Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

RentSawa is a property management platform for Kenyan landlords and tenants, operated from Nairobi, Kenya. Our platform enables M-Pesa rent collection, tenant management, and automated SMS reminders. You can reach us at privacy@rentsawa.com.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly and information generated through your use of our platform:

• Landlord account data: Full name, phone number, email address, property details, and M-Pesa Paybill/Till credentials (stored encrypted)
• Tenant data: Full name, phone number, national ID number, and emergency contact details — entered by the landlord
• Payment data: M-Pesa transaction records including receipt numbers, amounts, and timestamps received from Safaricom callbacks
• Usage data: Pages visited, actions taken within the platform, and device/browser information
• SMS logs: Records of SMS messages sent through our system including message content, delivery status, and cost

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and operate the RentSawa platform
• To process and reconcile M-Pesa rent payments
• To send automated SMS rent reminders and payment receipts to tenants
• To generate reports and analytics for landlords
• To send important service updates and security alerts
• To improve our platform based on usage patterns
• To comply with Kenyan legal and regulatory requirements

4. M-Pesa Integration

Our platform integrates with Safaricom's M-Pesa Daraja API. When a tenant pays rent via M-Pesa, Safaricom sends us a callback containing the transaction details. We store this data to reconcile payments against tenant rent records. Your M-Pesa consumer key and secret are stored encrypted and never exposed to other users.

5. SMS Communications

We use Africa's Talking to send SMS messages on your behalf to tenants. Message content, phone numbers, and delivery status are logged for your records. Standard SMS rates apply based on your subscription plan. Tenants may not opt out of transactional messages (payment receipts) but landlords can disable reminder messages in Settings.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

• Safaricom — for M-Pesa payment processing
• Africa's Talking — for SMS delivery
• Railway (cloud infrastructure) — our platform runs on Railway's servers in their cloud environment
• Legal authorities — if required by Kenyan law or a valid court order

7. Data Security

We protect your data using industry-standard measures including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), bcrypt password hashing, encrypted storage of M-Pesa credentials, and regular automated database backups. No system is 100% secure — if you discover a vulnerability, please report it to security@rentsawa.com.

8. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we retain payment records and transaction logs for 7 years as required by Kenyan tax regulations. SMS logs are retained for 2 years.

9. Your Rights

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. To exercise these rights, email privacy@rentsawa.com. We will respond within 14 business days. Note that deleting payment records may not be possible where retention is legally required.

10. Cookies

Our platform uses essential cookies for authentication (keeping you logged in) and session management. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. See our Cookie Policy for details.

11. Children's Privacy

RentSawa is not intended for use by persons under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of significant changes via email or an in-app notice. Continued use of RentSawa after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or requests: privacy@rentsawa.com
For general enquiries: Contact page