Privacy Policy: Open Skills Academy
Effective Date: February 15, 2026
1. Introduction
Welcome to Open Skills Academy (https://openskills.academy). We are committed to protecting the privacy of our students and visitors in accordance with the Botswana Data Protection Act No. 18 of 2024 (DPA). This policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information.
2. Data We Collect
We only collect the minimum information necessary to provide our educational services:
- Account Information: Name, email address, phone number and address.
- Course Progress: Grades, assignments, and completion status.
- Payment Data: Handled by secure third-party processors (we do not store full credit card details on our servers).
- Technical Data: IP addresses and cookies (for site functionality and security).
3. Legal Basis for Processing
Under Section 26 of the DPA 2024, we process your data based on:
- Consent: When you sign up for a course or newsletter.
- Contract: To deliver the educational services you have purchased.
- Legal Obligation: To comply with Botswana tax or educational laws.
4. Cross-Border Data Transfers (Hostinger)
Your data is hosted on servers provided by Hostinger.
- Location: HostGator’s primary servers are located in Boston, United States,
- Compliance: In accordance with Section 74 of the Botswana DPA, we ensure that your data is transferred using appropriate safeguards. The United States is currently recognized for its robust commercial data protection standards, and we utilise Hostinger secure infrastructure to maintain the integrity of your information.
- Botswana Residency: We maintain local digital records of all transactions as required by the Digital Services Act 2025.
5. Your Rights as a Data Subject
Under the DPA 2024, you have the following rights:
- Right to Access: You can request a copy of the data we hold about you.
- Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate information.
- Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your data when it is no longer needed.
- Right to Portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format.
- Right to Object: You can object to your data being used for direct marketing.
6. Data Security
We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to prevent unauthorised access, loss, or destruction of your data. This includes SSL encryption on openskills.academy and the security protocols provided by Hostinger.
7. Data Retention
We keep your personal data only for as long as you are an active student. If you close your account, we retain records for [e.g., 7 years] to comply with Botswana’s BURS tax regulations and BQA educational standards.
8. Contact Us & Complaints
If you have questions about your data or wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer:
- Email: dpo@openskills.academy
- Address: Plot 54368 ITowers CBD, Gaborone, Botswana
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information and Data Protection Commission of Botswana if you believe your rights have been violated.