Privacy Policy
AI Legal Assistant for Equitable Access to Justice in Africa
Last updated: 25/12/2025
1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how the AI Legal Assistant for Equitable Access to Justice in Africa (“the Service”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data.
The Service is an AI-powered legal information chatbot designed to improve access to legal information in African contexts, with pilot deployments in Benin and Madagascar. It provides general legal information and educational guidance and does not constitute legal advice.
We are committed to protecting user privacy, respecting data protection laws, and deploying artificial intelligence responsibly and ethically.
2. Data Controller
The data controller for this Service is:
Project Name: AI Legal Assistant for Equitable Access to Justice in Africa
Contact Email: contact@acfai.org
Operating Entity: Africa Center For Artificial Intelligence
Country of establishment: England
For privacy-related questions, users may contact us at the email address above.
3. Information We Collect
We apply the principle of data minimization and collect only what is necessary to operate and improve the Service.
3.1 Information Provided by Users
When using the chatbot, users may voluntarily provide:
Legal questions or descriptions of situations typed into the chat interface
Optional feedback on responses (e.g. usefulness, clarity)
Users are strongly discouraged from submitting:
Names, addresses, phone numbers
National ID numbers or passport data
Sensitive personal data (health, political opinions, religion, ethnicity)
3.2 Automatically Collected Information
We may automatically collect limited technical information, such as:
IP address (anonymized or truncated where possible)
Device type and browser
Date and time of access
General usage statistics (e.g. number of interactions)
This data is used solely for security, performance, and system improvement.
4. Purpose of Data Processing
We process data only for the following purposes:
To provide legal information responses via the AI chatbot
To ensure system safety, reliability, and error detection
To evaluate accuracy, fairness, and usability of responses
To improve the quality of the Service through human-in-the-loop review
To generate anonymized research and impact metrics
We do not use personal data for advertising or commercial profiling.
5. Legal Basis for Processing
Depending on jurisdiction, data processing is based on:
User consent (by voluntarily using the Service)
Legitimate interest in providing access to legal information and improving system safety
Research and public interest purposes, where applicable
6. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Third-Party Services
6.1 AI Processing
The Service uses third-party AI models (such as OpenAI, Mistral, or Anthropic APIs) to generate responses. User queries may be processed by these providers strictly for the purpose of generating responses.
We take steps to:
Avoid sending unnecessary personal data to AI providers
Use safety-aligned and policy-compliant models
Regularly test outputs for accuracy and bias
6.2 Third-Party Infrastructure
We may rely on trusted third-party services for:
Cloud hosting
Database storage (e.g. vector databases)
Security monitoring
All providers are selected based on recognized data protection and security standards.
7. Human Review and Research Use
To ensure safety and quality:
Selected conversations may be reviewed by trained law students or legal experts
All reviews are conducted under confidentiality obligations
Data used for research or evaluation is anonymized or pseudonymized
No user is personally identified in publications, reports, or evaluations.
8. Data Retention
We retain data only for as long as necessary:
Chat interactions: retained for a limited period for quality and safety review
Technical logs: retained for security and operational purposes
Anonymized data may be retained longer for research and impact assessment
Data is securely deleted or anonymized once no longer needed.
9. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures, including:
Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
Secure cloud infrastructure
Access controls and audit logs
Limited access to data on a need-to-know basis
Despite these measures, no system can be guaranteed 100% secure.
10. User Rights
Depending on applicable law, users may have the right to:
Access their personal data
Request correction or deletion
Object to or restrict processing
Withdraw consent
Requests can be sent to: [insert contact email]
We will respond within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable laws.
11. Children and Vulnerable Users
The Service is intended for general informational use and is not specifically targeted at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.
Special care is taken to:
Avoid harmful or misleading legal guidance
Include disclaimers encouraging consultation with qualified legal professionals when appropriate
12. No Legal Advice Disclaimer
The Service provides general legal information only.
It does not create a lawyer-client relationship and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal advice.
13. International Data Transfers
Data may be processed or stored on servers located outside the user’s country. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards consistent with applicable data protection laws.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in technology, law, or project scope.
The latest version will always be available at this URL, with the updated date clearly indicated.
15. Contact
For questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or data protection practices, please contact:
Email: contact@acfai.org
Project: AI Legal Assistant for Equitable Access to Justice in Africa
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