RUTO AI LIMITED PRIVACY AND DATA RETENTION POLICY

Effective Date: February 20, 2025

1. PREAMBLE

Ruto AI Limited respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your data and personal information.

2. INTRODUCTION

Ruto AI Limited, (“Ruto AI”, “We”, “Us”, “Our”) is a digital currency trading platform that enables our users to trade in cryptocurrencies (“Services”). We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal information of our users (“You”, “Your”, “User”) when using any of our Services.

When you visit our website, official social media sites, application, or other online platform, collectively “Sites” or “Services,” we may collect and use certain information about you. Ruto AI recognizes that you care about how your information is used, and your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how we may collect and use your information, particularly your personal information, and the choices you can make about what information you share.

As part of our commitment, we have designed this Privacy Notice (“Notice”) to inform you about the kinds of information we collect, how we collect them, the purpose of collection, how we store and use your information as well as your rights as it relates to handling your Personal data. We recommend that you read this Notice carefully to understand your rights and our duties towards the management of your information. By accessing and using our services, you acknowledge that you have reviewed this Notice and agree to its terms. This also means that you agree to the collection and processing of your data and have accepted the applicable disclosures.

3. CONSENT

We will only collect and process your data based on consent and for each information we indicate that we collect under Notice, you agree to have consented to their collection, processing, storage, use and disclosures. For other information we may require which are not expressly stated under this notice, we will request for your consent and authorization before collection, storage and use. All data collected by us in your use of our services will only be used for the purposes disclosed to you at the time of collection. Your information will not be used for any undisclosed or misrepresented purpose.

4. THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Personal Information

As part of our operations, we collect and process certain types of information (such as name, telephone numbers, email address, account number, identity card, etc.) of individuals that makes them easily identifiable. These individuals include current, past and prospective registered users, newsletter applicants, any and all other persons that in one way or the other interact with our Platform (“Users”) and other individuals whom we communicate or deal with, jointly and/or severally.

To use our Services, you will be required and hereby undertake to voluntarily provide us with certain Personal Information. Personal Information refers to information relating to an identified person or information that can be used to identify you, (e.g., name, email address, telephone number, account number, ID card). It may also include anonymous information that may be linked to you specifically, (e.g., IP address).

We use your Personal Information to:

  1. provide you with the required Services
  2. respond to your questions or requests
  3. improve features, website content and analyze data to develop products and services
  4. address inappropriate use of our Services
  5. prevent, detect and manage risk against misinformation, wrong use and illegal activities using internal and third-party screening tools
  6. send you marketing content, newsletters and service updates curated by us, however, we will provide you with an option to unsubscribe if you do not want to hear from us
  7. verify your identity and the information you provide in line with our statutory obligations using internal and third-party tools
  8. maintain up-to-date records
  9. resolve disputes that may arise, including investigations by law enforcement or regulatory bodies
  10. any other purpose that we disclose to you while providing our Services to you

We may retrieve additional Personal Information about you from third parties and other identification/verification services. With your consent, we may also collect additional Personal Information in other ways including emails, surveys, and other forms of communication. Once you begin using our Services, we will keep records of and collect information regarding your activities as it relates to our Services. We will not share or disclose your Personal Information with a third party without your consent except as may be required for the purpose of providing you with our Services or under applicable legislation.

Account and Transactional Information

When you ‘add accounts’ to our service, we may access, store and process your account information held by your account provider. Account Information includes, for example, your account details, account transaction information, account features and benefits and regular payments.

As we proceed in this Privacy Policy reference to Personal Information will also include Account and Transactional Information.

Information that we collect from website visitors not Users

As a visitor to our website, we do not collect your Personal Information. However, so we can monitor and improve our website and Services, we may collect non-personally identifiable information. We will not share or disclose this information with third parties except as a necessary part of providing our Services. We may, where applicable, use the information to target advertisements to you.

Purpose Limitation

We collect Personal Information only for identified purposes and for which consent has been obtained. Such Personal Information cannot be reused for another purpose that is incompatible with the original purpose, except consent is obtained for such purpose

Data Minimization

We limit Personal Information collection and usage to data that is relevant, adequate, and absolutely necessary for carrying out the purpose for which the data is processed. We will evaluate whether and to what extent the processing of Personal Information is necessary and where the purpose allows, anonymized data will be used.

Cookies

Cookies are text files with small pieces of data sent to your device to enable us to store information about you when you browse on our website if you agree.

We use cookies to identify you as a User and make your user experience easier, customize our Services, content and advertising and where applicable help you ensure that your account security is not compromised. We also use cookies to mitigate risk and prevent fraud, promote trust and safety on our website. Cookies allow our servers to remember IP addresses, date and time of visits, monitor web traffic and prevent illegal activities.

Our cookies do not store personal or sensitive information.  They simply hold a unique random reference to you so that once you visit our website, we can recognize who you are and provide certain content to you. If your browser or browser add-on permits, you have the choice to disable cookies on our website, however this may impact your experience with using our website.

5. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We shall establish adequate controls in order to protect the integrity and confidentiality of your Personal Information, both in digital and physical format and to prevent your Personal Information from being accidentally or deliberately compromised.

We are committed to managing your Personal Information in line with global industry best practices. We protect your Personal Information using physical, technical, and administrative security measures to reduce the risks of loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure and alteration, we also use industry recommended security protocols to safeguard your Personal Information. Other security safeguards include but are not limited to data encryption and physical access controls to our building and files and only granting access to your Personal Information to only employees who require it to fulfill their job responsibilities. No Personal Information processing will be undertaken by an employee who has not been authorized to carry such out as part of their legitimate duties.

6. HOW WE SHARE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE

We do not sell, trade or rent Personal Information to anyone. However, to enable us to render our Services to you on our website, we may share your information with trusted third parties, such third parties include sanctions screening and identity verification services as well as any third parties that you have directly authorized to receive your Personal Information.

We may disclose your Personal Information in compliance with applicable law or a legal obligation to which we are bound. Please note that third-party sites you engage with through our Services will have their privacy policies, and we are therefore not responsible for their actions, including their information protection practices. The use of your information by such third party will be subject to their applicable privacy policy, which you should carefully review.

7. TRANSFER OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Third Party Processor within Nigeria

We may engage the services of third parties to process your Personal Information. The processing by such third parties shall be governed by a written contract with us to ensure adequate protection and security measures are put in place by the third party for the protection of Personal Information in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Transfer of Personal Information to Foreign Country

In providing you with the Services, we may rely on third-party servers located in foreign jurisdictions from time to time, which as a result, may require the transfer or maintenance of your Personal Information on computers or servers in foreign jurisdictions.

Where such Personal Information is to be transferred to a country outside Nigeria, we shall put adequate measures in place to ensure the security of such Personal Information. We shall, among other things, confirm whether the recipient of such data is subject to a law, binding corporate rules, a code of conduct or contractual clauses that affords an adequate level of protection as provided for in the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).

The transfer and subsequent processing of such Personal Information would be in accordance with the provisions of the NDPA, and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) which we comply with. We will therefore only transfer and permit the processing of Personal Information outside of Nigeria where:

  1. your consent has been obtained
  2. the transfer and processing are necessary for the performance of a contract between us or implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at your request;
  3. the transfer and processing are necessary to conclude a contract between us and a third party in your interest;
  4. the transfer and processing are necessary for reason of public interest
  5. the transfer and processing are for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims
  6. the transfer and processing are necessary to protect your vital interests or that of other persons, where you are physically or legally incapable of giving consent.

We will take all necessary steps to ensure that your Personal Information is transmitted and processed in a safe and secure manner. Details of the protection given when your Personal Information is transferred outside Nigeria shall be provided to you upon request.

8. DATA RETENTION

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as is needed to provide our Services to you, comply with our legal and statutory obligations or verify your information with the required verification authorities. Therefore, even after discontinuance of our Services, we will retain certain Personal Information and transaction data to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. All Personal Information shall be destroyed by us where we have satisfied the legal retention timeframe.

For all Personal Information and records obtained, used and stored by us, we shall perform periodical reviews of the data retained to confirm the accuracy, purpose, validity and requirement to retain. The length of storage of your Personal Information shall, amongst other things, be determined by:

  1. the contract terms agreed between us or as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was obtained; or
  2. whether the transaction or relationship has statutory implication or a required retention period; or
  3. whether there is an express request for deletion of the Personal Information by you, provided that such request will only be treated where you are not under any investigation which may require us to retain such Personal Information or there is no subsisting contractual arrangement with you that would require the processing of the Personal Information; or
  4. whether we have another lawful basis for retaining that information beyond the period for which it is necessary to serve the original purpose.

However, for legal and regulatory compliance reasons, we will retain your personal data for an additional period of six years after the termination of the relationship between us. During this period, you may exercise your right to be forgotten/erasure by requesting that we delete your data before the expiration of six years and we may do so immediately upon your request.

9. CHOICES AND RIGHTS

Once your Personal Information is held by us, you are entitled to reach out to us to exercise the following rights:

  1. the right to request for and access your Personal Information collected and stored;
  2. the right to information on your Personal Information collected and stored;
  3. the right to objection or request for restriction;
  4. the right to object to automated decision making;
  5. the right to request rectification and modification of your Personal Information which we keep;
  6. the right to delete or erase any personal data and any information we have about you. This is referred to as your right to be forgotten.
  7. the right to request the movement of your data from us to a third party called the right to the portability of data; and
  8. the right to object to, and to request that we restrict the processing of your Personal Information. We shall inform you of the effect of such restrictions and how it will affect our Services to you.

Your request will be reviewed by us and carried out except as restricted by law or our statutory obligations. You may review and update your Personal Information directly or by contacting us via email at [email protected]

10. AGE RESTRICTION

Our Services are directed to people from the ages of 18 and above. If as a parent or guardian, you become aware that your child or ward has provided us with any information without your consent, please contact us via email at [email protected]

11. UPDATES, MODIFICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS

We reserve the right to update, modify, change or revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. The changes will not be retroactive, and the most current version of this Privacy Policy which will always be on this page and will continue to govern our relationship with you. We advise that you check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification on the page.

We will also try to notify you of any material changes which could be done via email associated with your account or service notification. By continuing to use our Services after the changes become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy.

12. GOVERNING LAW

This Data Privacy Policy is made pursuant to applicable data protection laws and regulations, including but not limited to the Nigeria Data Protection Act and the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation.

13. CONTACT US

You may contact us upon becoming aware of any breach of Personal Information or if your access to our Services has been compromised, to enable us to take the necessary steps towards ensuring the security of your Personal Information.

You may also contact us if you have any questions relating to this Privacy Policy or would like to find out more about exercising your data protection rights. All questions and inquiries may be sent to us via email at [email protected]

14. EFFECTIVE DATE

This Data Privacy Policy is effective this 20th day of February, 2025.