Privacy Policy

1. Overview

Firm Tutors provides tutoring-related services, including online and one-on-one tutoring, student support, tutor onboarding, tutor verification, account registration, and communication between users and our team.

We are committed to handling personal information responsibly, lawfully, and transparently. This policy is intended to align with applicable data protection principles, including South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013, also known as POPIA, and Nigeria’s Data Protection Act, 2023.

2. Information We Collect

Depending on how you use Firm Tutors, we may collect the following categories of information:

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to operate, improve, and protect Firm Tutors. This may include:

• Creating and managing student, parent, and tutor accounts.
• Matching students with suitable tutors.
• Processing tutor applications and verification submissions.
• Communicating with users about tutoring, support, updates, or account matters.
• Managing payments, proof of payment, and related administrative records.
• Improving our website, dashboard, services, and user experience.
• Preventing fraud, misuse, unauthorised access, or security risks.
• Complying with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting obligations.

4. Students, Children, and Minors

Firm Tutors may process information relating to students, including minors, where tutoring support is requested by a parent, guardian, school representative, or authorised adult.

Where information relates to a minor, we expect the parent or guardian to provide accurate information and appropriate permission for the student to use our tutoring services.

We do not knowingly use student information for unrelated marketing purposes, and we aim to limit student information to what is necessary for tutoring, academic support, communication, safety, and service delivery.

5. Tutor Verification Information

Tutors who apply to join Firm Tutors may be required to submit verification information through the dashboard. This may include:

• CV or résumé.
• Professional profile picture.
• Proof of payment, where applicable.
• Identity documents.
• Qualification certificates and supporting documents.
• Teaching experience, subject expertise, and curriculum information.

This information is used to review tutor applications, verify tutor suitability, maintain platform quality, prevent fraud, and decide whether to approve or reject a tutor application.

If a tutor is approved, selected profile information may become visible to clients, such as name, profile photo, subjects, qualifications, experience, and tutoring profile details. Sensitive verification documents are not intended to be displayed publicly.

6. When We Share Information

We do not sell personal information. We may share information only where necessary for legitimate service delivery, legal compliance, safety, or platform operations.

We may share limited information with:

• Tutors, parents, or students where needed to arrange tutoring.
• Administrative staff who help manage accounts, support, and verification.
• Payment service providers or financial processors.
• Hosting, email, analytics, security, and technical service providers.
• Legal, regulatory, tax, or law enforcement authorities where required by law.

7. Data Security

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

These steps may include restricted access, secure account areas, password protection, administrative controls, secure hosting, and internal review processes.

However, no online system is completely risk-free. Users are responsible for keeping their login details secure and should contact us immediately if they suspect unauthorised access to their account.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your country and applicable data protection law, you may have rights relating to your personal information. These may include the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or outdated information.
• Request deletion of information, where legally possible.
• Object to certain processing activities.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Ask how your information is collected, used, stored, or shared.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the details provided at the end of this policy.

9. How Long We Keep Information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer period is required for legal, tax, accounting, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, or regulatory reasons.

Tutor verification documents may be kept for as long as needed to assess applications, maintain tutor records, support platform trust and safety, or comply with legal obligations.

10. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies to improve website functionality, remember preferences, support region-based content, analyse website traffic, and improve user experience.

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Some features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

11. International Use and Cross-Border Services

Firm Tutors may support users in South Africa, Nigeria, and other locations. Where personal information is processed or stored using service providers outside your country, we aim to use reasonable safeguards to protect that information.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data practices. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.