MAX Privacy & Data Protection Policy

The following document outlines the privacy policy of Metro Africa Xpress and its subsidiaries - Max Last-Mile Delivery Services Limited, MAX Mobility Limited (MAX) in connection with the use of its websites, services, content, products, mobile applications (“the Services”).

Before using any of the MAX Services, you are required to read, understand, and agree to our terms and conditions and our privacy policy.

1. Introduction

When you use MAX’s services you trust us with your information. We are committed to keeping that trust. That starts with helping you understand our privacy practices. This policy describes the information we collect, how it is used and shared, and your choices regarding this information.

Last Modified: Last modified on May 13, 2024

Effective Date: May 13, 2024.

2. Data Collections and Uses

2.1 Scope

This policy applies to users of MAX’s Services in Nigeria and beyond. It describes how MAX and its affiliates collect and use personal information to provide its Services. This policy applies to all users of our websites, features, or other services anywhere in Nigeria and beyond unless covered by a separate privacy policy. This policy specifically applies to:

1. Riders: users who request or receive transportation
2. Drivers: users who provide transportation individually or through partner transportation companies
3. Delivery Recipients: users who request deliveries of food or other items.
4. Delivery Partners: users who provide delivery services

This policy also applies to those who provide information to MAX in connection with an application to use our Services, or whose information MAX otherwise receives in connection with its Services. All those subject to this policy are referred to as “users” for purposes of this policy. The practices described in this policy are subject to applicable laws in the places in which we operate. This means that we only engage in the practices described in this policy in a particular country or region if permitted under the laws of those places. Please contact us if you have questions about our practices.

2.2 Data Controller

MAX is the controller and responsible for your personal data 9collectively referred to as 'we', 'us', or 'our' in this privacy policy.

3. The Information We Collect

3.1 MAX collects

a) Information that you provide to us while interacting with us, such as when you create your user account.
b) Information created when you use our services, such as location, usage, and device information.
c) Delivery Recipients: users who request deliveries of food or other items.
d) Information from other sources, such as our partners and third parties that use the company’s APIs.

3.1.1 Specific Data Collected

a) User profile: We collect information when you create or update your user account. This may include your name, email, phone number, login name and password, address, payment or banking information (including related payment verification information), government identification numbers such as, driver’s license or passport if required by law, birth date, photo and signature. This also includes the preferences and settings that you enable for the Company account.

b) Background check information: We may collect background check information if you sign up to use MAX’s Services as a driver or delivery partner. This may include information such as your driving history. This information may be collected by a vendor on MAX’s behalf.

c. Demographic data: We may collect demographic information about you, including through user surveys. In some countries, we may also receive demographic information about you from third parties.

d. User Content: We may collect information that you submit when you contact The Company customer support, provide ratings or compliments for other users, or otherwise contact MAX.

3.1.2 Information created when you use our services

a. Location Information

Depending on the Services that you use, and your application settings or device permissions, we may collect your precise or approximate location information as determined through data such as GPS, IP address and WIFI.

If you are a driver or delivery partner, MAX collects location information when the MAX app is running in the foreground (app open and on-screen) or background (app open but not on screen) of your device.

If you are a rider and have provided permission for the processing of location data, MAX collects location information when the MAX app is running in the foreground. In certain regions, MAX also collects this information when the MAX app is running in the background of your device if this collection is enabled through your app settings or device permissions.

Riders and delivery recipients may use the MAX app without enabling the MAX app to collect their location information. However, this may affect the functionality available on your app. For example, if you do not enable MAX to collect your location information, you will have to manually enter your pickup address. In addition, location information will be collected from the driver during your trip and linked to your account, even if you have not enabled MAX to collect your location information.

b. Transaction Information

We collect transaction details related to your use of our Services, including the type of services you requested or provided, your order details, delivery information, date and time the Service was provided, amount charged, distance travelled, and payment method. Additionally, if someone uses your promotion code, we may associate your name with that person.

c. Usage information

We collect information about how you interact with our Services. This includes information such as access dates and times, app features or pages viewed, app crashes and other system activity, type of browser, and third-party sites or service you were using before interacting with our Services. In some cases, we collect this information through cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies that create and maintain unique identifiers.

d. Device Information

We may collect information about the devices you use to access our Services, including the hardware models, device IP address, operating systems and versions, software, file names and versions, preferred languages, unique device identifiers, advertising identifiers, serial numbers, device motion information, and mobile network information.

e. Communications data

We enable users to communicate with each other and the company through the MAX apps, websites, and other Services. For example, we enable drivers and riders, and delivery partners and recipients, to call or text each other. To provide this service, MAX receives some information regarding the calls or texts, including the date and time of the call/text, and the content of the communications. MAX may also use this information for customer support services (including to resolve disputes between users), for safety and security purposes, to improve our products and services and for analytics.

3.1.3 Information from other sources like;

(a). User feedback, such as ratings or compliments.
(b). Users providing your information in connection with referral programs.
(c). Users requesting services for or on your behalf.
(d). Users or others providing information in connection with claims or disputes.
(e). MAX’s business partners through which you create or access your account, such as payment providers, social media services, on-demand music services, or apps or websites who use MAX’s APIs or whose API, MAX uses.
(f). Insurance providers (if you are a driver or delivery partner).
(g). Financial services providers (if you are a driver or delivery partner).
(h). Partner transportation companies (if you are a driver who uses our services through an account associated with such a company).The owner of the company for business or the company family profile that you use.
(i). Publicly available sources.
(j). Marketing service providers.

MAX may combine the information collected from these sources with other information in its possession.

4. How We Use Your Information

4.1 MAX collects and uses the information to enable reliable and convenient transportation, delivery and other products and services. MAX uses the information it collects for purposes including:

4.1.1 Providing services and features

MAX uses the information we collect to provide, personalize, maintain and improve our products and services. This includes using the information to:

a) Create and update your account.
b) Verify your identity.
c) Enable transportation, deliveries, and other services. This includes automated processing of your information to enable dynamic pricing in which the price of a ride is determined based on constantly varying factors such as the estimated time and distance of the predicted route, estimated traffic, and the number of riders and drivers using the service at a given moment.
d) Process or facilitate payments for those services.
e) Offer, obtain, provide or facilitate insurance or financing solutions in connection with our Services.
f) To track the progress of your ride or delivery.
g) Enable features that allow you to share information with other people, such as when you submit a compliment about a driver, refer a friend to MAX, split fares, or share your ETA.
h) Enable features to personalize your account, such as creating bookmarks for your favourite places, and enabling quick access to previous destinations.
i) Perform internal operations necessary to provide our services, including troubleshooting software bugs and operational problems, conducting data analysis, testing, and research, and monitoring and analyze usage and activity trends.

4.1.2 Safety and security

We use your data to help maintain the safety, security and integrity of our services and users.
This includes:
a) Screening drivers and delivery partners prior to enabling their use of our services and at subsequent intervals, including thorough reviews of background checks, where permitted by law, to prevent the use of our Services by unsafe drivers.
b) Using information from drivers’ devices to identify unsafe driving behaviour such as speeding or harsh braking and acceleration, and to raise awareness among drivers regarding such behaviours.
c) Using the device, location, profile, usage and other information to prevent, detect and combat fraud or unsafe activities.
d) Using user ratings to encourage improvement by affected users, and as grounds for deactivating users with ratings below a certain minimum as may be required in their region. Calculation and deactivation may be done through an automated decision-making process.

4.1.3 Customer support

MAX uses the information it collects (including recordings of customer support calls after notice to you and with your consent) to assist you when you contact our customer support services, including to:
a) Direct your questions to the appropriate customer support person.
b) Investigate and address your concerns.
c) Monitor and improve our customer support responses.

4.1.4 Research and development

We may use the information we collect for testing, research, analysis and product development. This allows us to improve and enhance the safety and security of our Services, develop new features and products, and facilitate insurance and finance solutions in connection with our Services

4.1.5 Communications among users

MAX uses the information we collect to enable communications between our users. For example, a driver may text or call a rider to confirm a pickup location, or a delivery partner may call a delivery recipient with information about their order.

4.1.6 Communications from us

MAX may use the information we collect to communicate with you about products, services, promotions, studies, surveys, news, updates and events. We may use the information to promote and process contests and fulfill any related awards and serve you relevant ads and content about our services and those of our business partners. You may receive some of these communications based on your profile as a user. We may also use the information to inform you about elections, ballots, referenda and other policy processes that relate to our Services. Where you would like to turn-off/opt out of this processing, click here.

4.1.7 Legal proceedings and requirements

We may use the information we collect to investigate or address claims or disputes relating to your use of our Services, or as otherwise allowed by applicable law, or as requested by regulators, government entities, and official inquiries.

5. Cookies and Third-Party Technologies

MAX and its partners use cookies and other identification technologies on our apps, websites, emails, and online ads for purposes described in this policy. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your browser or device by websites, apps, online media, and advertisements. We use cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as:

a) Authenticating users.
b) Remembering user preferences and settings.
c) Determining the popularity of content. Delivering and measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
d) Analyzing site traffic and trends, and generally understanding the online behaviours and interests of people who interact with our Services. We may also allow others to provide audience measurement and analytics services for us, to serve advertisements on our behalf across the Internet, and to track and report on the performance of those advertisements. These entities may use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, and other technologies to identify your device when you visit our site and use our services, as well as when you visit other online sites and services.

6. Information Sharing and Disclosure

6.1 We may share the information we collect:

6.1.1 With other users

If you are a driver or delivery partner, we may share information with your rider(s) including name and photo; vehicle make, license plate; location; average rating provided by riders; the total number of trips; for how long you have been using the MAX app; and contact information). If you choose to complete a driver profile, we may also share any information associated with that profile, including information that you submit and compliments that past rider has submitted about you. The rider/delivery recipient will also receive a receipt containing information such as a breakdown of amounts charged, your first name, photo, and a map of the route you took.

6.1.2 At your request

This includes sharing your information with:

a). Third parties at your request: we may share your ETA and location with a friend at your request, or your trip information when you split a fare with a friend.
b). Our business partners: if you requested a service through a partnership or promotional offering made by a third party, we may share your information with those third parties. This may include, for example, other apps or websites that integrate with our APIs, vehicle suppliers, or services, or those with an API or service with which we integrate, or business partners with whom we may partner with to deliver a promotion, a contest or a specialized service.
c). With the general public when you submit content to a public forum: we love hearing from our users, including through public forums such as our blogs, social media, and certain features on our network. When you communicate with us through those channels, your communications may be viewable by the public.
d). With the owner of the accounts that you may use: if you use a profile associated with another party, we may share your trip information with the owner of that profile. This occurs, for example, if you are a rider using your employer’s account for a business profile, or taking trips arranged through the company’s central account; or you are a rider who takes a trip arranged by a friend or under a Family Profile.

6.1.3 With our affiliates

We share information with our subsidiaries and affiliates to help us provide our services or conduct data processing on our behalf.

6.1.4 With our service providers and business partners

We may provide information to its vendors, consultants, marketing partners, research firms, and other service providers or business partners. This may include:
a) Payment processors and facilitators.
b) Background check providers (drivers and delivery partners only).
c) Cloud storage providers.
d) Marketing partners and marketing platform providers.
e) Data analytics providers.
f) Research partners, including those performing surveys or research projects in partnership with us or on our behalf.
g) Vendors that assist us to enhance the safety and security of our Services.
h) Consultants, lawyers, accountants and other professional service providers. 
i) Fleet partners.
j) Insurance and financing partners.
h) Vehicle solution vendors or third-party vehicle suppliers.

6.1.5 For legal reasons or in the event of a dispute

We may share your information if we believe it is required by applicable law, regulation, operating agreement, legal process or governmental request, or where the disclosure is otherwise appropriate due to safety or similar concerns. This includes sharing your information with law enforcement officials, government authorities, airports (if required by the airport authorities as a condition of operating on airport property), or other third parties as necessary to enforce our terms of service, user agreements, or other policies, to protect our rights or property or the rights, safety or property of others, or in the event of a claim or dispute relating to your use of our services. If you use another person’s credit card, we may be required by law to share information with that credit card holder, including trip information. This also includes sharing your information with others in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, consolidation or restructuring, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by or into another company.

6.1.6 With your consent

We would get your express consent before we share your information other than described in this policy.

7. Information Retention and Delection

7.1 MAX requires user profile information to provide its services, and retains such information for as long you maintain your Company account.

7.2 We retain certain information, including transaction, location, device, and usage information, for a minimum of 7 years in connection with regulatory, tax, insurance and other requirements in the places in which it operates. Once such information is no longer necessary to provide our Services, enable customer support, enhance the user experience or other operational purposes, we will take steps to prevent access to or use of such information for any purpose other than compliance with these requirements or purposes of safety, security and fraud prevention and detection.

7.3 We may also retain certain information if necessary for its legitimate business interests, such as fraud prevention and enhancing users' safety and security. For example, if we shut down a user's account because of unsafe behaviour or security incidents, we may retain certain information about that account to prevent that user from opening a new one in the future.

7.4 You may request deletion of your account at any time through the Privacy Settings in the MAX app. Following such request, we shall delete the information that it is not required to retain. In certain circumstances, we may be unable to delete your account, such as if there is an outstanding credit on your account or an unresolved claim or dispute. Upon resolution of the issue preventing deletion, we will delete your account as described above.

8. Objections and complaints

Users in Nigeria have the right to object to our processing of personal data, including for marketing purposes based on profiling and/or automated decision-making, subject to our right to retain or use the information as permitted by the law.

Users in Nigeria also have the right to file a complaint relating to our handling of their personal information with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) Head Office at No.12 Clement Isong Street, Asokoro, Abuja, Nigeria. Mobile: +2349160615551, Email: [email protected], Mobile: web: ndpc.gov.ng.

However, we encourage users to first file such complaints and submit questions and comments to the Company’s Data Processing Officer via [email protected].

9. Grounds for Processing

(a). The processing is necessary to provide the services and features you request
(b). The processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of our users or others
(c). The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests
(d). The processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of other persons or parties
(e). MAX collects and uses personal information to the extent necessary for the interests of other persons or the general public. This includes sharing information in connection with legal or insurance claims, to protect the rights and safety of others.

10. Your Legal Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data.

10.1 You have the right to:

10.1.1 Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

10.1.2 Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

10.1.3 Request erasure of your personal data in certain circumstances. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

10.1.4 Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) as the legal basis for that particular use of your data (including carrying out profiling based on our legitimate interests). In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your right to object. You also have the absolute right to object any time to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes in 4.1.6. For details of how to object to receiving direct marketing communications, please refer to paragraph 4.1.6.

10.1.5 Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

10.1.6 Withdraw consent: you may withdraw your consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

10.1.7 Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in one of the following scenarios:
a) If you want us to establish the data's accuracy;
b) Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it;
c) Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or
d) You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact our data protection officer via [email protected].


10.2 No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

10.3 What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

10.4 Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

11. Information Security

We have put appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorized manner, or disclosed. We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions. We are equally aware of the obligation imposed on us by law regarding data protection and privacy.

12. Consent

We collect and use your information based on your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time. If you withdraw your consent, you will not be able to use any service or feature that requires the collection or use of the information we collected or used based on consent.

MAX relies on the following lawful basis for the processing of the personal data received by virtue of your interaction with their services:
a) Consent: in most circumstances we will require your consent before data is collected or processed by us.
b) Performance of a contract: Max will process your data without your express consent to aid the performance of a contract. For instance, to connect a driver to a customer and in other to bring your deliveries to you, Max will have to process your location data once you have placed a delivery.
c) Legal obligation: where required by a court of competent jurisdiction or a legal authority or regulatory authority.
d) Legitimate interest: we may process your data on the grounds of legitimate interest without your prior consent, for instance, to recover a debt you owe to us.

13. Choice and Transparency

13.1 We provide means for you to see and control the information that we collect including through:

13.1.1 Privacy Settings

The Privacy Settings menu in the MAX rider app gives users the ability to set or update their location and contacts sharing preferences, and their preferences for receiving mobile notifications from MAX. Information on these settings, how to set or change these settings, and the effect of turning off these settings are described below.

(a). Location Information
We use rider's device location services to make it easier to get a safe, reliable ride whenever you need one. Location data helps improve our services, including pickups, navigation, and customer support. You may enable/disable, or adjust, our collection of rider location information at any time through the Privacy Settings menu in the MAX app, or via the settings on your mobile device. If you disable the device location services on your device, your use of the MAX app will be affected. For example, you will need to manually enter your pick-up or drop-off locations. In addition, location information will be collected from the driver during your trip and linked to your account, even if you have not enabled The Company to collect your location information.

(b). Share Live Location (Riders)
If you have enabled the device location services on your mobile device, you may also enable us to share your location with your driver from the time you request a ride to the start of your trip. This makes it easier for your driver to pick you up. You may enable/disable location sharing with your driver at any time through the Privacy Settings menu in the Company app. You may use the Company app if you have not enabled location sharing, but it may be more difficult for your driver to locate you.

(d). Notifications: Account and Trip Updates
We provide users with trip status notifications and updates related to their accounts. These notifications are a necessary part of using the MAX app and cannot be disabled. However, you may choose the method by which you receive these notifications through the Privacy Settings menu in the MAX app.

(e). Notifications: Discounts and News
You may enable MAX to send you to push notifications about discounts and news us. You may enable/disable these notifications at any time through the Privacy Settings menu in the MAX app.

13.1.2 Device Permissions

Most mobile platforms (iOS, Android, etc.) have defined certain types of device data that apps cannot access without your consent and these platforms have different permission systems for obtaining your consent. The iOS platform will alert you the first time the MAX app wants permission to access certain types of data and will let you consent (or not consent) to that request. Android devices will notify you of the permissions that the MAX app seeks before you first use the app, and your use of the app constitutes your consent.

14. Updates to this Policy

We keep our data protection and privacy policy under regular review . If we make changes, we will notify you of the changes through the MAX apps or by posting updates on our website, or through others means, such as email. 
This version was last updated on the 13 of May 2024.

15. Remedies and Limitation

Subject to the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, neither MAX nor its affiliates, partners, suppliers, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages arising out of or in connection with damages arising from the breach of your privacy. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the company's aggregate liability to you (whether under contract, tort, statute, or otherwise) shall not exceed the amount of hundred dollars ($100.00). The foregoing limitations will apply even if the above-stated remedy fails of its essential purpose provided always that the complaint is brought within one month of the occurrence of the said breach.

16. Third-party links

This website or the MAX app may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website or application, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

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