Identity verification

At a glance

Optional to use HeyNaija

Every ordinary feature works without it.

Initially preferred for platform voting

The initial design uses it for eligible adult legal members who voluntarily activate voting; legal admission is a separate process. Future lawful equivalent methods are permitted.

Separate from the green tick

Verifying does not show a tick by itself; showing it is your choice.

The tick would only ever come from a real, reviewed verification. It is never given for a name, a bio, a follower count or a payment, and nobody has one today.

1. You choose to startFrom Settings, after reading exactly what would be shared and why. Nobody is asked to verify in order to post.
2. You approve it with NINAuthYou are sent to NIMC’s NINAuth service and consent there, with its QR code, share code or sign-in. You never type your NIN into HeyNaija.
3. Our server checks the answerNINAuth returns a short-lived code. HeyNaija’s server, not your browser, exchanges it with the provider and checks it is genuine, meant for HeyNaija, unexpired and used only once.
4. Only the result is keptWhether verification succeeded, when, when it expires, an over-18 result if the provider may share one, and a private person key if the provider supports one.
5. You decide what is publicSettings shows that you are verified. The public tick appears only if you switch it on, and voting also needs separate legal admission and voluntary activation.

Which details NINAuth can actually provide, including an over-18 result and a stable person key, has to be confirmed with the provider before any of this is built. Nothing here should be read as a promise that it can.

Stopping duplicate voting memberships

One person, one vote needs a way to recognise the same person across accounts without storing who they are. The plan is a private key derived from an identifier the provider gives for each person, combined with a secret only HeyNaija holds. If two accounts produce the same key, only one can hold an active voting membership.

This depends on the provider. If NINAuth cannot contractually and technically supply a stable identifier, formal voting stays blocked rather than pretending uniqueness is assured. Even the derived key is personal data, so its design needs legal review.

Withdrawal, expiry, revocation and appeals

• Withdraw: you could remove your verification at any time; the tick disappears at once.
• Expiry: a verification would last for a set period and then need renewing. The period is not decided.
• Revocation: HeyNaija could revoke a verification obtained by fraud or impersonation, with notice and reasons.
• Correction and merging: mistakes and moving between accounts would have a documented process.
• Appeals: any refusal or revocation could be appealed and reviewed by someone not involved in the decision. Disputes are never settled by public vote.

Before verification can open

It stays switched off until every one of these is done and published:

• HeyNaija is an approved NINAuth verification partner, with confirmed scopes, pricing and data-sharing terms.
• A data protection impact assessment, reviewed by Nigerian privacy counsel.
• An updated privacy policy, with a reviewed retention schedule.
• An independent security review of the integration, and an incident-response plan.

Questions