Who We Are
Welcome to Community Reporters, an online news and media platform operated by Smartking Integrated Services Limited.
Our website address is:
https://communityreporters.ng
Community Reporters is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting the personal information you provide when you visit, interact with, or use our website.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we may collect, how we use it, how we protect it, when we may share it, and the rights you have regarding your personal information.
We process personal data in accordance with applicable Nigerian data-protection laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA) and applicable guidance issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with our website, we may collect the following categories of information:
Information You Provide Directly
You may voluntarily provide information such as:
- Your name
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Website address
- Information contained in messages or enquiries you send to us
- Information you provide when submitting comments
- Information you provide through contact or other online forms
You are generally free to decide whether to provide personal information. However, certain information may be necessary for us to respond to an enquiry or provide a requested service.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit Community Reporters, certain technical information may be automatically collected by our website or the services supporting it.
This may include:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device type
- Operating system
- Pages visited
- Referring website
- Date and time of visits
- General information about how you interact with our website
- Other technical information normally transmitted by your browser
This information may be used for website security, troubleshooting, performance monitoring, analytics and improving our website and services.
Comments
When visitors leave comments on articles or other areas of the website, we may collect the information displayed in the comment form, including the visitor’s name, email address, website address and the content of the comment.
We may also collect the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent information to help detect spam, abuse and malicious activity.
If you use a profile image service such as Gravatar when commenting, an anonymized string created from your email address may be provided to that service to determine whether you have an associated profile image.
Once a comment is approved, the comment and information displayed with it may be visible publicly on the website.
Please do not include sensitive personal information, passwords, financial information, identification numbers or other confidential information in a public comment.
Media and Images
If you upload images or other media to our website, you should avoid uploading files containing embedded location information, such as GPS/EXIF data, unless you are comfortable with that information potentially being accessible to others.
Images and other media published publicly on the website may be viewed, copied or downloaded by visitors, subject to applicable copyright and other laws.
Contact Forms and Enquiries
If you contact Community Reporters through a contact form, email address or other communication channel provided on our website, we may collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, telephone number and the content of your message.
We use this information primarily to:
- Respond to your enquiry;
- Provide information you request;
- Follow up on communications;
- Investigate complaints or reports;
- Maintain records of correspondence; and
- Protect the security and integrity of our website and services.
We do not use information submitted through a contact form for unrelated purposes without an appropriate lawful basis.
Cookies
Community Reporters may use cookies and similar technologies to make our website function properly, remember preferences, improve website performance, understand how visitors use the website and help protect the website from abuse.
Cookies are small files stored on your device by your web browser.
Cookies may include:
Essential Cookies
These cookies may be necessary for basic website functions, security, login functionality and other technical operations.
Preference Cookies
These cookies may remember certain settings or preferences to make your future visits more convenient.
Analytics Cookies
Where analytics services are enabled on our website, cookies or similar technologies may be used to help us understand website traffic, visitor behaviour and website performance.
Third-Party Cookies
Some third-party services displayed or embedded on our website may use their own cookies or similar technologies.
You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may affect some website functionality.
Embedded Content From Other Websites
Articles on Community Reporters may contain embedded content from third-party websites, including but not limited to:
- YouTube videos;
- Social-media posts;
- Images;
- News or media content;
- Maps;
- Other external services.
Embedded content from another website may behave in the same way as if you had visited that third-party website directly.
These third parties may collect information about you, use cookies, collect technical information, track your interaction with their embedded content and process your information according to their own privacy policies.
For example, when you watch an embedded YouTube video, YouTube may process information about your interaction with the video.
Community Reporters does not control the privacy practices of third-party websites and recommends that visitors review the privacy policies of those services.
Analytics
We may use website analytics and measurement technologies to understand how visitors use Community Reporters.
Analytics may help us understand:
- The number of visitors to our website;
- Which pages and articles are viewed;
- How visitors navigate the website;
- General traffic sources;
- Website performance; and
- Ways to improve our content and user experience.
Where analytics services process personal data on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure that such processing is conducted for legitimate and appropriate purposes and in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.
How We Use Your Personal Information
We may use information collected through Community Reporters for purposes including:
- Providing and operating our website;
- Responding to enquiries and communications;
- Publishing and managing comments;
- Detecting and preventing spam, fraud and malicious activity;
- Protecting the security of our website;
- Understanding website usage and improving our content;
- Maintaining website functionality and performance;
- Investigating complaints or reports;
- Complying with applicable legal and regulatory obligations;
- Protecting our legal rights and interests; and
- Other purposes that are disclosed to you at the time information is collected.
We will seek to process personal data fairly, lawfully and transparently and only for specified and legitimate purposes, consistent with applicable data-protection requirements.
Lawful Basis for Processing Personal Data
Depending on the circumstances, Community Reporters may process personal data on one or more lawful bases recognised by applicable Nigerian data-protection law.
These may include:
- Consent — where you have given appropriate consent;
- Legitimate interests — where processing is necessary for legitimate interests pursued by us and those interests are not overridden by your rights;
- Contract or requested services — where processing is necessary to provide a service you have requested or perform an agreement;
- Legal obligation — where processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws or lawful requirements; and
- Public interest or other lawful grounds where applicable.
Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent where applicable.
Who We Share Your Data With
We do not sell your personal information simply because you visit our website.
However, personal data may be disclosed or made available to third parties where reasonably necessary for the operation, security and administration of our website or where required by law.
These may include:
- Website hosting and technical service providers;
- Website security and spam-prevention services;
- Analytics providers, where used;
- Email or communication service providers, where used;
- Embedded content providers such as YouTube and social-media platforms;
- Professional advisers or service providers where necessary;
- Law-enforcement or regulatory authorities where legally required; and
- Other parties where you have provided appropriate consent or where another lawful basis permits the disclosure.
Where appropriate, we seek to ensure that third-party service providers process personal data only for legitimate purposes and provide appropriate safeguards.
International Data Transfers
Some third-party technology, hosting, analytics, social-media or embedded-content providers may process information outside Nigeria.
Where personal data is transferred to another country, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer and processing are conducted in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.
Third-party providers may also have their own international data-transfer arrangements and privacy policies.
How Long We Retain Your Data
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, to provide our services, maintain appropriate business and website records, resolve disputes, prevent abuse, enforce agreements, or comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
Comments and their associated information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to maintain the integrity of discussions on our website, prevent spam and abuse, and manage follow-up comments.
Information submitted through contact forms may be retained for an appropriate period depending on the nature of the enquiry.
Where information is no longer required and there is no lawful reason to retain it, we may delete or securely dispose of it.
Your Data Protection Rights
Subject to applicable law and any relevant limitations, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including:
Right to Be Informed
You have the right to receive clear information about how your personal data is collected and processed.
Right of Access
You may request access to personal data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification
You may request correction of inaccurate, incomplete or outdated personal information.
Right to Object
You may have the right to object to certain forms of processing of your personal data.
Right to Restrict Processing
In appropriate circumstances, you may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data.
Right to Data Portability
Where applicable, you may request your personal information in a structured and commonly used format and, where legally required, request that it be transferred to another organisation.
Right to Erasure
You may request deletion of personal information where applicable.
This right is not absolute. We may retain information where we have a lawful obligation or legitimate reason to do so.
Right to Withdraw Consent
Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent, subject to applicable legal limitations.
Rights Relating to Automated Decision-Making
Where applicable, you may have rights concerning decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission recognises these data-subject rights under the Nigerian data-protection framework.
How to Exercise Your Rights
To make a privacy or data-protection request, please contact us using the contact details provided below.
When making a request, please provide enough information to allow us to identify you and understand the nature of your request.
We may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests in order to protect personal information from unauthorised disclosure.
We will consider and respond to valid requests within the period required by applicable law.
Where We Send Your Data
Visitor comments and other website submissions may be processed through automated systems, including spam-detection and security services.
Some information may also be processed by third-party service providers located outside Nigeria.
Where third-party processing or international transfers occur, appropriate safeguards will be considered in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.
How We Protect Your Data
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, misuse, alteration or unlawful disclosure.
These measures may include:
- Access controls;
- Website security measures;
- Secure hosting and server controls;
- Password and account protections;
- Spam and abuse prevention;
- Software and security updates; and
- Appropriate administrative procedures.
However, no method of transmitting or storing information online can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should therefore exercise caution when submitting information online.
Data Breach Procedures
If we become aware of a personal-data breach affecting individuals, we will assess the incident and take appropriate steps to contain, investigate and remedy the breach.
Where notification is required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, we will make the appropriate notification to the relevant parties or authorities within the applicable timeframe.
We will also take reasonable measures to prevent or reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring again.
Third-Party Websites and Services
Community Reporters may contain links to websites operated by third parties.
These websites are not controlled by Community Reporters.
A link to another website does not mean that we endorse that website’s privacy practices or accept responsibility for its content or handling of personal information.
We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information.
User-Submitted Content
Community Reporters may allow visitors to submit comments, opinions, messages or other content.
You should avoid submitting personal, confidential or sensitive information that you do not wish to make publicly available.
By submitting content to a publicly accessible section of the website, you acknowledge that the information may be visible to other visitors.
Community Reporters reserves the right to moderate, remove or restrict user-submitted content where appropriate, including content that violates applicable law or our website rules.
Children’s Privacy
Community Reporters is a general-interest news and media website.
We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children for purposes that are not permitted by applicable law.
If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us in circumstances where such information should not have been collected, please contact us so that we can review and, where appropriate, delete the information.
Copyright and Published Information
Community Reporters publishes news reports, articles, photographs, videos and other media content.
Information that is intentionally published publicly on our website should not be considered confidential.
Personal information appearing in news reports or other editorial content may be processed as part of legitimate journalistic, editorial or public-interest activities, subject to applicable laws and professional standards.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our website, services, technology, legal requirements or data-protection practices.
When we make significant changes, we may update the “Last Updated” date displayed at the top of this policy and may provide additional notice where appropriate.
We encourage visitors to review this page periodically.
Your Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise a data-protection right, or have concerns about how your personal information is handled, please contact Community Reporters through the contact information published on our website.
Website: https://communityreporters.ng
Operator: Smartking Integrated Services Limited
For privacy-related enquiries, please use our website’s Contact page or the official contact details published there.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how your personal data has been processed, we encourage you to contact us first so that we can investigate and attempt to resolve the matter.
You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Nigeria’s data-protection supervisory authority, where you believe your data-protection rights have been infringed.
Acceptance of This Privacy Policy
By using Community Reporters, you acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to read and understand this Privacy Policy.
Where applicable law requires consent for a particular type of processing, we will seek the appropriate consent.
Last Updated: September 2, 2026
