Using NightKept fairly: a guide for employers

NightKept records your guards' location during patrols so you can see that patrols happened. Because it records where people are at night, you have legal duties to them, and guards who understand it and trust it work better with it. This page covers the essentials. It is guidance, not legal advice.

1. Before you start: tell your guards

Tell every guard, before their first patrol, that NightKept records their location during patrols and why. Do it in a language they understand, and keep a note of when you told them. A WhatsApp message or a signed paper copy is enough.

Ready-made notice you can send:

We use the NightKept app to record patrols. When you tap Start Patrol, the app records your phone's location until you end the patrol, even if the phone is locked. It does not record your location at any other time. A notification shows while recording is on. We use the records only to check that patrols happen and to resolve questions about them. Records are kept for 12 months and then deleted. You can ask us, or NightKept at privacy@nightkept.ke, for a copy of your data. Full details: nightkept.ke/privacy

A Swahili version is available from NightKept.

2. What NightKept records, and when

• Only during a patrol. Recording starts when the guard taps Start Patrol and stops when the patrol ends. Nothing is recorded between patrols or off duty.
• Always visible. The guard's phone shows a "Patrol Active" notification the whole time.
• Forgotten patrols end themselves. Any patrol still running 14 hours after it started is ended automatically and marked "Auto-ended". You can also end a patrol yourself from the dashboard.
• Kept for 12 months, then deleted automatically.

3. Using patrol records fairly

GPS is good evidence, but it is not perfect. Phones lose signal under roofs and trees, batteries die, and points can drift several metres. Before you act on a record:

• Ask the guard first. A gap or a missed checkpoint has an innocent explanation more often than not. Hear it before deciding anything.
• Look for patterns, not one-offs. One missed checkpoint is a conversation. A pattern over several nights is evidence.
• Use the records only for patrols. Don't use them to check where a guard goes off duty, or for anything unrelated to their work.
• Keep them to the people who need them. Don't share routes or records outside whoever manages the guards.
• Never cut pay or dismiss on the map alone. Combine records with what the guard tells you and any other evidence.

4. When a guard asks about their data

Guards have the right to a copy of their data, and to ask for it to be corrected or deleted. If a guard asks you, or contacts NightKept directly, we will work with you to respond within the times in our Privacy Policy. Point them to nightkept.ke/delete-account or privacy@nightkept.ke.

When a guard leaves, deactivate their account on the dashboard so they can no longer log in. Their past patrols stay available to you for the normal 12 months.

Questions? support@nightkept.ke for help with the app, privacy@nightkept.ke for data questions.