WakaSafe is a personal safety and journey-monitoring application developed by Voddic LTD, a technology company based in Nigeria. WakaSafe is designed to help users keep trusted contacts informed during travel and emergency situations — operating primarily through offline SMS-based GPS location sharing.
This Privacy Policy explains in clear terms what personal information we collect from you when you use the WakaSafe application, how that information is used, stored, protected, and shared. It also describes your rights with respect to your personal data.
This policy applies to the WakaSafe Android application and all associated services operated by Voddic LTD. It does not apply to third-party services integrated into WakaSafe, such as Paystack, which have their own separate privacy policies.
We collect only the information necessary to deliver WakaSafe's core safety services. Below is a complete breakdown of every category of data we may collect.
Account Information
When you create a WakaSafe account, we collect the following to identify you and manage your access to the service:
| Data Field | Purpose | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Personalise your dashboard and safety messages | ✓ Yes |
| Phone number | Primary account identifier and SMS communications | ✓ Yes |
| Password (encrypted) | Secure account authentication | ✓ Yes |
| Google account info | Alternative sign-in method via Google Sign-In | Optional |
Emergency Contacts
To enable journey safety notifications, WakaSafe stores the following information about your emergency contacts only on your phone and not on WakaSafe server:
- Contact name — Used to identify and display the contact within the app
- Contact phone number — Used exclusively to send automated SMS safety updates on your behalf. Emergency contacts are never used for any other purpose.
Location Information
WakaSafe collects your GPS location under the following specific circumstances only:
- When you start a journey and location access is required to record your starting point
- At each SMS interval during an active journey to capture and transmit your current coordinates
- When you activate an SOS or distress emergency alert, to include your precise location in the emergency message
- In the background while a journey is marked as active, so your contacts continue receiving updates even if you are not actively using the app
SMS Information
WakaSafe sends SMS messages directly from your device. The application uses your device's SMS capability to dispatch the following types of messages:
| SMS Type | Trigger | Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Journey Start | Activating a journey with your start PIN | All emergency contacts |
| Location Update | At each user-set interval during an active journey | All emergency contacts |
| Journey End | Ending a journey with your end PIN | All emergency contacts |
| SOS Emergency | Pressing SOS button or using distress PIN | All emergency contacts |
WakaSafe does not read, access, or process any personal SMS conversations or messages unrelated to WakaSafe's own operations. SMS permission is strictly one-directional — outbound only.
Device Information
For security, fraud prevention, and service improvement purposes, we may collect limited technical information about your device, including:
- Device model and manufacturer
- Android OS version
- WakaSafe app version number
- Unique device identifiers required for security and fraud prevention purposes
We use the information we collect for clearly defined purposes only. We do not use your data for any purpose not listed here without first obtaining your explicit consent.
| Purpose | Data Used | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Create and manage your account | Name, phone, password | Contract performance |
| Verify active subscription status | Account info, payment records | Contract performance |
| Deliver journey monitoring services | Location data, journey details | Contract performance |
| Send emergency alerts to contacts | Location, contact numbers | Vital interests / consent |
| Notify emergency contacts of journey status | Location, contact numbers | Consent |
| Improve app reliability and performance | Device info, crash reports | Legitimate interests |
| Detect and prevent abuse or fraud | Device identifiers, usage patterns | Legitimate interests |
| Provide customer support | Account info, communications | Contract performance |
| Comply with legal obligations | Any relevant data | Legal obligation |
WakaSafe requests background location access solely to support the core safety function of the application. Background location is a critical feature for traveler safety in areas with unreliable network conditions — it ensures your contacts continue to receive updates even if your phone screen is off or you are unable to interact with the app.
Background location is ONLY active when:
- A journey has been explicitly started by you using your start PIN
- The SMS interval timer is actively running and scheduled updates are pending
- An SOS emergency alert has been triggered
Background location is NEVER used for:
- Advertising, targeting, or user profiling
- Passive monitoring when no journey is active
- Sharing your location with Voddic LTD without your direct action
- Any commercial purpose beyond delivering safety notifications
Background location access automatically ceases when a journey is ended (via end PIN or distress PIN) or if the application is manually closed during a non-active state.
WakaSafe requires SEND_SMS permission to deliver its core safety function: broadcasting your location and journey status to emergency contacts without requiring an internet connection.
Access to your device's contacts is entirely optional. WakaSafe used contacts picker and not READ_CONTACTS permission, which is a convenience feature — to allow you to select emergency contacts directly from your address book rather than typing phone numbers manually.
- Contact picker is only used to display a selectable list of contacts within the emergency contact setup screen
- Voddic does not upload, sync, or store your full contact list on our servers
- Only the name and number of contacts you explicitly select and save as emergency contacts are retained on your local phone and not on our server
- Your contacts are never shared with, sold to, or accessed by advertisers or any third party
- You can deny this permission and manually enter emergency contact numbers instead — full app functionality is retained
WakaSafe operates a subscription model to sustain and improve the service. All payment transactions are processed through Paystack, a PCI-DSS compliant payment processing platform widely used across Africa.
- WakaSafe does not store, access, or process your payment card details directly
- Transaction reference numbers and subscription status records are maintained to verify your active subscription
- All payment data is governed by Paystack's Privacy Policy — we encourage you to review it at paystack.com
- Subscription expiry dates are stored to enforce access controls within the app
Your information may only be shared in the following limited and clearly defined circumstances:
| Recipient | Data Shared | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Your emergency contacts | GPS location, journey details, vehicle info | Core safety service — initiated by you |
| Paystack | Payment transaction data | Subscription payment processing |
| Cloud infrastructure providers | Encrypted account and journey data | Hosting and service delivery |
| Law enforcement / legal authorities | As legally required | Legal obligation or court order |
| Business successors | User data in the event of a merger/acquisition | Business continuity — users will be notified |
Any third-party service providers we engage are contractually required to process your data only for the purposes we specify and in accordance with applicable data protection law.
We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to provide the WakaSafe service, fulfil the purposes described in this policy, and comply with applicable legal obligations.
Voddic LTD implements industry-standard technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
Under applicable Nigerian data protection regulations (including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023), you have the following rights regarding your personal data held by Voddic LTD:
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to all verifiable requests within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.
WakaSafe is not directed at or intended for children under the age of 18 years. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18.
Users between the ages of 13 and 17 must have explicit parental or legal guardian consent before creating a WakaSafe account and using the application.
WakaSafe integrates with a limited number of third-party services required to operate the application. Each service has its own privacy policy governing data it processes:
| Service | Purpose | Data Involved |
|---|---|---|
| Paystack | Subscription payment processing | Payment transaction data |
| Google Sign-In | Optional authentication method | Google account name and email |
| Google Maps (link generation) | Generating clickable GPS map links in SMS | Latitude/longitude coordinates |
| Cloud hosting provider | Backend server infrastructure | Encrypted account and journey data |
Voddic LTD may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our data practices, new features, or evolving legal requirements. We are committed to keeping you informed of any significant changes.
- The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect when the policy was most recently revised
- We will notify registered users of material changes via in-app notification or SMS
- Significant changes will be accompanied by a reasonable notice period before taking effect
- Your continued use of WakaSafe following the effective date of any revised policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes
- If you do not agree to a revised policy, you may discontinue use of the application and request account deletion
If you have any questions, concerns, complaints, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the way WakaSafe handles your personal data, please don't hesitate to contact us. We take every inquiry seriously and are committed to resolving privacy concerns promptly.
You have reviewed our Privacy Policy
By using WakaSafe, you acknowledge that you have read and understood how we collect, use, and protect your personal data. Your trust means everything to us.