Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

HERO CONTROL SYSTEMS Ltd ("we", "us", or "our") operates O'Sense: the web dashboard at app.osense.io, the O'Sense mobile app on Google Play, and the WhatsApp services they send and receive messages through (together, the "Services"). This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, who can see it, and the rights you have over it under Zambia's Data Protection Act 2021.

Most information in O'Sense is recorded about you by your employer, school or the business you deal with, which uses O'Sense to run its operations. That organisation decides what is recorded and who may see it, and is the first place to ask about your records. We provide the software and process the information on that organisation's behalf.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account and business information

When an organisation sets up O'Sense, and when it adds its people, we hold:

• Name, phone number and email address; job title and department
• Company name, registration details and business address
• Login credentials
• Payroll details the employer records: salary, bank or mobile-money account, statutory deductions (PAYE, NAPSA, NHIMA), leave and attendance
• Business records the organisation creates: clients, prospects, quotations, invoices, receipts, delivery notes, stock, job cards, expenses and ledger entries
• Billing information for the subscription itself

2.2 Face recognition (biometric data)

If your employer uses attendance by face, the O'Sense app turns a photo of your face into a set of numbers called a template. That template is encrypted and never leaves your phone: it is not uploaded, not shared, and not used to identify you anywhere else. A photograph of your face taken at enrolment is stored by your employer so your enrolment can be rebuilt if the phone is lost or replaced.

Each clock-in records the time, who was recognised, how confident the match was, and where the phone was if a location was available. If you clock in when the day already has a record, or clock out early, you are asked why and your answer is kept with the record. A supervisor override is recorded with a photograph of the place.

2.3 Location

For attendance and receipts, location is taken only at the moment you record something — a clock-in, a clock-out, a receipt. The phone is not followed between those moments. School transport is different: while a bus run is active, the attendant's phone reports where the bus is so guardians can see it coming, and this stops when the run ends. The web dashboard does not track anyone's location.

2.4 Photographs

The Services keep photographs where a record needs one:

• Receipts you photograph and send, on the app or on WhatsApp, are read automatically and recorded as your organisation's spending. The picture is kept, and anything else visible in it is kept with it — do not use it for personal receipts
• Your enrolment photograph, if you use attendance by face
• A photograph of the person collecting a child from a school bus, and photographs supporting an attendance override

Photographs are stored on our servers and are visible only to authorised people in the organisation that recorded them.

2.5 School transport and children

Where a school or transport operator uses Route43, we hold the children on each route, their guardians' names and phone numbers, and each pickup and drop-off. Guardians may be sent a WhatsApp message and a link showing where the bus is during a run; that page shows the bus position and nothing else. This information is about children and is handled on behalf of the school or operator, which is responsible for holding the parents' agreement. The attendant holding the phone cannot give that consent.

2.6 Messages on WhatsApp

Some things in O'Sense happen over WhatsApp. When you send a receipt or a leave request to your organisation's O'Sense number, we receive that message and process it to create the record. When O'Sense sends you something — a payslip, a service reminder, an invoice, a morning brief, a bus tracking link — it goes to the number your organisation has recorded for you. WhatsApp is operated by Meta under its own terms; we see only the messages sent to and from the O'Sense numbers, never your other conversations. The app never reads your messages, contacts, photos or files.

2.7 Usage data

We automatically collect information about how the Services are used: device type, operating system and browser, IP address and approximate location, features used, and error and performance logs.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information to:

• Provide the Services your organisation has subscribed to, and keep its records
• Run payroll, produce payslips, and record attendance and leave
• Read receipts and post them as expenses; keep the ledger and produce statements
• Send the messages described in section 2.6 to the numbers your organisation provides
• Show a guardian where the bus is during an active run
• Let anyone holding a document O'Sense produced check it against the record (section 4)
• Bill the subscription
• Keep the Services secure, detect misuse, and improve them
• Comply with legal obligations

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell personal information. We share it only as follows:

• Within your organisation: managers and administrators can see the records that organisation keeps about you — attendance, payroll, leave, receipts you submitted — according to the roles it sets
• Document verification: payslips, invoices, quotations, receipts, delivery notes, certificates and sealed accounts carry a code that opens a public page confirming the document against the record. That page shows only what is already printed on the document in the holder's hand — never line items, notes, or anything else about you or the organisation — and needs no login
• Guardians: the bus position during an active run, and pickup and drop-off confirmations for their own child
• Service providers: the cloud hosting and messaging providers that run the Services on our behalf, including Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform for messages
• Legal requirements: when required by law or to protect our rights
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

• SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit
• Encrypted storage for sensitive information
• Regular security audits and updates
• Access controls and authentication
• Secure data centers with physical security

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

6. Data Retention

Your organisation's records are kept for as long as its account is active. Specifically:

• Account and business records: until the organisation deletes them or ends its subscription, after which they are held for a hand-over period and then deleted, unless the law requires them to be kept
• Attendance records, including the location taken at clock-in: kept with the organisation's payroll records
• Face templates: on your phone only, removed when your enrolment is removed or the app is uninstalled
• Bus position during a run: kept only for the duration of the run and a short period after, for the tracking link
• Photographs and documents: until deleted by the organisation
• Billing records: 7 years, for legal compliance

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your data (subject to legal obligations)
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw Consent: Opt out of marketing communications
• Restrict Processing: Limit how we use your data

To exercise these rights, contact us using the information below.

8. Cookies and Tracking

On the web dashboard we use cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, understand how the Services are used and improve them.

Advertising measurement on osense.io: our public website uses the Meta Pixel to measure the results of our advertising on Facebook and Instagram — for example, that a visit to the site came from an advert, or that a visitor tapped the WhatsApp button. This sends Meta a record of the page visited and your browser information, which Meta may match to a Facebook or Instagram account. The Pixel is used on the marketing website only, not inside the O'Sense dashboard or the mobile app. You can limit this through your browser's cookie settings and Meta's ad settings.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling them may affect functionality.

9. Children's Privacy

O'Sense accounts are for organisations and their adult staff; we do not knowingly create accounts for anyone under 18. The one place the Services hold information about children is Route43, the school transport module, where a school or transport operator records the children on a route, their guardians and each pickup and drop-off so that guardians can be told their child is safely on and off the bus. That information is held on the school's or operator's behalf, is used only for the run, and the school or operator is responsible for obtaining the parents' agreement. Staff may not copy, photograph or share it outside their work.

10. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries other than Zambia. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Continued use of our Services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.