Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Secretariat of the South Huvadhu Atoll Hoan'dedhdhoo Council ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use this service portal, how we use it, and the steps we take to protect it.

2. Information we collect

We collect the following categories of personal information from you when you use this portal:

• Identity information — your full name and National Identity (NID) number, obtained through eFaas authentication when you sign in.
• Contact information — your phone number, email address, and postal or residential address, provided when you create your account or submit a service request.
• Service request information — details of the requests, applications, and complaints you submit through the portal, including any supporting documents you upload.
• Payment metadata — the amount, currency, status, and transaction reference for payments made through the portal. We do not collect, store, or process card numbers, CVV codes, expiry dates, or any other card details.
• Technical information — basic logs such as IP address and browser type, used for security and abuse prevention.

3. How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

• verify your identity and provide you access to the portal;
• process the service requests, complaints, and applications you submit;
• communicate with you about your requests, including notifications and receipts;
• process payments through our authorised payment gateway;
• maintain accurate council records as required by Maldivian law; and
• detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorised access.

4. Card details and payment security

Card payments are processed exclusively by the Bank of Maldives Maldives Payment Gateway (BML MPG). When you make a payment, you are redirected to BML's secure payment page where you enter your card details directly. Your card number, CVV, expiry date, and other card-sensitive details are never seen, transmitted, or stored by this portal. We only receive a transaction reference and the resulting status from BML.

All transmission of payment-related information between this portal and BML occurs over encrypted HTTPS connections.

5. Security of your information

We implement administrative, technical, and physical measures designed to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit;
• access controls limiting personal data to authorised council staff only;
• authentication via the national eFaas identity service;
• logging and monitoring of administrative access to the system; and
• regular software updates and security patching.

6. Sharing of information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information only with:

• Bank of Maldives, for the purpose of processing payments through BML MPG;
• government authorities, where required by law, regulation, or lawful request; and
• service providers who help us operate the portal, bound by confidentiality obligations.

7. Data retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Service request and payment records may be retained as part of our official council records.

8. Your choices

You may request access to, correction of, or, where applicable, deletion of your personal information by contacting us using the details below. Note that some information must be retained as part of our official records and cannot be deleted on request.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the date of the most recent revision.

10. Contact

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at info@hoandedhdhoo.gov.mv or +960 684 0015.