Privacy Policy for The Ratel Movement

Effective Date: 7 July 2026
Website: The Ratel Movement
Domain: theratelmovement.com
Motto: 4th Arm of Government
Contact Email: privacy@theratelmovement.com
Support Email: support@theratelmovement.com

1. Introduction

Welcome to The Ratel Movement.

The Ratel Movement is a civic social networking platform created to give citizens a voice, promote accountability, encourage truth, support responsible leadership, and build a community where people can discuss social issues, public matters, governance, justice, transparency, and community development.

This Privacy Policy explains how The Ratel Movement collects, uses, stores, protects, shares, and manages personal information when users visit our website, create an account, use our platform, post content, interact with other users, use Google Login, receive notifications, participate in discussions, upload media, use wallet or point features, or communicate with us.

By using The Ratel Movement, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you should not use the platform.

We are committed to protecting user privacy, promoting responsible data handling, and ensuring that personal information is treated with care, security, and transparency.

2. Who We Are

The Ratel Movement is a civic and social accountability platform known by the motto “4th Arm of Government.”

Our platform allows users to:

Create accounts
Build personal profiles
Share posts, images, videos, voice notes, and other content
React to posts
Comment on posts
Follow users, pages, or communities
Join discussions
Report content
Receive notifications
Use social login such as Google Login
Participate in civic conversations
Engage with community-driven topics
Earn points where applicable
Access platform features based on user settings and permissions

The Ratel Movement is not a government agency. It is a community-driven social platform created for public discussion, awareness, accountability, and positive civic engagement.

3. Information We Collect

We collect different types of information depending on how you use the platform.

3.1 Account Registration Information

When you create an account, we may collect:

First name
Last name
Username
Email address
Phone number, if enabled
Password
Gender, if provided
Date of birth or age information
Profile photo
Cover photo
Country or general location, if provided
Account activation status
Account approval status
Registration date
Login details
User role or group
Referral information, if applicable

Your password is stored in a protected encrypted/hashed format. We do not store your password in plain text.

3.2 Google Login Information

If you register or log in using Google, we may collect information provided by your Google account, such as:

Google account ID
Name
Email address
Profile photo
Google authentication status

We use this information only to create your account, log you in, verify your identity, secure your account, and improve your user experience on The Ratel Movement.

We do not collect your Gmail messages, Google Drive files, Google Photos, Google Calendar, or other private Google services unless a future feature clearly asks for separate permission.

We do not sell Google user data.

We do not use Google user data for advertising targeting.

We do not share Google user data with third parties except where necessary to provide the service, secure the platform, comply with legal obligations, or with your permission.

You may disconnect Google Login from your Google account settings or request account deletion from The Ratel Movement.

4. Information You Provide Through Platform Activity

When you use the platform, we may collect and process content and activity such as:

Posts you create
Comments you publish
Reactions you make
Photos you upload
Videos you upload
Voice notes you upload
Stories you post
Polls you create or vote on
Pages or groups you follow
Friend requests or follow actions
Messages, if messaging is enabled
Reports you submit
Hashtags you use
Shares you make
Reviews, if enabled
Public profile updates
Account settings
Notification settings
Content visibility settings

Any content you post publicly may be visible to other users, search engines, visitors, moderators, and administrators depending on your privacy settings and the platform’s configuration.

Because The Ratel Movement is a civic discussion platform, users must be careful not to post private information, false accusations, threats, hate speech, defamation, illegal content, or sensitive information about other people without lawful reason.

5. Media Uploads

The platform may allow users to upload media such as:

Images
Videos
Audio files
Voice notes
Documents, if enabled
Profile pictures
Cover photos
Story media
Post attachments

Uploaded media may contain metadata such as file name, file type, file size, upload time, and technical information.

Users are responsible for ensuring they have the right to upload any content they post.

We may remove media that violates our community rules, legal obligations, moderation standards, intellectual property rights, privacy rights, safety standards, or platform policies.

6. Technical Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit or use The Ratel Movement, we may automatically collect technical information, including:

IP address
Browser type
Device type
Operating system
Referring page
Pages visited
Time spent on the platform
Login time
Logout time
Session data
Cookies
Device identifiers
Approximate location based on IP address
Error logs
Security logs
Server logs
User agent information
Network information

We use this information to operate the platform, prevent abuse, detect suspicious activity, improve performance, fix errors, protect accounts, and secure the website.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Ratel Movement may use cookies and similar technologies to:

Keep users logged in
Remember user preferences
Improve website speed
Protect against spam and abuse
Understand platform usage
Support security features
Enable analytics
Improve user experience
Manage sessions
Detect suspicious activity

Cookies are small files stored on your device. You may disable cookies through your browser settings, but some parts of the platform may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

8. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To create and manage user accounts
To allow users to log in
To verify email addresses
To activate accounts
To approve or reject accounts where moderation is enabled
To display user profiles
To show posts, comments, reactions, and public activity
To send notifications
To support Google Login
To protect accounts from unauthorized access
To prevent spam, fraud, fake accounts, bots, and abuse
To enforce platform rules
To moderate harmful or unlawful content
To investigate reports
To improve platform performance
To provide customer support
To process wallet, point, or monetization features where enabled
To send service messages
To send marketing messages only where allowed or consented to
To analyze usage and improve features
To comply with legal duties
To respond to lawful requests
To protect the rights, safety, and integrity of users and the platform

9. Legal Basis for Processing

Where applicable data protection laws require a legal basis, we may process your information based on:

Your consent
Performance of a contract with you
Compliance with legal obligations
Legitimate interests of the platform
Protection of users and the public
Security and fraud prevention
Moderation and enforcement of platform rules
Your request to use specific features

For example, we process your email address to create your account and send activation emails. We process technical data to keep the platform secure. We process public posts so they can be displayed to other users.

10. Public Content and Visibility

The Ratel Movement is a social platform. Some information you share may become public.

Public information may include:

Your name
Username
Profile picture
Cover photo
Public posts
Public comments
Public reactions
Public followers or following lists, depending on settings
Public pages or groups
Public hashtags
Public media uploads

You should not post information you do not want others to see.

Even if you delete content, copies may remain in backups for a limited time, may have been viewed by others, or may have been copied by third parties outside our control.

11. Private Messages

If private messaging is enabled, messages between users are intended to be private between the participants. However, we may access or review messages where necessary to:

Investigate abuse reports
Detect spam or fraud
Comply with legal obligations
Protect users
Enforce platform rules
Resolve technical issues
Prevent threats, harassment, or harmful behavior

Users should not use private messages to send threats, illegal content, scams, harassment, impersonation, or sensitive personal information.

12. Moderation and Safety

Because The Ratel Movement is a civic accountability platform, moderation is important.

We may review, restrict, remove, hide, or report content that includes:

False information
Defamation
Threats
Harassment
Hate speech
Violence encouragement
Private personal information
Impersonation
Spam
Scams
Malware
Illegal content
Sexual exploitation content
Abuse of minors
Unauthorized copyrighted material
Fake engagement
Bot activity
Manipulated media
Content that may endanger people
Content that violates community standards

Admins and moderators may review user accounts, posts, comments, reports, uploaded files, and account behavior for safety, legal, and platform integrity purposes.

13. Points, Wallet, Earnings, and Monetization Data

If The Ratel Movement enables points, wallet, rewards, subscriptions, payments, or withdrawals, we may collect and process:

Wallet balance
Point balance
Earning history
Withdrawal requests
Payment history
Transaction IDs
Referral records
Verification status
Account age
Engagement activity
Fraud checks
Payout details
Bank or payment details, if required
KYC information, if required

We may use this information to:

Calculate rewards
Prevent abuse
Review suspicious activity
Approve or reject withdrawals
Comply with financial or legal requirements
Prevent fake engagement
Detect multiple accounts
Investigate fraud
Maintain accurate records

We reserve the right to reject, reverse, or suspend rewards, points, payouts, or withdrawals if we detect spam, fake engagement, bot activity, copied content, account farming, abuse, fraud, or violation of our rules.

14. Email Notifications and Marketing

We may send different types of emails, including:

Account activation emails
Password reset emails
Security alerts
Login notifications
Platform updates
Comment or reaction notifications
Message notifications
Moderation notices
Policy updates
Support responses
Newsletter or marketing emails

Service-related emails are necessary for account operation and security.

Marketing emails will only be sent where allowed by law or where you have provided consent. You may unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time.

Even if you unsubscribe from marketing emails, we may still send important service or security messages.

15. Google Login and Google User Data

If you choose to use Google Login, The Ratel Movement receives limited information from your Google account to help you sign in.

This may include:

Your Google account ID
Your name
Your email address
Your profile picture

We use Google user data only for:

Authentication
Account creation
Login
Account security
Profile setup
Preventing duplicate accounts
Improving user experience

We do not use Google user data to send spam.

We do not sell Google user data.

We do not transfer Google user data to advertising platforms.

We do not use Google user data for unrelated purposes.

We do not access your Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Photos, or other private Google content unless you separately grant permission for a future feature.

You can stop using Google Login by removing access from your Google account permissions or by contacting us to delete your account.

Our use of Google user data is intended to comply with Google API Services User Data Policy and OAuth requirements. Google requires apps using OAuth to accurately explain how Google user data is collected, used, stored, and shared.

16. Third-Party Services

We may use third-party services to operate the platform. These may include:

Hosting providers
Email delivery services
SMS providers, if enabled
Payment processors
Analytics providers
Cloud storage providers
Security tools
Captcha or anti-spam tools
Google Login
Push notification providers
Content delivery networks
Customer support tools
Moderation tools

These service providers may process information only as needed to provide their services to us.

We do not allow service providers to sell your personal information.

Third-party services may have their own privacy policies. Users should review those policies where applicable.

17. Payment Providers

If payments, wallet funding, subscriptions, donations, or withdrawals are enabled, payment information may be processed by third-party payment providers.

We may receive transaction information such as:

Payment reference
Payment amount
Payment status
Payment date
Payment method type
User account linked to the payment

We do not store full card numbers unless clearly stated and handled through secure compliant payment systems.

Payment providers may collect additional information according to their own privacy policies.

18. Data Sharing

We may share information in the following situations:

With service providers who help operate the platform
With payment processors for transactions
With email providers for notifications
With SMS providers if SMS is enabled
With analytics or security providers
With moderators or administrators for safety and enforcement
With law enforcement or regulators where legally required
With legal advisers where necessary
With another company if the platform is merged, sold, or transferred
With your consent
To protect users, the public, or the platform

We do not sell your personal information.

We do not share private account information publicly unless you make it public or unless required by law.

19. Legal Requests and Public Safety

We may disclose information if we believe it is necessary to:

Comply with applicable law
Respond to court orders
Respond to lawful government requests
Protect the rights of users
Protect the safety of the public
Investigate fraud
Prevent abuse
Enforce our Terms and policies
Protect The Ratel Movement from legal claims
Investigate threats, harassment, scams, or illegal activity

Where possible and lawful, we may notify affected users before disclosing their information.

20. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect user information.

These may include:

Password hashing
Secure login systems
SSL/HTTPS encryption
Access controls
Admin restrictions
Server security
Spam protection
Firewalls
Monitoring
Backups
Database security
Email verification
Moderation tools
Account activation
Suspicious activity checks

However, no website, server, or internet transmission is completely secure. Users are responsible for keeping their passwords safe and avoiding sharing account access with others.

If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately.

21. Data Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Retention may depend on:

Account activity
Legal requirements
Security needs
Dispute resolution
Fraud prevention
Financial records
Moderation history
Backup systems
User deletion requests

Examples:

Account data may be kept while your account remains active.
Public content may remain visible until deleted or removed.
Server logs may be kept for security and abuse prevention.
Payment and wallet records may be kept for accounting, fraud prevention, or legal compliance.
Backups may retain deleted information for a limited period before being overwritten.
Moderation records may be retained to prevent repeat abuse.

When data is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymize, or securely archive it where appropriate.

22. Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your account by contacting:

privacy@theratelmovement.com

or

support@theratelmovement.com

When you request account deletion, we may delete or disable:

Your account
Your profile
Your login access
Your personal details
Your uploaded profile information
Your private account data where legally possible

Some information may remain where necessary for:

Legal compliance
Fraud prevention
Financial records
Security investigations
Dispute resolution
Moderation logs
Backup retention
Public interest or safety
Content already shared publicly by you

We may anonymize some content instead of deleting it where full deletion would affect platform integrity or where the law allows.

23. User Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights over your personal information, including the right to:

Access your data
Request correction
Request deletion
Withdraw consent
Object to processing
Request restriction of processing
Request data portability
Complain to a data protection authority
Request information about how your data is used
Request that we stop certain uses of your data

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission lists data subject rights under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, including rights to be informed, access, rectification, objection, restriction, data portability, erasure, and complaint to a supervisory authority.

To exercise your rights, contact us at:

privacy@theratelmovement.com

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

24. Children and Age Restriction

The Ratel Movement is not intended for children under the minimum age allowed by our registration settings or applicable law.

If the platform minimum age is set to 13, users under 13 are not allowed to create accounts.

Users under 18 should use the platform responsibly and, where required, with guidance from a parent or guardian.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below the allowed age. If we discover that a child below the allowed age has created an account, we may delete or disable the account.

25. Sensitive Information

Because The Ratel Movement deals with civic and social accountability discussions, users may discuss public matters, social issues, government issues, community concerns, leadership, justice, and accountability.

Users should not post sensitive personal information about themselves or others unless they have a lawful and responsible reason to do so.

Sensitive information may include:

Home address
Phone number
Bank details
Government ID
Medical information
Private family matters
Private images
Private messages
Personal location
Financial information
Information about minors
Unverified allegations against private individuals

We may remove content that exposes private information, creates safety risks, or violates privacy rights.

26. User Responsibility

Users are responsible for:

Keeping passwords safe
Posting truthful and lawful content
Respecting other users
Avoiding false accusations
Avoiding spam
Avoiding harassment
Avoiding impersonation
Avoiding upload of illegal content
Respecting copyright
Reporting abuse
Protecting private information
Using the platform responsibly

The Ratel Movement may suspend, restrict, or delete accounts that abuse the platform.

27. Content Reports

Users may report content that violates our policies. When a report is submitted, we may collect:

Reporter account information
Reported user information
Reported content
Reason for report
Time of report
Moderation decision
Admin notes

Reports are used to keep the platform safe and enforce community standards.

False or abusive reports may lead to account restrictions.

28. Automated Systems and Anti-Abuse Checks

We may use automated or semi-automated systems to detect:

Spam
Bots
Fake accounts
Multiple accounts
Fake engagement
Suspicious login attempts
Fraud
Abusive behavior
Unusual posting patterns
Point farming
Malware links
Policy violations

These systems help protect the platform, but moderation decisions may also involve human review.

29. AI Features

If AI features are enabled on The Ratel Movement, users may be able to generate text, posts, captions, blogs, images, or other content.

When using AI features, we may process:

Prompts submitted by users
Generated content
Usage history
Credit usage
Wallet or billing information
Abuse detection data

Users must not use AI tools to create:

Fake news
False accusations
Impersonation
Deepfake-style harmful content
Political deception
Harassment
Defamation
Fraud
Misleading civic reports
Hate speech
Illegal content

We may restrict or disable AI usage if we detect abuse.

30. International Users

The Ratel Movement may be accessed by users from different countries.

By using the platform, you understand that your information may be processed in the country where our servers, service providers, or business operations are located.

Where required, we will take reasonable steps to protect personal information transferred across borders.

31. Data Storage and Hosting

Your information may be stored on servers operated by The Ratel Movement or trusted hosting providers.

This may include:

Website files
Databases
Uploaded media
Logs
Backups
Email records
Security records
User content

We take reasonable steps to ensure hosting providers apply security measures to protect stored data.

32. Links to Other Websites

The platform may contain links to third-party websites, videos, social media pages, payment platforms, or external resources.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of external websites.

Users should review the privacy policies of any third-party websites they visit.

33. Social Sharing

If social sharing is enabled, users may share content from The Ratel Movement to third-party platforms.

Once content is shared outside The Ratel Movement, it may be governed by the privacy policy of that third-party platform.

We are not responsible for how third-party platforms handle shared content.

34. Push Notifications

If push notifications are enabled, we may send alerts about:

Messages
Comments
Reactions
Followers
Mentions
Security alerts
Platform updates
Community notices

You may disable push notifications through your browser, device, or account settings.

35. Email Deliverability and Account Emails

To provide reliable account services, we may send important emails such as:

Verification emails
Password reset emails
Security notices
Login alerts
Account approval messages
Policy notices
Support replies

These emails are part of the service and may be necessary to use the platform.

36. Account Suspension and Enforcement

We may suspend, restrict, or delete accounts for:

Spam
Fake accounts
Bot activity
Fraud
Fake engagement
False information
Threats
Harassment
Impersonation
Illegal content
Repeated policy violations
Attempting to manipulate points or rewards
Abuse of Google Login or third-party login systems
Security risks

We may retain certain account records after suspension for safety, legal, and fraud prevention purposes.

37. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

When we update it, we may change the effective date at the top of this page.

If changes are significant, we may notify users through:

Website notice
Email notification
Account notification
Platform announcement

Your continued use of The Ratel Movement after changes means you accept the updated Privacy Policy.

38. Contact Us

For privacy questions, account deletion, data requests, or complaints, contact:

privacy@theratelmovement.com

For general support, contact:

support@theratelmovement.com

For security concerns, contact:

security@theratelmovement.com

For abuse reports, contact:

abuse@theratelmovement.com

39. Short Google Login Privacy Summary

When you use Google Login on The Ratel Movement, we collect your Google name, email address, profile picture, and Google account ID to create your account and help you log in securely. We do not access your Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, or private Google files. We do not sell your Google user data, and we do not use it for advertising targeting. You can request account deletion by contacting privacy@theratelmovement.com.

40. Final Statement

The Ratel Movement exists to support truth, accountability, civic awareness, community action, and responsible public conversation.

We respect user privacy and aim to handle personal information responsibly, securely, and transparently.