1. Introduction & Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to personal data we collect through our website and online enrollment platform (the “Platform”) operated by Smart Driving School (“we,” “us,” or “our”). We are committed to processing your personal data fairly, lawfully, and securely, in accordance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173) and its implementing rules and regulations.
By registering an account and enrolling, you consent to the collection and processing of your personal data as described in this Policy.
2. Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal data:
2.1 Identity & contact information
- Full name, including middle name and name extension (e.g. Jr., Sr., III)
- Date of birth and gender
- Mobile / cellphone number and email address
- Residential address (region, province, city or municipality, district, barangay, and street address)
2.2 Enrollment information
- Driver's license or student permit status
- Preferred branch or training center
- How you heard about us, and related referral details
- Sales representative, partner-company, scholarship, and gift-card details, where applicable
- Enrolled courses, bundles, selected hours, schedules, and attendance records
2.3 Account & security information
- Your account password, which is stored only in encrypted (hashed) form
- Email verification (OTP) records used to confirm your identity
2.4 Payment information
- Payment amounts, currency, payment status, and transaction reference numbers
- Proof-of-payment files, invoices, and receipts that you or our staff upload
- Card and e-wallet details are entered directly on the secure checkout page of our payment provider, Maya (PayMaya). We do not collect or store your full card or e-wallet credentials on our servers.
2.5 Technical & usage information
- Authentication cookies and session data needed to keep you signed in and to secure your account
- Usage and device information collected through analytics tools (such as Google Analytics), including pages visited and general interaction data
3. How We Collect Your Information
- Directly from you when you register, enroll, or update your account details
- When you make a payment or upload a proof of payment
- When you or our staff coordinate your schedules at a branch
- Automatically through cookies and analytics as you use the Platform
To help you complete your address accurately, we use the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) reference service to populate region, province, city, and barangay options.
4. How We Use Your Information
- To create, verify, and manage your student account
- To confirm your identity and prevent duplicate or fraudulent registrations
- To process your enrollment, scheduling, attendance, and certification
- To process payments and issue invoices and receipts
- To send transactional messages such as verification codes and account notices
- To coordinate your LTO certificate processing
- To improve, secure, and analyze the performance of our Platform
- To comply with legal, regulatory, and accreditation requirements
5. Legal Bases for Processing
We process your personal data on one or more of the following bases:
- Consent — which you provide when you register, enroll, and accept this Policy.
- Contractual necessity — to deliver the programs and services you enrolled in.
- Legal obligation — to comply with applicable laws and accreditation requirements.
- Legitimate interests — to secure our Platform and improve our services, balanced against your rights.
6. Data Privacy & Security
We implement organizational, physical, and technical measures designed to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or loss. These measures include:
- Storing personal and enrollment data in a managed, access-controlled PostgreSQL database (hosted with Neon).
- Storing uploaded files such as proofs of payment and receipts in secure object storage (Cloudflare R2).
- Storing account passwords and one-time passcodes only in irreversibly hashed form, never as plain text.
- Managing your signed-in session through signed, encrypted session cookies.
- Transmitting data over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) between your device, our Platform, and our service providers.
- Limiting access to personal data to authorized personnel who need it to perform their roles.
While we take reasonable steps to safeguard your data, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. You also play an important role by keeping your account credentials confidential.
7. Sharing & Third-Party Service Providers
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with trusted service providers who help us operate the Platform, and only to the extent necessary to provide their service:
- Maya (PayMaya) — to securely process your online payments.
- Neon — to host our database and store your enrollment records.
- Cloudflare R2 — to store uploaded payment proofs, invoices, and receipts.
- Google (Gmail SMTP & Google Analytics) — to deliver transactional email and to analyze how the Platform is used.
- Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) service — to provide accurate address selection.
- Vercel — to host and operate the Platform.
We may also disclose personal data where required by law, regulation, or a valid legal process, or to protect our rights, safety, and property.
8. Cookies & Analytics
We use cookies that are necessary for authentication and to keep you securely signed in. We also use analytics cookies and similar technologies (such as Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use our Platform so we can improve it. You can control cookies through your browser settings, although disabling necessary cookies may affect your ability to sign in and use certain features.
9. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active and for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, including to meet legal, accounting, accreditation, or operational requirements. Certain transactional records, such as voided or historical payment entries, may be retained for audit and compliance purposes. When personal data is no longer needed, we securely dispose of or anonymize it.
10. Your Rights as a Data Subject
Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, you have the right to:
- Be informed about how your personal data is processed
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Request the correction of inaccurate or outdated personal data
- Object to or withdraw consent for certain processing
- Request the erasure or blocking of your personal data, subject to legal limits
- Lodge a complaint with the National Privacy Commission (NPC)
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Us” section below. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.
11. Minors
Our programs are intended for individuals who meet the legal age and eligibility requirements for driver education and licensing in the Philippines. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals who do not meet these requirements without appropriate consent.
12. Data Breach Handling
In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to give rise to a real risk of serious harm, we will take prompt remedial action and notify the affected individuals and the National Privacy Commission as required by law.
13. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date above shows when it was last revised. Material changes will be reflected on this page, and your continued use of the Platform after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
14. Contact Us
For privacy questions, data-protection concerns, or to exercise your rights as a data subject, contact us at smartds.online@gmail.com.
Please also review our Terms & Conditions for the rules governing enrollment and use of the Platform.