Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 13, 2026.
This document is provided for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice. FortWave recommends that you have qualified legal counsel review and adapt these materials for your business, jurisdiction, and use cases before relying on them.
This Privacy Policy describes how FortWave (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and shares personal information when you use our websites, dashboards, APIs, and related services, including SMS and WhatsApp Business messaging (collectively, the “Services”). By using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read this policy.
1. Who we are
FortWave provides cloud software and APIs that help businesses send and manage SMS and WhatsApp Business messages. We operate direct connections with mobile network operators in Rwanda and Burundi, and we deliver WhatsApp messages through the official WhatsApp Business Platform operated by Meta.
Depending on your relationship with us, we may act as a data controller for certain account and usage information, and as a processor on behalf of customers for message content and recipient data that customers submit through the Services.
2. Information we collect
Account and profile data: name, email address, company name, authentication credentials, billing contacts, and preferences you provide when you register or manage your account.
Usage and technical data: IP address, device and browser type, approximate location derived from IP, log timestamps, pages viewed, API request metadata, error logs, and security signals.
Customer content: message payloads, recipient phone numbers or identifiers, sender IDs, message templates, campaign metadata, and other content you or your users submit when using messaging features.
WhatsApp messaging data: where you use WhatsApp features, this includes registered WhatsApp sender numbers, message templates you submit for approval, delivery and read receipts, and inbound messages that recipients send to your WhatsApp sender, which may include the recipient’s WhatsApp profile name and any media they choose to send.
Support and communications: information you send when you contact support, respond to surveys, or interact with us by email or chat.
Payment data: limited billing information processed by our payment service providers (we generally do not store full payment card numbers).
3. How we use information
We use personal information to provide, operate, and improve the Services; authenticate users; process transactions; monitor performance and reliability; detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, and security incidents; comply with law and enforce our agreements; communicate about updates, incidents, and billing; and analyze aggregated or de-identified usage to improve product experience.
4. Legal bases (where applicable)
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or similar jurisdictions, we may rely on one or more of the following legal bases: performance of a contract with you; our legitimate interests (such as securing the Services and improving reliability), balanced against your rights; your consent where required; and compliance with legal obligations. You may withdraw consent where processing is consent-based, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
6. International transfers
We may process and store information in countries other than where you live, including where our hosting providers, the WhatsApp Business Platform, or connected operators process data. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or other mechanisms recognized by applicable law to govern cross-border transfers.
7. Retention
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Retention periods may vary based on the type of data, legal requirements, and operational needs. Aggregated or de-identified information may be retained without limitation where permitted.
8. Security
We implement technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; we encourage you to use strong passwords, protect API tokens, and follow security guidance we provide.
9. Your rights and choices
Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your personal information; object to or restrict certain processing; and lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Users in Rwanda and Burundi may also have rights under applicable national data protection law, including the right to complain to the competent national supervisory authority.
You may opt out of marketing communications by using the unsubscribe link in emails or contacting us. To exercise rights, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your request.
11. Children
The Services are not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and revise the “Last updated” date. Where changes are material, we will provide additional notice as appropriate.
13. Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us through the contact options provided on our website or in your account dashboard.
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