Settl is an AI-assisted bookkeeping assistant that works entirely inside WhatsApp. This policy explains what we do with your data once your messages reach us.
We collect only what we need to run the service, we never sell your data, and we never use your financial records for advertising. Where third parties are involved — including AI providers — we say so plainly.
Settl is operated by Settl Horizon Ventures Limited (RC 9681659), a private company limited by shares, registered in Nigeria on 14 July 2026, with its registered office at No. 14, Aliu Animashaun Avenue, Lekki, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria ("Settl", "we", "us", "our").
We are the data controller responsible for the personal data described in this policy. For any privacy question, or to exercise your rights, contact us at info@settl.ng.
Settl is an AI-assisted bookkeeping assistant that works entirely inside WhatsApp. You use Settl by sending messages to our WhatsApp number, and an automated system helps you log transactions, track money owed to and by you, keep personal and business spending separate, and generate simple reports.
Because Settl runs on WhatsApp, your messages travel through Meta's WhatsApp service before they reach us. Meta's handling of your messages in transit is governed by Meta's own privacy terms, which you can review in the WhatsApp Privacy Policy. This policy covers what Settl does with your data once it reaches us.
We collect only what we need to run the service:
We use your data to deliver the bookkeeping service — interpreting your messages, structuring them into records, maintaining your ledger, and generating reports — and to authenticate you, enforce the limits of your plan, secure your account against misuse, and operate and improve Settl. We do not use your financial content for advertising, and we do not sell your data.
This is important, so we state it plainly. To understand and structure what you send, the content of your messages is processed by third-party artificial intelligence providers — Groq as our primary provider, and OpenAI as a fallback. These providers receive the text of your messages so that the AI can interpret them.
AI interpretation can occasionally be imperfect, which is why you remain in control of confirming your own records.
If you use Settl for both personal and business bookkeeping, we keep those two contexts separate. Reports are never blended across personal and business records. Moving between contexts is deliberate, and access to your records is protected by your PIN. We treat your personal spending data with the same care as your business data, recognising it can be more sensitive.
Settl relies on infrastructure located outside Nigeria. Your data is processed and stored on servers in the United Kingdom and the United States, AI processing takes place in the United States, and your messages reach us through Meta's WhatsApp service. This means your personal data is transferred outside Nigeria in the ordinary course of using Settl.
We make these cross-border transfers on the basis of your consent, given when you begin using the service, and because they are necessary to provide the service you have asked for. We take reasonable steps to ensure your data remains protected wherever it is processed. If you do not wish your data to be transferred in this way, you should not use Settl, as the service cannot function without it.
We share your data only with the service providers ("sub-processors") that make Settl work: our hosting, database, and cache providers; our AI inference providers (Groq and OpenAI); Meta, for WhatsApp messaging; and, where applicable, our payment provider when you subscribe to a paid plan. Each of these processes your data only to provide their service to us.
Beyond these, we disclose data only where we are legally required to do so, for example in response to a lawful request from a competent authority. We do not sell your personal data to anyone.
We keep your bookkeeping records, message history, and account data for as long as your account is active, so that Settl remains useful to you. When you delete your account, your records are marked for deletion and removed from active use; we may retain limited data for a short period where necessary to meet legal or regulatory obligations, after which it is deleted.
Under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to correct it if it is inaccurate, to request its deletion, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent you have given, and to receive your data in a portable form. You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us at info@settl.ng or through the Settl WhatsApp number.
If you believe we have not handled your data properly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
We protect your data using measures appropriate to its sensitivity, including hashing of your PIN and credentials so they cannot be read, encryption of data in transit, and access controls that limit who and what can reach your data. No system is perfectly secure, but we take our responsibility for your financial data seriously.
Settl is intended for adults managing business or personal finances. It is not directed at anyone under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from children.
We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you through the Settl WhatsApp channel. The version and date at the top of this policy indicate when it was last revised.