: Where you have freely consented to a specific use of your information and consent is the appropriate legal basis.

  • Legal obligation: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and lawful requests.

  • Legitimate interests: To protect our services, maintain security, prevent fraud, and improve operations, where these interests do not override your applicable rights.

  • Other lawful grounds: Where recognised by applicable law and appropriate to the circumstances.

Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw that consent, subject to any lawful reason we may have to continue processing the information.

6. Church Responsibilities and Member Privacy

SmartChurch provides tools that allow churches to manage personal information about their members and communities.

Churches using our platform are responsible for determining whether they have the authority and appropriate legal basis to collect, upload, and use such information.

Church administrators should:

  • Inform members about relevant personal data processing where required.

  • Obtain consent where it is legally required.

  • Restrict access to personal information to authorised personnel.

  • Maintain accurate and relevant records.

  • Avoid collecting unnecessary personal information.

  • Ensure that SMS and email communications comply with applicable privacy and electronic communications requirements.

  • Respond appropriately to privacy requests from their members.

Because church records may reveal religious affiliation or other sensitive information, churches should apply appropriate safeguards and carefully control access to such records.

SmartChurch will handle personal information entrusted to us in accordance with our contractual obligations, this Privacy Policy, and applicable law.

7. How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information to third parties as part of our ordinary business operations.

We may share or make information available in the following circumstances:

7.1 Service Providers

We may use trusted third-party providers to support our operations, including:

  • Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers.

  • Database, storage, and backup services.

  • Payment processing providers.

  • SMS and email delivery providers.

  • Security, monitoring, and technical support providers.

These providers may process information on our behalf to the extent necessary to provide their services and subject to appropriate contractual or other safeguards.

7.2 The Church or Organisation Managing Your Account

Information entered into a church’s SmartChurch account may be accessible to authorised church administrators and other users according to their assigned permissions.

If you are a church member, visitor, volunteer, or staff member, you should contact the relevant church to understand how it manages your information.

7.3 Legal and Regulatory Requirements

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with applicable law, respond to valid legal processes, protect the rights or safety of individuals, investigate fraud, or safeguard our services.

7.4 Business Transfers

If SmartChurch is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or transfer of business assets, relevant information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection safeguards.

8. International Data Transfers

Some service providers may store or process information outside Nigeria or in countries other than the country where the relevant individual resides.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take steps to ensure that the transfer complies with applicable data protection requirements and that appropriate safeguards are in place where required.

Information about relevant transfers and safeguards may be provided upon request, subject to applicable law and legitimate confidentiality requirements.

9. Data Storage and Retention

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide our services, fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.

Retention periods may depend on:

  • Whether an account or subscription remains active.

  • The type and sensitivity of the information.

  • The church’s instructions and legitimate operational needs.

  • Applicable accounting, legal, or regulatory requirements.

  • Security, backup, and disaster recovery needs.

When information is no longer required, we will take appropriate steps to delete, anonymise, or securely dispose of it, subject to lawful retention requirements.

Churches are encouraged to export important records before ending their subscriptions where export functionality is available.

10. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss, destruction, or misuse.

Depending on the systems and features in use, these measures may include:

  • Authentication and access controls.

  • Role-based permissions.

  • Secure transmission of information.

  • System monitoring and security logging.

  • Backups and recovery procedures.

  • Maintenance and security updates.

  • Appropriate access restrictions for personnel and service providers.

No online platform or method of electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore cannot promise absolute security, but we will take reasonable steps to protect the information entrusted to us.

You should use strong passwords, protect your login credentials, and notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website or application may use cookies and similar technologies to support essential functionality, maintain sessions, remember preferences, analyse usage, or improve performance.

Where non-essential cookies or similar technologies require consent, we will seek consent in accordance with applicable law.

You may be able to manage cookies through your browser settings or any cookie preference tool we provide. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of some features.

12. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable law and the circumstances of the processing, you may have the right to:

  • Be informed: Understand how and why your personal information is processed.

  • Access: Request access to personal information held about you.

  • Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.

  • Erasure: Request deletion of your personal information where legally applicable.

  • Restriction: Request that certain processing activities be restricted.

  • Object: Object to certain processing activities where the law provides this right.

  • Withdraw consent: Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

  • Data portability: Request a copy of eligible information in a suitable format where applicable.

  • Complain: Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.

These rights are not absolute, and certain legal exceptions may apply.

How to Exercise Your Rights

If SmartChurch directly controls the processing of your information, you may contact us using the details in Section 16.

If your information was entered into SmartChurch by a church, you should generally contact that church first. We will assist with appropriate requests in accordance with our role, contractual arrangements, and applicable law.

We may need to verify your identity or authority before responding to a request. We will handle valid requests within the timeframes required by applicable law.

13. Children's Privacy

SmartChurch may be used by churches that maintain records relating to children and young people.

Churches are responsible for ensuring that the collection and use of children’s personal information comply with applicable laws and that any required parental or guardian authorisation is obtained.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through our public website for purposes unrelated to providing our services. If you believe that information has been collected or used inappropriately, please contact us so that we can investigate and take appropriate action.

14. Data Breaches and Security Incidents

If we become aware of a personal data breach affecting information we process, we will investigate the incident and take appropriate steps to contain it, mitigate potential harm, and prevent recurrence.

Where notification is required, we will notify the relevant authorities, affected organisations, or individuals in accordance with applicable law.

Churches using SmartChurch should promptly notify us of suspected incidents involving their accounts or information stored on the platform so that appropriate action can be taken.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our services, technology, data handling practices, or legal obligations.

When material changes are made, we will take reasonable steps to notify affected users through our website, application, email, or another appropriate channel where required.

The updated version will display its revised effective or last-updated date.

Where applicable law requires consent or other action before a change takes effect, we will take the necessary steps.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have a concern about how your personal information is handled, please contact us.

SmartChurch Privacy and Support Team

If you are not satisfied with how a privacy concern has been handled, you may also contact the Nigeria Data Protection Commission or another competent supervisory authority, as applicable.

Regulatory reference: Nigeria Data Protection Commission

SmartChurch is committed to handling personal information responsibly and supporting the privacy of churches, their members, and everyone who uses our services.