Privacy Policy
Effective date: 13 October 2026 Last updated: 13 October 2026
HerNetIQ helps women build careers in cybersecurity and AI security, through programmes like the AI Security Fellowship and the AI Security Accelerator, and through the Career Passport, where learners show verified proof of their work.
We teach security, so we take your data seriously. This policy explains, in plain language, what we collect, why, who we share it with, and what control you have.
Who we are: HerNetIQ ("HerNetIQ", "we", "us"), operated by Hernetiq limited registered address, Lagos, Nigeria. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. Contact: hello@joinhernetiq.com
1. Who this policy covers
- Visitors to joinhernetiq.com
- Applicants and learners (fellows and accelerator participants)
- Tutors who review learners' work
- Organisations and employers who contact us, partner with us, or view the Talent Directory
2. What we collect
Information you give us
| What | Examples |
|---|---|
| Account details | Name, email address, password (stored only in scrambled, hashed form; we can never see it), two-factor authentication settings |
| Profile details | Photo, short bio, location (city/country), career goals, links you choose to add (LinkedIn, GitHub, portfolio) |
| Programme work | Mission submissions, links to your work (for example GitHub repositories and commits), files you upload, written reflections, LinkedIn post content you choose to submit or publish through the Career Passport |
| Messages | Emails and forms you send us, partnership or hiring enquiries |
| Applications and assessments | Answers you give when applying or using career tools such as the Lane Finder |
| Payments | When you pay for a programme, payment is handled by our payment provider. We never see or store your full card details. We receive confirmation of payment and the details needed to enrol you. |
Information created while you learn
- Reviews and feedback from tutors, and suggestions from Vera, our AI review assistant (see section 4)
- Progress records: skill levels (Developing, Demonstrated, Proven), stamps, programme stage, attendance and deadlines
- Talent Pool status, if you opt in
Information collected automatically
- Essential cookies that keep you signed in and keep your account secure
- Bot protection: Cloudflare Turnstile checks that forms are used by real people
- Basic technical logs (such as IP address, browser type and time of access), kept to run and secure the service
We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not sell your data.
3. Why we use it
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Create and secure your account, deliver your programme | To provide the service you signed up for (contract) |
| Review your work and track your progress | Contract |
| Show your public Career Passport and list you in the Talent Directory | Your consent. You opt in, and you can opt out at any time. |
| Introduce you to employers who request candidates | Your consent |
| Send service emails (invites, password resets, review updates) | Contract |
| Protect the platform from fraud and abuse | Our legitimate interest in keeping HerNetIQ safe |
| Improve our programmes using anonymised, combined data | Legitimate interest |
| Meet legal and tax obligations | Legal obligation |
We follow the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and, where it applies to you, the UK and EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
4. How AI is used: Vera
Vera is HerNetIQ's AI review assistant. When you submit a mission, Vera may read your submission and the public content at the links you provide (for example, files in your public GitHub portfolio). Vera checks that the work is complete and makes suggestions for your tutor.
- Vera only suggests. A human tutor makes every decision. Vera can never verify your work, award a skill level or a stamp, or approve you for the Talent Pool.
- Vera is powered by Google Gemini on a paid plan. Under Google's terms for paid use, your submissions are not used to train Google's AI models.
- Vera does not access private repositories, private accounts or anything behind a login.
- If you disagree with a review, ask your tutor. A person will look at it again.
5. What is public and what stays private
Private by default: your account details, all submissions, feedback, unverified work, and anything marked as in progress or returned.
Public only if you opt in:
- Your public Career Passport and Talent Directory profile. These show only tutor-verified work, skill levels and stamps, plus the profile details you choose to show.
- You can switch your public profile off at any time in your settings. It stops being visible straight away.
Employers see only what is on your public profile. We share more (such as your email address) only with your agreement, for a specific opportunity.
6. Who we share data with
We use a small number of trusted service providers to run HerNetIQ. They process data only on our instructions:
| Provider | What they do | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, accounts and file storage | United Kingdom (London) |
| Cloudflare | Website hosting, security, bot protection (Turnstile), email routing | Global network |
| Resend | Sending account and notification emails | European Union (Ireland) |
| Google (Gemini API) | Powering Vera's review suggestions | United States / global |
| Only if you choose to connect your account to publish posts from the Career Passport | Global | |
| Payment provider | Processing programme payments | As per their own policy |
We may also share data when the law requires it, or to protect the safety and rights of our learners, staff or the public.
We never sell or rent your personal data.
7. International transfers
Some of our providers store or process data outside Nigeria, for example in the UK, the EU or the US. When this happens, we choose providers with strong security and contractual protections for personal data, as required by the Nigeria Data Protection Act and GDPR.
8. How we protect your data
- Row-level access controls: each person can only see the data their role allows
- Encrypted connections (HTTPS) everywhere
- Passwords stored only in hashed form; two-factor authentication required for tutors and admins
- Secrets and keys kept in secure stores, never in code
- Bot protection on sign-in and forms
- Access to personal data limited to the people who need it
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal data, we will tell you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.
9. How long we keep it
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Account and Career Passport | While your account is active. Your passport is your record of verified work, so we keep it after your programme ends unless you ask us to delete it. |
| Submissions and feedback | While your account is active |
| Public profile | Until you switch it off or delete your account |
| Enquiry emails | Up to [2 years — to confirm] |
| Technical and security logs | Up to [90 days — to confirm] |
| Payment records | As long as tax and accounting law requires |
When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data within [30 days — to confirm], except where we must keep it by law.
10. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- See the personal data we hold about you
- Correct anything that is wrong
- Delete your data
- Download your data in a portable format
- Object to or restrict how we use it
- Withdraw consent at any time, for example by switching off your public profile
Email hello@joinhernetiq.com. We will reply within 30 days.
If you're unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), or to your local data protection authority if you're in the UK or EU. We'd appreciate the chance to fix it first.
11. Age
HerNetIQ programmes are for adults. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has given us their data, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Links to other sites
Our site links to other services, such as LinkedIn and GitHub. Their own privacy policies apply when you use them.
13. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change and change the "Last updated" date. If a change is significant, we will tell learners by email or in the Career Passport.
14. Contact
HerNetIQ Email: hello@joinhernetiq.com Website: joinhernetiq.com