Plain English summary: CirclePing is a safety app. We collect location data, contact details, and usage information to power our features. We never sell your data. Location is only shared with your chosen circle members. You can delete your data at any time.
01 Overview
CirclePing Ltd ("CirclePing", "we", "our", or "us") operates the CirclePing mobile application and website (circleping.com), including the PingKid, PingWork, and Events platforms. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your personal information when you use our services.
By using CirclePing, you agree to the collection and use of information described in this policy. If you do not agree, please stop using the service.
03 How We Use Your Data
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, operate, and improve the CirclePing platform and its features
- Send emergency SOS alerts and safety notifications to your circle
- Power live location sharing between you and your circle members
- Deliver school check-in and check-out notifications via PingKid
- Track field team attendance and GPS trails via PingWork
- Process event ticket purchases and manage cashless event wallets
- Send transactional SMS and push notifications related to your account activity
- Detect and prevent fraudulent or unauthorized use of the platform
- Comply with applicable Kenyan laws and regulations
We do not use your data for advertising, and we do not sell your personal information to any third party — ever.
04 Location Data
Location is the core of CirclePing's safety features. Here is exactly how we handle it:
When we collect location
- Live location sharing: Only when you actively share your location with circle members, or when an SOS alert is triggered
- Ghost Trail: Only when you explicitly start a trail session. Trail data is stored on your account only
- Eyes On Me: Periodic location checks only during an active session
- Safe Zones: Geofence entry/exit events are logged to power notifications
- PingWork: GPS trails are recorded only during active field work sessions initiated by you or your manager
Who sees your location
- Only the circle members you have explicitly added and accepted can see your live location
- CirclePing staff do not access individual user location data except in an aggregated, anonymised form for system monitoring
- We do not share your location with advertisers, data brokers, or government entities unless compelled by a valid Kenyan court order
Background location: CirclePing requests background location permission to power Safe Zone alerts and Eyes On Me monitoring. This permission is only used for the features described above. You can revoke this permission at any time in your device settings, which will disable these features.
05 Sharing & Disclosure
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:
With your circle
Your name, profile photo, and location are shared with circle members you have explicitly added. You control this at all times.
Service providers
- Firebase (Google): Database, authentication, cloud functions, and push notifications
- dcash.africa: M-Pesa payment processing. We share only the minimum data required to initiate and confirm payments
- SendGrid: Transactional email delivery (ticket receipts, QR codes)
- Onfon Media: SMS delivery for safety alerts and notifications
All service providers are contractually required to protect your data and may only use it to provide services on our behalf.
Legal requirements
We may disclose information if required to do so by law, or in response to valid legal process from Kenyan authorities.
06 Data Retention
- Account data is retained for as long as your account is active
- Ghost Trail and location history is retained for 90 days, then automatically deleted
- PingKid check-in/check-out records are retained for 12 months
- PingWork attendance records are retained for 24 months or until your organization account is deleted
- Event transaction records are retained for 7 years for financial compliance purposes
- When you delete your account, all personal data is permanently deleted within 30 days, except where retention is required by law
07 Security
We take security seriously. Our measures include:
- All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encrypted connections
- Firebase Security Rules enforce strict access controls — users can only read and write their own data
- Payment data is handled exclusively by our PCI-compliant payment provider. We never store card or M-Pesa PIN data
- Firebase Authentication handles all credential management — passwords are never stored by CirclePing directly
- Cloud Functions are secured and only callable by authenticated users with appropriate permissions
No system is 100% secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at info@circleping.com.
08 Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
- Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information via the app's profile settings
- Deletion: Delete your account and all associated data from within the app (Settings → Delete Account)
- Portability: Request an export of your data in a machine-readable format
- Withdrawal of consent: Revoke location permissions at any time via device settings
- Objection: Object to any processing of your data that is not strictly necessary to provide the service
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@circleping.com. We will respond within 14 business days.
09 Children's Privacy
The CirclePing app is designed for adults (18+). However, CirclePing's PingKid feature is specifically designed to help parents monitor the safety of their children.
For PingKid, a child's data (name, school association, check-in/check-out timestamps) is linked to and controlled by the parent or guardian account. We do not collect data directly from children. Parents can view, manage, and delete their child's data at any time from the PingKid section of the app.
If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without parental consent, please contact us immediately.
10 Payments
CirclePing processes payments via M-Pesa STK Push, facilitated by dcash.africa. When you make a payment:
- Your phone number is shared with our payment provider to initiate the STK Push request
- The payment amount and a transaction reference are recorded in our system to confirm and activate your purchase
- We never store your M-Pesa PIN or any sensitive payment credentials
- All payment records are stored securely and used only for transaction history, dispute resolution, and financial reporting
11 Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify you via a push notification or an in-app message. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version.
Continued use of CirclePing after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.