Data Policy

Last updated: 6 September 2026

This Data Policy explains how GiftCardNigeria collects, checks, stores, uses and updates the information behind its platform reviews, rankings, comparisons, gift-card pages and guides.

It covers editorial and research data. Personal information is handled under our Privacy Policy.

1. Why we keep editorial data

GiftCardNigeria tests gift card trading platforms and publishes what happened. To support that work, we retain the records needed to show how a finding, score or ranking was reached.

The data allows our editorial team to:

• Verify rates, processing times, payouts and platform facts.

• Apply the same scoring method across eligible platforms.

• Check a draft before publication.

• Update reviews when a new testing cycle is completed.

• Investigate correction requests.

• Preserve the history of a review without silently replacing earlier records.

• Explain the limits of the available evidence.

A platform’s inclusion in our records does not mean that we endorse it. Its absence does not, by itself, mean that it is unsafe.

2. Types of data we use

First-party testing data

Researchers record information observed during a controlled testing cycle. A test record may include:

• The platform tested and the testing date.

• Card brand, country, format and denomination.

• The displayed rate and expected payout.

• Submission, confirmation, rejection and payment times.

• Trade outcome and amount received.

• Payout method and withdrawal time.

• Fees, deductions or adjustments.

• Signup and KYC requirements.

• Support channel, response time and outcome.

• Notes about usability, errors and product behaviour.

• Proposed dimension scores for editorial review.

A test record represents the documented result of a testing cycle. It is not presented as proof that every user will have the same experience.

Supporting evidence

Evidence may include screenshots, receipts, status pages, support messages, rate screens and payout notifications. Original evidence is stored in restricted systems and is available only to people who need it for research, editing, fact-checking, security or complaint handling.

Gift card codes, PINs, bank details, login information, private transaction references and unnecessary personal information are removed before selected evidence is published.

Platform information

We may use information from a platform’s official website, application, help centre, terms, privacy notice, support team or other official communication.

When we have not verified a claim through our own test, we identify it as information provided or stated by the platform. Marketing claims such as “best rates,” “instant payment” or “completely secure” are not treated as findings merely because a platform publishes them.

App-store and third-party information

App Store and Google Play ratings, review counts and selected review themes may provide context. We record the market or country viewed and the date checked because ratings can change and differ by location.

Public reviews, news reports and social posts are third-party material. We assess their relevance and reliability, describe patterns where appropriate and avoid presenting an allegation as an established fact without supporting evidence.

CMS and publication records

The CMS records information needed to manage publication. This includes draft and publication status, author and fact-checker attribution, score records, content revisions, featured settings and audit history.

3. How a testing record is created

GiftCardNigeria funds the cards used for its editorial tests. Platforms are not notified before routine testing.

A researcher records the trade in the approved testing form and saves supporting evidence in a restricted folder. The researcher enters only what was observed, measured or verified. Missing rates, times or outcomes are left blank rather than estimated.

An editor reviews the form and supporting evidence. A separate fact-checker checks the material required for publication. Researcher-proposed scores are not automatically published as final scores.

At least one completed and paid trade is required before a scored platform review can be published. Failed, rejected, blocked or pending attempts may remain in the internal research record when they are relevant, but they do not become fictional payout times or substitute for the required completed trade.

The full methodology is available on How We Review.

4. Recorded times and financial figures

All testing times are recorded in West Africa Time where possible. We keep separate measurements for events that answer different questions.

In particular:

• Trade-processing time measures the period from submitting a gift card to its confirmation, rejection or other recorded outcome.

• Payout time measures the withdrawal or transfer from the platform balance to the stated payment destination.

• Total journey time may describe the full period from card submission to final receipt, but it does not replace the two separate measurements.

Displayed rates and expected payouts are distinguished from amounts actually received. Fees, deductions, bonuses, coupons and dispute adjustments are recorded separately where the evidence permits. We do not describe a displayed offer as a received rate when a trade did not complete.

5. Scoring and rankings

Each applicable scoring dimension is assessed on a scale from 1 to 100. The CMS applies the current published weights and converts the weighted result into the public overall score.

Rankings use those calculated scores. They are not manually rearranged to favour a platform.

The latest approved testing-cycle record drives the current score and “Last tested” date. Earlier records remain in the restricted history so editors can see what changed.

Where a dimension genuinely does not apply, the CMS records it as not applicable rather than assigning a false low score. The remaining weights are proportionally adjusted according to the published methodology. A missing measurement is not automatically the same as a non-applicable dimension.

Score settings must total 100 per cent. A change to an approved weight can alter platform rankings even when the underlying test records have not changed.

6. Reviews and comparisons

Platform facts and scores in comparison pages come from the current approved platform records. When a platform is retested, the live data used by a comparison may change.

The written verdict in a comparison is editorial content. It does not change automatically and must be reviewed when new evidence materially affects its conclusion.

Gift-card-type pages include only published platforms linked to the selected card type. Their order follows the approved ranking rule rather than a commercial arrangement or manual preference.

7. Corrections and challenges

Readers, platforms and other affected people may challenge a factual statement by emailing admin@giftcardnigeria.com.

A useful request identifies:

• The page concerned.

• The exact statement being challenged.

• Why it is believed to be inaccurate.

• Supporting links, screenshots or other evidence.

• The sender’s relationship to the issue, where relevant.

The editorial team checks the request against the original record and any credible new evidence. A retest may be required when the question concerns current platform performance.

A score, verdict or ranking is not changed merely because a platform dislikes it. Confirmed factual errors are corrected. Internal history retains the earlier content, reason for the change, evidence, editor and date where the CMS supports that record.

Our fuller correction and complaint rules appear in the Editorial Standards.

8. Updates and retesting

Published platforms are due for periodic retesting under the schedule described in How We Review. A review may also be checked earlier following:

• A material rate or fee change.

• A major change to payout performance.

• A redesign that affects the trading process.

• A prolonged outage.

• A security incident.

• An ownership or operating-status change.

• A credible pattern of complaints.

• Evidence that a published fact is no longer accurate.

A new testing cycle creates a new record. It does not overwrite the earlier cycle. Public copy is updated when the new evidence has been reviewed and approved.

9. Retention and deletion

Test records form part of GiftCardNigeria’s editorial archive. We retain them while they are needed to support published findings, scoring history, corrections, fact-checking, security or legal claims.

Restricted evidence is reviewed over time. Personal information that is no longer needed is removed, redacted or placed under tighter access controls.

Deleting a public article does not automatically erase every internal record connected to it. The item may first move to the CMS Trash, where an authorised administrator can restore it as a draft or permanently delete it. Audit information may remain where needed for security, accountability or legal compliance.

Where a person has a valid privacy right affecting editorial evidence, the request is assessed under the Privacy Policy and applicable law.

10. Access and security

Access to unpublished test records and original evidence is limited to authorised researchers, editors, fact-checkers and administrators whose work requires it.

We use restricted folders, authenticated accounts, permissions, audit records and redaction procedures. Contributors must not move protected evidence into public documents or disclose it outside the editorial process.

Evidence intended for publication is checked for private information before it is uploaded to the website.

11. Social embeds

The “What others say” section may include public posts or videos from TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or X. These items are selected as third-party context, not as GiftCardNigeria findings.

An embed can be deactivated if it is removed, misleading, unsafe, unrelated or no longer loads. Its inclusion does not mean GiftCardNigeria endorses the creator or the opinion expressed.

Public pages use a click-to-load placeholder before connecting a visitor to the external service. Privacy details are explained in our Privacy Policy.

12. Reuse and access

The public website shows selected results, scores and explanations. It does not provide open access to original transaction evidence, private research folders, contributor records or internal scoring notes.

People may quote brief portions of published material with clear attribution and a link to the source page. Copying full articles, reproducing substantial parts of the rankings, scraping the database or republishing our evidence at scale requires written permission.

13. Limitations of the data

Rates and product details can change after a test. Card country, format, denomination, account tier, time, bank conditions and platform rules can affect an outcome.

One testing cycle cannot reproduce every user’s experience. App-store reviews and public comments may be incomplete, manipulated or unrepresentative. A score is a structured editorial assessment of the evidence available at the stated time, not a guarantee of future performance.

Readers should check the visible testing date and confirm the current in-app quote and requirements before trading.

14. Changes to this policy

We update this policy when our research methods, publishing systems or data practices materially change. The revision date appears at the top.

Questions about this policy can be sent to admin@giftcardnigeria.com.