Privacy Policy.
Your data, explained.

ATAS (Alliance for Transformative AI Systems) is an AI research and development company based in Kigali, Rwanda. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal data when you use our website, contact us, or take part in our research programs.

We collect information that you provide directly to us, as well as information generated automatically when you visit our website.

Provided directly

• Contact details — name, email address, and any other information you include when you reach out to us or subscribe to updates
• Professional information you choose to share — organization, role, or reason for contacting us
• If you take part in one of our research data-collection efforts, the information you share as part of that (for example, descriptions of places or community context)

Collected automatically

• Basic usage and analytics data about how visitors use our website
• Technical information such as IP address, browser type, and device information

We use collected information to:

• Respond to your enquiries and communicate with you
• Conduct and improve our AI research
• Send updates if you've subscribed to hear from us — you can unsubscribe at any time
• Understand how people use our website, so we can improve it
• Comply with our legal obligations under Rwandan law

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

• Service providers who help us run our website and communications (for example, hosting and email providers), under confidentiality obligations
• Research or academic partners, if and when we collaborate with them — only in anonymized form
• Legal authorities, where required by Rwandan law
• Professional advisors (lawyers, accountants), under confidentiality obligations
• A party involved in a future business transaction (such as a merger or acquisition), should one occur

Any third party handling your data on our behalf is required to protect it and use it only for the purpose we've specified.

As a small, early-stage team, we take practical, proportionate steps to protect your data, including:

• Limiting access to personal data to the people on our team who actually need it
• Using reputable hosting and service providers, and relying on their infrastructure-level security
• Keeping access credentials and systems up to date
• Notifying you and the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA) if we become aware of a data breach affecting your personal information, as required under Rwandan law

We keep personal data only for as long as it's needed for the purpose it was collected for, unless a longer period is required by law.

• Contact and subscription information is kept until you ask us to delete it or unsubscribe
• Research data is kept for as long as it's useful to the research it was collected for

You may request deletion of your data at any time, subject to any legal retention requirements.

Under Rwanda's data protection law (Law N° 058/2021 Relating to the Protection of Personal Data and Privacy), you have the right to:

• Access your personal data and obtain a copy
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request deletion of your data, subject to legal requirements
• Object to or restrict certain uses of your data
• Withdraw consent, where our processing is based on consent
• Lodge a complaint with the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA), Rwanda's data protection supervisory authority

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@atas.rw. We aim to respond within 30 days.

We use cookies and similar technologies to help our website function and to understand how it's used.

Types of cookies we use

• Essential cookies — necessary for the site to work
• Analytics cookies — to understand how visitors use our site
• Preference cookies — to remember your settings

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may limit some functionality.

ATAS is based in Rwanda, but some of the service providers we rely on (such as hosting) may store or process data outside Rwanda. Where this happens, we rely on one of the grounds recognized under Rwandan law for transferring data internationally.

Grounds we rely on

• Your consent
• Authorization from the National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA), where required
• That the transfer is necessary to provide a service you've requested

All transfers are handled in line with Law N° 058/2021 Relating to the Protection of Personal Data and Privacy.

This website is not intended for individuals under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through it. This policy does not apply to AcademiaPlus, which is intended for use in secondary schools and will have its own privacy notice addressing student data before it becomes available.

We may update this Privacy Policy as our practices, technology, or legal obligations change.

How we'll notify you

• Posting the updated policy on our website
• Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page

Your continued use of our website after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.