Privacy Policy

This policy applies to services operated by Alver Energy Hub (also referred to as AlverEnergyHub, Alver Power, or “we”, “us”, “our”) in connection with:

• Alver smart electricity meters and related infrastructure
• The Alver Smart Energy mobile app (Google Play)
• Property-manager and utility dashboards
• Our website and contact forms
• WhatsApp-based customer service and self-service tools
• SMS, email, and in-app notifications (including prepaid tokens)
• M-Pesa and other payment channels used to top up meters

We are based in Kenya. Our services are designed for customers, tenants, property managers, caretakers, and partners who use Alver metering and billing systems.

If you use any Alver product or channel listed above, this policy applies. It also applies if you only browse our website, subscribe to updates, or contact us for sales and support.

Some property managers run buildings under their own agreements with tenants. In those cases, your manager may also hold information about you (for example lease details). This policy covers what Alver processes; your manager may have separate privacy terms for tenancy matters outside our systems.

We collect information in three broad ways: you give it to us, we generate it from your use of our services, and we receive it from trusted partners.

We operate a WhatsApp-based service bot so customers can get help without waiting on a phone queue or installing an app. We are open about what it does and what data it touches.

We use personal information for specific, practical purposes:

• Operating and maintaining smart meters and billing
• Showing balances, consumption, and transaction history in the app and dashboards
• Processing top-ups and generating/delivering prepaid tokens
• Sending alerts (low balance, payment confirmation, outages where configured)
• Providing customer support, including WhatsApp bot and human agents
• Investigating failed payments, missing tokens, and incorrect balances
• Securing our systems, detecting fraud and abuse, and troubleshooting errors
• Improving products (for example fixing common support issues seen in chat logs)
• Responding to legal requests and protecting our rights and users’ safety
• Marketing our services to business customers where you have asked for information or consented

We process data on lawful bases under the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019, including performance of a contract (providing metering and billing), legitimate interests (security, support, service improvement), consent where required (for example some marketing), and legal obligation.

We share information only when necessary. We do not sell personal data.

• Property managers and caretakers — where they administer your building and are authorised to view tenant metering and billing in our dashboard.
• Payment providers — such as Safaricom M-Pesa, to process payments you initiate.
• Cloud hosting and database providers — to store and run our applications securely (for example infrastructure that hosts our website forms and backend services).
• Messaging providers — SMS gateways, email services, and WhatsApp Business API providers to deliver tokens and notifications.
• Professional advisers — lawyers, auditors, or insurers when required.
• Authorities — regulators, courts, or law enforcement when legally required or to protect vital interests.

Partners that process data on our behalf must follow contractual confidentiality and security requirements. We remain responsible for how we direct them to handle your information.

Our primary operations and storage are oriented to Kenya. Some technology providers may process data in other countries (for example cloud regions outside Kenya). Where this happens, we take steps required under Kenyan law to ensure appropriate safeguards—such as standard contractual protections and provider security certifications.

Retention depends on the type of data and why we hold it:

• Metering and billing records — typically for the life of the meter account plus a period required for tax, audit, and dispute resolution (often several years).
• Token and payment logs — kept long enough to investigate missing tokens, chargebacks, and customer queries.
• Support and WhatsApp chats — kept while relevant to your case and for quality and security review, then deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.
• Marketing contacts — until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove your details.

When data is no longer needed, we delete it, anonymise it, or aggregate it so it can no longer identify you.

We use technical and organisational measures appropriate to utility and payment data—including encryption in transit, access controls, logging, and restricted staff access. No system is perfectly secure; if we become aware of a breach that affects your rights, we will notify you and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner as required by law.

You also play a role: protect your app password, do not share M-Pesa PINs, and contact us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your meter account.

Under the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019, you may have the right to:

• Know whether we hold personal data about you
• Access a copy of your personal data
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Object to certain processing
• Request deletion where applicable
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC)

To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity (for example by confirming meter number and phone number on file) before disclosing account information. We will respond within reasonable timelines required by law.

If you are a tenant, some requests may need coordination with your property manager where they control certain account settings—but we will still help you understand what Alver holds.

Our services are intended for adults managing household or business utility accounts. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 18 without appropriate authority. If you believe a child has provided us data without consent, contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

The WhatsApp bot and some billing systems use automated rules (for example matching your meter number to token records). These decisions affect service delivery but do not generally produce legal effects about you without human review where it matters—support staff can override bot responses and investigate edge cases.

Our website may use cookies and local storage for essential functions (security, preferences) and to understand how visitors use the site. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling some cookies may affect site functionality.

Our site and apps may link to external services (for example Google Play, our online shop, or partner portals). Those services have their own privacy policies—we are not responsible for their practices.

We may update this policy when we add features (such as new support channels) or when laws change. We will post the new version on this page with an updated date. For significant changes, we may also notify you through the app, SMS, email, or WhatsApp where appropriate.

Continued use of our services after an update means you accept the revised policy.

For privacy questions, data access requests, or concerns about how we handle your information:

You may also contact the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (Kenya) if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.