Privacy Policy

Worketech Limited ("Worketech", "we", "us", or "our") operates YAZA — a mentorship platform available as a mobile application and at yazamentorship.com (collectively, the "Platform"). YAZA connects mentees with mentors across Africa and beyond, enabling career growth, professional development, and meaningful human connection.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you use the Platform, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights available to you. Please read it carefully. By creating an account or using YAZA, you agree to the practices described here.

YAZA is a product of Worketech Limited, a technology company registered in Malawi. Worketech manages the development, infrastructure, and operations of the Platform on behalf of the YAZA brand.

Data Controller contact:

• Company: Worketech Limited
• Platform: YAZA Mentorship
• Website: https://yazamentorship.com
• Email: info@yazamentorship.com
• Address: Malawi

3.1 Information You Provide

When you register, update your profile, or use the Platform, you provide:

• Identity information: first name, last name, date of birth, gender
• Contact information: email address, phone number (with country code)
• Location information: country and region/district
• Professional information: educational background, institution, professional field, occupation
• Role information: whether you are joining as a Mentor or Mentee
• Mentorship information: areas you wish to be mentored in, areas you are willing to mentor, and experience level
• Profile content: biography, profile photo, resources you share, Inspire posts
• Communications: messages you send to other users through the in-app chat
• Requests and feedback: connection requests, session notes, ratings, reviews
• Account credentials: your password (stored in hashed form — we never see it in plain text)

3.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use the Platform, we automatically collect:

• Device information: device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers
• App usage data: screens viewed, features used, session duration, taps and interactions
• Network information: IP address, mobile network carrier, connection type
• Crash reports and diagnostics: error logs, stack traces, and performance metrics
• Push notification tokens: to deliver in-app notifications to your device

3.3 Information From Third Parties

If you connect a third-party account (e.g., Google, Apple Sign-In) to log in, we receive your name and email address from that provider. We do not receive your third-party password.

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

Platform Delivery

• Create and manage your YAZA account
• Match mentees with suitable mentors based on field, goals, and availability
• Facilitate connection requests, messaging, and session scheduling
• Display your profile to other users on the Platform
• Send you notifications about requests, messages, and platform activity

Safety and Trust

• Verify user identities and prevent fraudulent or abusive accounts
• Enforce our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines
• Investigate and resolve disputes or reports

Platform Improvement

• Analyse usage patterns to improve features and user experience
• Monitor and fix bugs, crashes, and performance issues
• Conduct internal research and product testing

Communications

• Send transactional emails (account verification, password reset, session reminders)
• Send platform updates and product announcements (you may opt out at any time)

Legal Compliance

• Meet our obligations under applicable law, regulation, or court order
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Worketech, our users, or the public

Where applicable under data protection law (including the GDPR and equivalent African data protection legislation), we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract performance: processing necessary to deliver the Platform you signed up for
• Legitimate interests: improving our services, maintaining security, fraud prevention
• Consent: for optional features such as marketing communications (withdrawable at any time)
• Legal obligation: compliance with applicable laws and regulations

6.1 With Other Users

Your public profile — including your name, field, bio, and profile photo — is visible to other registered users of the Platform. Messages you send are visible only to the conversation participants. Your Inspire posts are visible to all users.

6.2 With Service Providers

We engage trusted third-party providers who process personal data on our behalf:

• Cloud infrastructure and hosting providers (servers, databases, storage)
• Push notification delivery services
• Analytics and crash reporting tools
• Email delivery services

All service providers are bound by data processing agreements and may only use your data to provide services to us.

6.3 Legal and Safety Disclosures

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of users or the public.

6.4 Business Transfers

If Worketech merges with or is acquired by another entity, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your data is subject to a materially different privacy policy.

6.5 What We Do Not Do

• We do not sell your personal data to third parties
• We do not share your data with advertisers for targeting purposes
• We do not share your private messages with anyone outside the conversation

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Platform. Specifically:

• Account data is retained until you delete your account
• Messages are retained for the duration of the connected relationship and for a reasonable period after
• Usage logs and diagnostics are retained for up to 12 months
• Legal and financial records may be retained longer where required by law

When you delete your account, we remove or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

We take the security of your data seriously and implement the following safeguards:

• All data in transit is encrypted using TLS/HTTPS
• Passwords are hashed and salted — they are never stored or transmitted in plain text
• Authentication tokens use industry-standard JWT with short expiry windows
• Access to production databases is restricted to authorised Worketech personnel
• We conduct regular security reviews of our infrastructure and application code

No system is completely secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at info@yazamentorship.com.

YAZA serves users across Africa and internationally. Your data may be stored and processed in countries outside your own, including countries where data protection laws may differ from your jurisdiction. Where we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place (such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms).

YAZA is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Users between 13 and 17 years of age may use the Platform only with verifiable parental or guardian consent.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us at privacy@yazamentorship.com and we will delete it promptly.

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: request that inaccurate or incomplete data be corrected
• Deletion: request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Restriction: request that we limit how we process your data in certain circumstances
• Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
• Withdraw consent: withdraw consent at any time for processing based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@yazamentorship.com. We will respond within 30 days. You will not be charged a fee unless your request is excessive or unfounded.

We send push notifications to your device to alert you about new messages, connection requests, session reminders, and platform updates. You can manage or disable push notifications at any time through your device's system settings or within the YAZA app under Settings → Notifications.

The YAZA mobile application does not use browser cookies. We use mobile-equivalent technologies such as local storage and analytics SDKs to:

• Maintain your login session
• Remember your preferences
• Measure app performance and usage patterns

Our website (yazamentorship.com) may use cookies for session management and analytics. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

The Platform may contain links to external websites or resources shared by mentors (articles, books, GitHub repositories, videos). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external site you visit.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document
• Display an in-app notice when you next open YAZA
• Send an email to your registered address for significant changes

Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of an updated policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

• Email: info@yazamentorship.com
• Website: https://yazamentorship.com
• Company: Worketech Limited, Malawi

We take all privacy enquiries seriously and will respond within 30 days.

Deleting your account

You can delete your YAZA account and its personal data at any time — from inside the app, or by emailing us. Our account deletion page explains both routes, exactly what is removed, what we are required to retain, and how long it takes.