Privacy Policy

E-Gate ("E-Gate", "we", "us") provides a platform that schools and similar institutions ("Schools") use to manage visitation days, guardian communication, events, and secure gate access. This policy explains what information we collect through that platform, how we use it, and the choices available to you.

Who this policy covers

This policy applies to everyone whose information passes through E-Gate:

• School staff and administrators who manage a School's account.
• Guardians and parents who use the guardian portal to view their children, respond to visitation invitations, and receive announcements.
• Students, whose records are created and maintained by their School, not by the student directly.
• Visitors, whose details are logged at the gate for security and record-keeping.

Information we collect

Account and identity information

For School staff and guardians: name, email address, phone number, and (for guardians) a national ID number used to verify identity at the gate. Passwords are stored as irreversible cryptographic hashes — E-Gate never stores or has access to your plaintext password.

Student information

Submitted and maintained by the School: name, class/grade, guardian relationships, and any other fields the School chooses to record. Students do not create their own accounts.

Visit and visitation records

Gate check-in/check-out timestamps, visitation-day registrations and responses, outside-event registrations, and visitor logs (name, ID, purpose of visit, host).

Communications

Announcements and notifications sent to guardians, and delivery status (sent/delivered/opened) for those messages, so Schools can confirm important information actually reached families.

Payment information

Subscription and donation payments are processed by our payment partner, Sicily. E-Gate records the outcome and reference of a transaction (amount, status, timestamp) but does not collect or store full card or mobile-money credentials — those are handled directly by Sicily's own secure systems.

Technical information

Standard log data (IP address, browser/device type, timestamps) collected automatically for security, debugging, and abuse prevention.

How we use this information

• To operate the core service: gate check-in/out, visitation scheduling, guardian access, announcements.
• To send transactional communications (account verification, password resets, visitation confirmations, announcements) by email and SMS.
• To process payments and maintain billing records for Schools.
• To maintain security, investigate misuse, and enforce our Terms of Service.
• To improve the platform's reliability and features.

We do not sell personal information to third parties, and we do not use student or guardian data for advertising.

Children's data

Student records are created and controlled by the School, acting as the responsible party for that data, not by E-Gate directly and not by the student. Guardians can request access to or correction of their child's information through their School, which can in turn make that request to us. We retain student data only for as long as the School maintains an active account, plus any period required by applicable record-keeping law.

Who we share information with

We share information only as needed to run the service:

• Resend — delivers transactional and announcement emails on our behalf.
• Africa's Talking — delivers SMS messages and notifications.
• Sicily — processes subscription and donation payments.
• Our infrastructure providers, who store data on our behalf under contractual confidentiality obligations and never access it for their own purposes.
• Law enforcement or regulators, only when legally required to do so.

Each of these providers processes data solely to provide their specific service to us and is contractually bound to protect it.

Data retention

We retain data for as long as a School's account is active, and for a reasonable period afterward to allow account recovery, meet legal obligations, and resolve disputes. A School can request deletion of its data; some records may be retained longer where required by law (for example, financial records for tax purposes).

Data security

Passwords are hashed, not stored in plaintext. Data in transit is encrypted (HTTPS/TLS). Production, staging, and any other environment are kept fully isolated from one another — separate databases, credentials, and infrastructure — so an issue in one never affects another. Access to production systems is restricted to authorized personnel only.

Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request deletion of your data, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Object to or restrict certain processing.

Guardians and students should generally direct these requests to their School first, since the School controls that record; School staff can contact us directly using the details below.

Cookies

E-Gate uses only the cookies necessary to keep you signed in and to remember basic preferences. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the platform evolves. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date above.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to support@e-gate.rw.