Privacy Policy
How Forest Digital Academy CC collects, uses and protects your personal information when you use fda.com.na — written in plain language, with Namibian law in mind.
Only what we need
Your name and email to reply to you, and account details if you sign up for a free course. Nothing more is required.
Never sold
We don’t sell or rent your personal information, and we don’t pass it to other organisations for their own marketing.
You stay in control
Ask to see, correct or delete your information, or stop updates, at any time by emailing info@fda.com.na.
01Who we are
This website, fda.com.na, is operated by Forest Digital Academy CC (“FDA”, “we”, “us”), a 100% Namibian-owned Close Corporation based in Nkurenkuru, Kavango West, Namibia.
FDA is responsible for the personal information collected through this website. This policy covers our public pages, the “Register your interest” form, our free online courses and learner accounts, and the emails we exchange with you. It does not cover other websites we link to — for example, the learning platforms listed in our Learning Hub.
02Namibian laws we follow
We handle your information in line with Namibian law and recognised data protection principles:
Article 13 — Right to privacy
The Namibian Constitution protects everyone’s privacy, including their home, correspondence and communications.
Electronic Transactions Act
Sets standards for electronic communications and online services, including the opt-in and opt-out rules for electronic marketing messages in section 36.
Data Protection Bill
Namibia does not yet have a dedicated data protection Act in force. We already follow the Bill’s core principles: transparency, consent, parental consent for minors, and your rights to access and correct your data.
AU Malabo Convention
Namibia has ratified the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, which sets fair-processing and security principles we apply.
When Namibia’s data protection law is enacted, or other relevant laws change, we will update this policy to match.
03What we collect
| Where it comes from | What we collect |
|---|---|
| Register your interest / contact form | Your full name and email address (required). Optionally: mobile or WhatsApp number, town or region, organisation, your message, the topics you’re interested in, and your consent confirmation. |
| Free learner account | Your name, email address and password (stored only in scrambled, hashed form), an optional phone number, and your learning activity: enrolments, lessons completed, progress and practice-quiz answers and scores. |
| Emails and messages | Whatever you choose to include when you email or message us. |
| Automatically, when you visit | Technical details such as your IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, the site that referred you and your approximate location (from your IP address), collected through cookies and similar tools. See Cookies & analytics. |
What we don’t collect: our courses are free and this website does not take payments, so we never ask for bank or card details. We don’t ask for government ID numbers or sensitive information such as health, religion or political views — please don’t send these to us.
04How we use your information
- To reply to you and handle your enquiry, partnership interest or support request.
- To run your free courses: create your account, save your progress, show your results and help you pick up where you left off.
- To send updates you asked for — only about the topics you ticked, and only until you ask us to stop.
- To keep the website secure, block spam and prevent misuse of accounts and forms.
- To understand and improve the website using visit statistics, and to measure whether our own adverts work.
- To show advertising served by Google, which helps us keep our courses free.
- To meet legal obligations or respond to a lawful request from a Namibian authority.
We rely on your consent (which you can withdraw at any time), on what is needed to give you the service you asked for, and on our legitimate interest in running a safe and useful website. Registering your interest does not enrol you in a programme, guarantee admission, or confirm that a project has received funding.
07Information stored outside Namibia
Some of the services above, such as Google and Automattic, store and process information on servers outside Namibia, including in the United States and Europe. We choose established providers that publish their own privacy and security commitments, and we only share what each service needs to work.
08How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Enquiries and form submissions | Up to 24 months after our last contact with you, unless we are still working together. |
| Learner accounts and progress | While your account is open. If an account is unused for 3 years, we may delete it after letting you know by email. |
| Update and mailing preferences | Until you unsubscribe. We then keep only a record that you opted out, so we don’t contact you again. |
| Analytics and advertising data | For the limited periods set in our Google account settings and by Google’s own policies. |
You can ask us to delete your information sooner — see Your rights.
09Keeping it safe
- The whole website uses an encrypted HTTPS connection.
- Passwords are stored only in hashed form, so we cannot read them.
- Access to form entries and learner records is limited to authorised FDA personnel using protected accounts.
- We keep the website software, plugins and security tools up to date, and we filter spam.
No website can be 100% secure. If a security incident is likely to put you at risk, we will act quickly to contain it, tell you without undue delay, and report it to the relevant Namibian authority where the law requires.
10Your rights
Ask what information we hold about you and get a copy.
Fix anything that is wrong or out of date. You can also edit account details in your dashboard.
Ask us to delete your information or close your learner account.
Stop updates or withdraw consent at any time. This doesn’t affect anything we did before.
Object to us using your information for analytics or marketing.
Tell us if you’re unhappy, and raise it with the relevant Namibian authority if we can’t resolve it.
How to make a request
- Email info@fda.com.na with the subject “Privacy request”.
- Tell us what you’d like us to do. We may ask you to confirm your identity before sharing or changing anything.
- We will respond within 30 days. Requests are free of charge.
11Young learners
Our free courses and Learning Hub are suitable for young people. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before creating a learner account or sending us your details. Parents and guardians can contact us at any time to review or delete their child’s information.
We do not knowingly use children’s information for marketing or advertising. If we learn that we hold information about a child without a parent or guardian’s permission, we will delete it.
12Updates & marketing messages
We only send you news and updates if you opted in, for example by ticking a topic on our form. In line with the opt-in and opt-out rules in section 36 of the Electronic Transactions Act, every message will:
- clearly show that it comes from Forest Digital Academy;
- tell you how to stop receiving messages, by replying or using an unsubscribe link, and we will act on your request promptly;
- never come from a bought or rented contact list.
13Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our website, services or Namibian law change. The “Last updated” date at the top shows the latest version. If we make a significant change, we will show a notice on this website and, where appropriate, email learners and people who receive our updates.
Questions about your privacy?
We’re happy to explain how we handle your information or help with a request.
Email info@fda.com.na- Organisation
- Forest Digital Academy CC
- Location
- Nkurenkuru, Kavango West, Namibia
- Response time
- Within 30 days
Forest Digital Academy CC is a registered Namibian Close Corporation, not an accredited education provider.