1. Who we are
SkillFluent Academy ("SkillFluent", "we", "us" or "our") runs the online learning platform at skillfluentacademy.com. We offer certified vocational courses in Information Technology, Healthcare & Caregiving, Safety & Compliance, Logistics & Industrial, First Aid & Emergency, Food Safety & Catering and Language Learning. Learners can study in 14 interface languages.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect when you visit our website, create an account, buy a course, study, take assessments and earn certificates. It also covers why we collect that data, who we share it with, how long we keep it and the rights you have over it. For the purposes of data protection law, SkillFluent Academy is the data controller of the personal data described here.
Please read this policy together with our Terms of Service. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the platform.
2. Information we collect
We only collect what we need to run the platform, deliver your courses and issue certificates you can trust.
Information you give us
- Account details: your full name, email address and password when you register with email. We never store your password in plain text. It is hashed with bcrypt, a one-way algorithm, before it reaches our database, so nobody at SkillFluent can read it.
- Google sign-in details: if you choose "Continue with Google", Google shares your name, email address and profile picture with us. We never receive or store your Google password.
- Course activity: the courses you enroll in, the lessons you open and complete, your place within each lesson, your quiz answers and your overall progress.
- Communications: anything you send us by email or through support, such as questions, feedback or complaints.
Information created as you use the platform
- Enrollment and payment records: the course you bought, the amount and currency paid, the payment date and status, and a reference to the Paystack transaction.
- Assessment results: quizzes are graded on our servers. We record whether you passed each quiz. The pass mark is currently 66%.
- Certificates: when you complete a course we create a certificate with a unique verification code, your name, the course title, the issue date and, where relevant, an expiry date.
- Account role: whether your account is a learner, publisher or administrator account, which controls what you can see and do.
Information collected automatically
- Technical data: like almost every website, our hosting infrastructure receives your IP address, browser type, device and operating system, pages requested and timestamps. We use this for security, fraud prevention and troubleshooting.
- Cookies: a small number of essential cookies. See Cookies below.
Information we do not collect
- We never see or store your full card number, CVC, bank or mobile money details. Paystack processes all payments directly.
- We do not ask for special category data, such as health, religion or biometrics, and we ask you not to include it in messages to us.
- We do not record audio or video of you, and we do not use your webcam or microphone.
3. How we use your information
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- To create and manage your account, including signing you in securely and keeping you signed in between visits.
- To deliver your courses: unlocking paid content, saving your progress so you can pick up where you stopped, and showing your dashboard.
- To process payments through Paystack, confirm purchases, provide receipts and handle refunds or disputes.
- To assess your learning by grading quizzes and final exams and deciding whether you have met the completion criteria.
- To issue and verify certificates. We generate a PDF certificate and a public verification page, so employers and others can confirm that it is genuine.
- To show the site in your language, using the language you choose.
- To provide support and answer your questions.
- To keep the platform secure: detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, cheating, unauthorised access and technical faults.
- To improve our courses and services, using aggregated, anonymised statistics such as completion rates and learner counts.
- To meet legal obligations, such as tax and accounting record-keeping and responding to lawful requests from authorities.
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for third-party advertising or build advertising profiles from it.
4. Legal bases for processing
Where the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or similar laws apply, we rely on the following legal bases:
- Performance of a contract to create your account, deliver courses you purchase, grade assessments and issue certificates.
- Legitimate interests to secure the platform, prevent fraud, keep certificates verifiable and improve our services. We have weighed these interests against your rights.
- Legal obligation to keep financial records and comply with lawful requests.
- Consent for anything optional, such as marketing emails, if we offer them. You can withdraw consent at any time.
5. Certificates and public verification
Every certificate we issue carries a unique code and a QR code that links to a verification page at skillfluentacademy.com/verify/<code>. That page lets employers, regulators and other third parties confirm that a certificate is real and still valid.
Anyone who has the code can see the following on the verification page:
- the certificate holder's name,
- the course title,
- the issue date and the expiry date (or "No expiry"),
- the certificate ID and whether the certificate is currently valid or expired.
The verification page never shows your email address, payment details, quiz answers or any other account data. It is hidden from search engines, so it can only be reached by someone who has the code. You decide who you share your certificate with. If you think a code has been misused, contact us.
8. How long we keep your data
- Account and learning data: for as long as your account is active. If you ask us to delete your account, we delete your profile, enrollments, progress and certificates.
- Certificates: for as long as your account exists, so that verification keeps working for employers throughout the certificate's validity (24 months by default for most courses).
- Payment and transaction records: for the period that tax and accounting laws require, usually up to 7 years, even after your account is deleted.
- Server and security logs: for a short period, normally no more than 90 days, unless we need them longer to investigate an incident.
- Support correspondence: for up to 3 years after the matter is resolved.
Note that deleting your account also invalidates your certificate verification pages.
9. How we protect your data
We use technical and organisational measures that suit the risk, including:
- HTTPS (TLS) encryption for all traffic between your browser and our servers,
- salted bcrypt hashing for passwords,
- signed and encrypted session tokens,
- server-side quiz grading, so answer keys never reach the browser,
- role-based access control for administrative functions,
- payments handled entirely by Paystack, a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified provider,
- verified signatures on payment webhooks, so fake payment notifications are rejected.
No system is completely secure. Please use a strong, unique password and keep it private. If you think your account has been compromised, contact us immediately. If a data breach is likely to put your rights at risk, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.
10. International transfers
We serve learners around the world, and our service providers may process data in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where we transfer personal data out of the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision, so that your data keeps an equivalent level of protection.
11. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you and get a copy of it,
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete data, such as how your name appears on certificates,
- Delete your data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to our legal retention duties,
- Restrict or object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests,
- Data portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format,
- Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent,
- Complain to your local data protection authority.
California residents have the right under the CCPA/CPRA to know, delete and correct personal information, and to opt out of its "sale" or "sharing". We do not sell or share personal information as those laws define it. We will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.
To exercise any right, email privacy@skillfluentacademy.com from the email address on your account. We may need to confirm your identity first. We reply within 30 days, or sooner if the law requires.
12. Children
SkillFluent Academy is built for adults and young people preparing for work. You must be at least 16 years old to create an account, or the minimum age of digital consent in your country if that is higher. Learners under 18 need the involvement of a parent or guardian to make purchases. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you think a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the platform, the law or our practices change. When we do, we will change the "Last updated" date at the top. If the changes are significant, we will notify you by email or with a notice on the site before they take effect. If you keep using SkillFluent Academy after an update, the updated policy applies.
14. Contact us
For questions, requests or complaints about privacy, please contact:
SkillFluent Academy – Privacy
Email: privacy@skillfluentacademy.com
General support: support@skillfluentacademy.com