Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 21, 2026

1. Who We Are

HackBase is operated by Nextbridge Africa. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data when you use our platform at hackbase.nextbridgeafrica.one.

2. Data We Collect

  • Account data: Name, email, password (hashed), role, avatar, country, username.
  • Profile data: Bio, skills, GitHub, Twitter, website.
  • Payout data: Bank details, mobile money numbers, crypto wallet addresses, PayPal email. Provided voluntarily by you for prize payouts.
  • Hackathon data: Registrations, team memberships, project submissions, judging scores.
  • Usage data: IP addresses for rate limiting, timestamps of actions.

3. How We Use Your Data

  • To operate the Platform: authentication, hackathon management, team formation, judging, payouts.
  • To send transactional emails: registration confirmations, team invites, results, payout notifications.
  • To display your public profile at /hacker/username (name, avatar, bio, skills, projects).
  • To share your payout details with hackathon organisers when you win a prize.
  • To enforce rate limits and prevent abuse.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your data. We share data only with:

  • Hackathon organisers: Your registration data and payout details (only when you win a prize).
  • Service providers: SendByte (email), Byteship (file uploads), Bachs (payments), MongoDB Atlas (database).
  • Public profile: Your name, username, avatar, bio, skills, and project history are publicly visible at /hacker/username.

5. Bank Account Details

When you enter bank details for prize payouts, we store the account name, number, and bank information on your profile. This data is shared with hackathon organisers only when you win a prize.

6. Data Security

Passwords are hashed with HMAC-SHA256 and salted. Session tokens are HMAC-signed. Admin API keys use timing-safe comparison. Rate limiting is applied to sensitive endpoints. All data is transmitted over HTTPS.

7. Data Retention

Your data is retained as long as your account exists. Completed hackathons and submission records are retained for historical record even if your account is deleted. You can delete your account from the Settings page, which removes your personal data, registrations, and team memberships.

8. Your Rights

You can: access your data via the Settings and Wallet pages; correct your data by editing your profile; delete your account and associated data from Settings; request a copy of your data by emailing us.

9. Cookies

We use a single httpOnly session cookie (hb_session) for authentication. We do not use tracking cookies, analytics cookies, or third-party advertising cookies.

10. Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be communicated via email.

11. Contact

For privacy questions: hello@nextbridge.africa