Privacy Policy

1. Who this policy applies to

This Privacy Policy applies to people who visit Swapped, create or use a teacher account, submit a contact request, receive communications from us, or otherwise interact with Swapped. Swapped is an independent teacher swap-matching platform and is not an official Teachers Service Commission (TSC) website.

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use Swapped, we may collect the following categories of information:

• Account and identity information: full name, email address, phone number, TSC number and National ID number.
• Professional and placement information: current station, county and sub-county, institution type (Regular or SNE), teaching level, subjects or subject combination, job group/grade, TSC employment status and confirmation status.
• Swap preferences and activity: target counties/sub-counties, preferred teaching levels, whether you are actively looking for a swap, profile confirmation/expiry information, possible matches and whether you report a successful swap.
• Communications: contact-form messages, support correspondence, notification preferences and marketing unsubscribe status.
• Security and technical information: session and authentication events, timestamps, request/rate-limit information, audit records, and server or application logs needed to secure, troubleshoot and operate the service.

3. Why we use personal data

We process information to create and secure accounts; maintain teacher profiles and swap preferences; determine direct and three-way compatibility; display eligible anonymous swap profiles; provide match and lifecycle notifications; allow users to contact one another through applicable match workflows; respond to enquiries; send requested or permitted service and campaign communications; investigate misuse or technical problems; maintain audit and security records; improve reliability; and comply with applicable legal obligations.

4. Legal basis and Kenyan data-protection law

Swapped is intended to process personal data in accordance with applicable Kenyan data-protection law, including the Data Protection Act, 2019 and applicable regulations. Depending on the activity, processing may be based on your consent, steps necessary to provide a service you request, Swapped's legitimate interests in operating and securing the platform, or compliance with legal obligations, as permitted by law.

5. What other teachers can see

The Swap Profiles directory is intentionally limited to information useful for evaluating a potential swap, such as current station, subjects, institution type, teaching level and target destination. It is not designed to display your name, email address, phone number, TSC number or National ID number.

When the matching system identifies a relevant match, information necessary for the participating teachers to assess and progress that match may be made available within the match workflow, including contact details where the product provides them. Do not copy, publish, sell or use another teacher's information for unrelated purposes.

6. Sensitive identifiers and account security

National ID numbers, TSC numbers and phone numbers are encrypted before storage and are also represented by protected indexes where the application needs to detect duplicates or perform authorized searches. Passwords are stored as one-way password hashes and cannot be retrieved in plain text. Swapped also uses measures such as access controls, CSRF protection, rate limiting, secure session handling and administrative audit logging.

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Users should use a strong, unique password, keep login credentials confidential and notify us promptly if they suspect unauthorized access.

7. Email, notifications and campaigns

Swapped may send operational messages such as password resets, match notifications, profile-expiry reminders and important account notices. These are separate from non-essential campaigns. Marketing or campaign emails include an unsubscribe mechanism, and opting out of campaigns does not prevent essential service or security communications.

8. Service providers and disclosure

We may use carefully selected service providers to support hosting, infrastructure, email delivery, security, maintenance or other technical functions. They may process personal data only to the extent needed to provide those services and subject to appropriate safeguards. We may also disclose information where required by law, lawful process, or where reasonably necessary to protect users, the platform, or the rights of others.

Swapped does not sell or rent teacher personal data to advertisers or data brokers.

9. Social media, Facebook groups and WhatsApp communities

The Contact page may link to official Swapped social profiles, Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups or WhatsApp channels. These services are operated by third parties and have their own terms and privacy practices. Information you post in a group or community may be visible to other members according to that service's settings. Do not post National ID numbers, TSC numbers, passwords or other unnecessary private information in public or group discussions.

10. Data retention

We retain personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to operate your account and the matching service, maintain security and audit records, resolve disputes, enforce our terms, and meet applicable legal or operational requirements. Retention periods may differ by record type. A paused or expired swap profile is not automatically the same as deleting the underlying account or its historical records.

11. Cookies and sessions

Swapped uses essential session and security technologies needed for authentication, CSRF protection, preferences and safe operation of the website. If optional analytics or other non-essential tracking technologies are introduced, their use should be disclosed and managed as required by applicable law.

12. International processing

Some technical providers may operate infrastructure outside Kenya. Where personal data is transferred or processed internationally, Swapped will seek to use lawful transfer mechanisms and appropriate safeguards as required by applicable data-protection law.

13. Your privacy rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have rights to be informed about how your data is used, request access, request correction of inaccurate or misleading information, object to certain processing, and request deletion or other restrictions in appropriate circumstances. Where applicable, you may also have rights relating to portability or withdrawal of consent.

To exercise a privacy right, contact Swapped using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request so that we do not disclose or alter another person's account information.

14. Children

Swapped is designed for teachers and is not intended for use by children. We do not knowingly invite children to create teacher accounts.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when the service, our practices or applicable requirements change. The current version will be published on this page with an updated effective date. Material changes may also be communicated through the platform or by email where appropriate.

16. Contact and complaints

If you have a privacy question, want to exercise a data-protection right, or believe your information has been handled incorrectly, contact Swapped first so that we can review the matter.

Email: support@swapped.co.ke Phone: +254119710302 Location: Nairobi, Kenya.

If you are not satisfied with how a data-protection concern is handled, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with Kenya's Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).