How we protect your information
Last updated: [date you publish]
- We save what you enter on this website, including the free quiz: your answers, photos, test results, name and WhatsApp number.
- Your health information is private. Only your doctor and care team can see it.
- We never sell your information or give it to anyone for advertising.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time.
We save what you tell us, and we never sell it
Everything you enter on hormones.ng is saved: your quiz answers, photos, test results, notes, name and WhatsApp number. This includes the free quiz and the free health report, even if you never pay.
- We use it to care for you, to contact you about your care, and to keep your medical record.
- With names and contact details removed, we study it to understand what our patients need and to improve our care and services.
- We never sell your information. We never rent or give it to anyone for advertising, and nobody else may use it for their own purposes. The only exceptions are the ones listed in section 5, such as MBMC when you agree.
The website assistant (AI)
Our website has a chat assistant. It is an AI (artificial intelligence) program, supervised by Dr Chinelo. It is not a doctor.
- What it does: it answers general questions using information our doctor has approved, and helps you find the right quiz or plan. It does not diagnose, prescribe or name medicines.
- Safety: if you write something that could be an emergency, it tells you to go to a hospital or call 112, and alerts our team. If you leave your WhatsApp number, a person from our team will contact you.
- What we save: your messages, the replies, the time, your IP address, and any phone number you choose to leave. Our doctor and care team can read chats to check the assistant's answers and to help you.
- Who processes it: to write replies, your messages are sent to our AI provider, Anthropic (servers in the United States), under a contract that protects your data. We do not let the provider use your messages to train its AI. [Lawyer: confirm the transfer basis under sections 41–43 of the Act.]
- Your choice: you don't have to use the assistant. You can take the quiz or email us instead. Please don't share your full name or address in the chat.
- We keep chats for [12 months], then delete them, unless they become part of your medical record.
1. Who we are
hormones.ng is run by [registered business name], a business registered in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission (RC/BN [number]), at [business address]. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean that business.
We decide how and why your personal information is used. Under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 ("the Act"), this makes us the data controller.
Our data protection contact is [name of Data Protection Officer]. Email: privacy@hormones.ng.
2. What this policy covers
This policy covers the hormones.ng website, our online quizzes, payments, and the care we give you by WhatsApp, phone and video. It also covers our lab results review and second opinion services.
3. Information we collect
| Type | Examples | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | First name, WhatsApp number, email (if you give it) | You, at the end of the quiz |
| Health information | Quiz answers about symptoms, periods, fertility, sexual health, weight, skin, hair, medicines, allergies and medical history; notes you write | You |
| Photos and documents | Photos of your skin or hair; lab results, scans and past medical records you upload | You |
| Care records | Your doctor's notes, diagnosis, treatment plan, lab requests and prescriptions; messages and call notes | Your doctor and care team |
| Payment details | Plan chosen, amount, payment reference, date. For bank transfers, the sender's name shown on our bank statement | You, the person who paid for you, Paystack, our bank |
| Technical details | Your IP address and the time you used the site | Your browser |
Card details: card payments are handled by Paystack. We never see or store your full card number.
Your browser: while you take a quiz, your answers are saved in your own browser (session storage) so you don't lose them if the page reloads. They are cleared when you close the tab. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Our pages load fonts from Google Fonts, so Google can see your IP address when a page loads.
Health information is sensitive. Under the Act, information about your health and sex life is "sensitive personal data". We take extra care with it, as described below.
4. Why we use your information, and our legal basis
| What we do | Legal basis under the Act |
|---|---|
| Review your answers, diagnose, write your plan and prescriptions, request tests, follow up | Your explicit consent, which you give at the end of the quiz; and medical care by a health professional who has a duty of confidentiality |
| Take payment, keep payment and tax records | To carry out our agreement with you; legal obligation |
| Keep medical records | Legal and professional obligations |
| Contact you about your care, payment or appointments | To carry out our agreement with you |
| Stop spam and abuse of the website (for example, limiting how often one IP address can submit a quiz) | Our legitimate interest in keeping the service safe |
| Act in an emergency, if you are in serious danger | To protect your vital interests |
| Improve our service using information that no longer identifies you | Our legitimate interest |
| Send you health tips or offers | Only if you say yes separately. Reply STOP at any time |
You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing us. This does not affect care already given. If you withdraw consent, we may not be able to keep treating you, and we may still need to keep your medical record (see section 8).
No decisions by computer alone. The quiz gives a score and a summary, and the website assistant gives general information. Neither is a diagnosis. A doctor makes every medical decision about you.
5. Who we share it with
We share only what is needed, and only with:
- Your doctor and our care team, who are bound by confidentiality.
- Our AI provider (for the website assistant only), as explained above.
- Service providers who help us run the clinic and must protect your data: our web host (Hostinger, server location [country]), Paystack (payments), WhatsApp / Meta (messages), our email provider, and our alert tools (Telegram or email). Staff alerts contain only a first name, the topic and a reference number, never your answers.
- Labs and pharmacies you choose. We give you a lab request or prescription. You decide where to take it.
- MBMC (mbmc.ng), where Dr Chinelo provides weight-loss treatment. We share your weight-loss answers, name and WhatsApp number with MBMC only if you tick the box at the end of the weight-loss quiz.
- Other doctors, only if you ask us to, or if you need urgent care and cannot tell us yourself.
- Authorities, only when the law requires it, for example a court order or a request from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria or the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.
If someone else pays for you (for example, your child abroad), we tell them only that the payment was received. We do not share your health information with them unless you tell us to.
We never sell your information and never share it for advertising.
6. Information stored outside Nigeria
Some of our service providers store data on servers outside Nigeria. When this happens, we follow the rules in Part VIII of the Act. We use providers that offer adequate protection, have contracts that protect your data, or rely on your consent after telling you the risks. [Lawyer: confirm transfer basis for Hostinger, Meta and Paystack.]
7. How we keep it safe
- Your answers, photos and documents are stored in a private folder that cannot be opened from the internet.
- Only logged-in staff can see patient records. Logins are password protected and limited.
- The website uses an encrypted (HTTPS) connection.
- Our clinic WhatsApp number is only shared with paying patients, to reduce scams.
No system is perfect. If a data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will report it to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission within 72 hours of finding out, and tell you without delay if the risk to you is high.
Help us protect you: we will never ask for your bank PIN, password or OTP. Only trust messages from our official WhatsApp number given to you after payment.
8. How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Medical records of patients we treated | [10 years after your last contact with us — lawyer to confirm the period required in Nigeria] |
| Quizzes where no plan was paid | [12 months], then deleted |
| Payment and tax records | [6 years] |
| IP address logs used to stop spam | [90 days] |
9. Your rights
Under the Act, you have the right to:
- Know how we use your information (this policy).
- Get a copy of the information we hold about you.
- Correct information that is wrong or incomplete.
- Ask us to delete your information. We will, unless the law requires us to keep your medical record.
- Ask us to limit how we use your information.
- Object to how we use it, including for marketing.
- Move your information to another doctor, in a common file format.
- Withdraw your consent at any time.
- Not be subject to decisions made only by a computer.
To use any of these rights, email privacy@hormones.ng or message us on WhatsApp. We may ask you to confirm who you are. We will reply within [30 days]. It is free.
If you are not happy with our answer, you can complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission at ndpc.gov.ng.
10. Children
Our service is for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you think a child has used our quiz, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Patient reviews
We only publish a review or story with your written permission. We do not show your name unless you ask us to, and never your photo, phone number or test results. You can ask us to remove your review at any time.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. We will change the date at the top, and tell current patients about important changes.
13. Contact us
[Registered business name] · [address]
Email: privacy@hormones.ng · General: hello@hormones.ng