Privacy Policy

Last updated 2026-08-11

The short version

• Other members see your first name and last initial — “Amina K.” Your surname is never shown.
• There are no profile photographs anywhere on the platform. We don't collect them and there is nowhere to upload one.
• You are not in the member directory unless you switch it on.
• Your email and LinkedIn are hidden unless you choose to show them.
• We don't sell your data, and we don't share it with advertisers.

Why no surnames and no photos

This is deliberate. A professional network where members are identified by surname and photograph invites judgements about who someone is before anyone reads what they wrote. In a Kenyan context that includes assumptions about community and background. Showing first name and last initial, with no photographs, keeps members identifiable to each other without making those assumptions the first thing anyone sees.

What we collect

You give us:

• Name, email address, and password when you register
• Optional: phone number, city, state or province, country, bio, LinkedIn URL, job title, employer, industry, university and graduation year, mentorship interests
• A .edu address, if you verify for Campus membership
• Content you post — forum posts, listings, events, blog submissions, Community Notices, messages

Collected automatically:

• The country your sign-up request came from, used to flag accounts for review
• Basic session and security data — login state, rate-limiting counters
• Whether an association email was delivered and opened

Payment. If you pay for Premium, Stripe processes the card. We never see or store card numbers. We receive the billing country and a customer reference.

What other members can see

• Always visible where you post: first name and last initial, plus your city or state if you gave one.
• Never visible to other members: surname · phone number · email address unless you turn it on · .edu address · billing country · payment details.
• Visible only if you opt in: member directory listing · email address · LinkedIn profile.
• Visible to admins: your full profile, for administering the association.

The member directory is off by default, and only Premium and Campus members can browse it. Free-tier members can reply to a message someone sends them, but cannot browse the directory or start conversations.

Sign-up country flagging

We record the country a registration appears to come from. Where that is Kenya, the account is flagged for an administrator to look at — it is never blocked automatically, and the flag is never shown to you or to other members. NAKA is an association for Kenyans living in the diaspora, and this is a soft check on eligibility. It is imprecise: members travel, and VPNs are common. It informs a human decision and nothing else.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your data and we do not share it with advertisers. Advertisers receive no member data — only aggregate counts of how often an ad was shown or clicked.

Service providers who process data on our behalf:

• Supabase — database and authentication (US West)
• Vercel — website and API hosting
• Stripe — payments
• Resend — transactional and newsletter email
• Expo — mobile push notifications
• Upstash — rate limiting and abuse prevention

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, or to protect members from harm.

International members

NAKA is open to Kenyans in the diaspora worldwide, so members outside the United States — including in the UK and EU — will have data processed in the US. Where UK or EU data protection law applies to you, you have rights of access, correction, deletion, portability, and objection.

Your controls

• Edit or correct anything from your profile.
• Leave the directory — switch off “Appear in Member Directory” at any time.
• Hide your email or LinkedIn with the same toggles.
• Unsubscribe from newsletters via the link in any broadcast, or from your notification preferences. Messages about your own membership continue.
• Delete your account at any time from your profile.
• Request a copy of your data by emailing support@nakenyans.org.

Deleting your account

Deletion is immediate and self-service. When you delete:

• Your login is removed and you cannot sign back in
• Your name, email, phone, and bio are anonymised in our records
• You are removed from the member directory

What remains: content you posted — forum threads, listings, replies — stays, attributed to a deleted member, so conversations others took part in are not torn apart retroactively. Financial records of dues paid are kept as long as tax and audit rules require. If you want specific content removed as well, email us before deleting.

Children

Membership is for adults. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has registered, contact support@nakenyans.org.

Cookies

We use cookies necessary for the site to work — keeping you signed in, and security. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

Changes and contact

We will post changes here and, where they matter, tell members by email. Questions go to support@nakenyans.org, or Arlington, VA.