Privacy policy
What personal information we collect, why we collect it, who receives it, and the rights you have over it. Credit reporting requires sharing your data by design, so this document exists mainly to be specific about where it goes.
What we collect
| Category | Examples | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Name, date of birth, address, SSN or ITIN | Required to open an account and to identify you to the credit bureaus |
| Financial | Bank account details, payment history | To collect autopay and to furnish your payment record |
| Contact | Email address, mobile number | Verification at signup, and account alerts |
| Usage | Device, browser, pages viewed | Security, fraud prevention and improving the service |
| Communications | Messages you send to support | To answer you and to keep a record of what was agreed |
| Loan enquiry details | Amount and purpose, income, employment status | Only if you use the loan side; passed to partner lenders so they can price an offer |
Why we collect it
- To provide the service you signed up for, which necessarily includes furnishing your payment history to the credit bureaus.
- To verify your identity, which we are required to do and which also protects you from someone opening an account in your name.
- To collect payments by autopay.
- To introduce you to partner lenders, if and only if you submit a loan enquiry.
- To detect and prevent fraud.
- To meet legal, regulatory and record-keeping obligations.
Who receives your data
Credit building only works because your data is shared. Being vague about that would be dishonest, so here is the complete list of categories.
- Credit reporting agencies. TransUnion, Equifax, Experian and Innovis receive your identifying information and monthly payment status. This is the Credit Builder product.
- Partner lenders. Only if you submit a loan enquiry. The details you provide go to lenders in our network so they can decide whether to make you an offer. They certify that it will be used only for that purpose, and your enquiry is never auctioned to an open marketplace. Full detail on what you authorise.
- Payment processors. To move your monthly payment from your bank account.
- Identity verification providers. To confirm you are who you say you are at signup.
- Service providers. Hosting, analytics and support tooling, contractually restricted to using data only to provide that service.
- Third-party partners. Only where you choose to activate a rewards offer, and only what is needed to confirm the referral.
- Authorities. Where required by law, subpoena or regulatory obligation.
We do not sell your personal information to advertisers or data brokers. If that ever changed, this page would say so and you would be given the opt-out the law requires.
The two services share a policy but not your data
This policy covers both the Credit Builder and the loan introductions. They are treated separately in practice.
| Credit Builder | Loan enquiry | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets your data | The four credit bureaus, plus our processors | Partner lenders, plus verification providers |
| When | Monthly, for the term of your account | Once, at the moment you submit the enquiry |
| Triggered by | Opening an account | Submitting the loan form — not by browsing |
| Can you stop it | Closing the account ends future reporting | Withdraw at any time; already-made introductions cannot be recalled |
Using one does not enrol you in the other. Opening a Credit Builder account does not send your details to lenders, and submitting a loan enquiry does not open a Credit Builder account or report anything to a bureau.
Your rights
Rights vary by state. Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia and others — generally have the rights below, and we extend them to all members regardless of residence.
- Access. A copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction. To have inaccurate information corrected.
- Deletion. To have data deleted, subject to the records we are legally required to retain.
- Opt out of sale or sharing. We do not sell data, but the right stands.
- Non-retaliation. Exercising any of these rights will not affect your account or its terms.
Separately, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act you have the right to dispute inaccurate information we furnish to a bureau. Contact the bureau, and contact us, and both are obliged to investigate.
How long we keep it
For as long as your account is open, and after closure for the period required by financial record-keeping and consumer-protection law. Payment history furnished to the bureaus persists on their systems under their own retention rules, not ours — deleting your Kovo account does not remove the tradeline from your credit file.
Children
Our products are not offered to anyone under 18 (19 in Alabama and Nebraska) and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If we learn that we have, we delete it.
Cookies and tracking
We use cookies that are strictly necessary to operate the site — keeping you signed in, remembering your place in an application, and protecting against fraud. These cannot be switched off without breaking the service.
We also use a small number of analytics cookies to understand which pages people find useful. These are optional, they are not used to build advertising profiles, and we do not run third-party advertising or retargeting pixels on this site.
Your browser’s Global Privacy Control signal is honoured where it is sent. You do not need to do anything else for it to take effect.
How to exercise a right
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to send it | [email protected], or by post to Kovo Financial, Inc., Legal & Compliance, Wilmington, Delaware |
| What to include | Your name, the email or address on the account, and which right you are exercising |
| Verification | We confirm your identity before acting, to stop someone else requesting your data |
| Acknowledgement | Within 10 days |
| Substantive response | Within 45 days, extendable once by a further 45 days where the request is complex, in which case we tell you why |
| Cost | Free. There is no charge for a first request in any 12-month period |
| Authorised agents | Accepted with written permission from you, or a power of attorney |
| If we refuse | We state the legal basis and how to appeal. If an appeal is denied you may complain to your state attorney general |
Where your data is processed
Member data is processed in the United States. Where a service provider processes data outside the United States, that transfer is governed by contractual protections requiring an equivalent standard of care and restricting use to the service being provided.
Changes to this policy
Material changes will be notified to members before they take effect, and the last-updated date at the top of this page will change. We will not quietly broaden how your data is used.
Exercising a right, or asking a question
Email [email protected] with your name, the address on your account and the right you are exercising. We acknowledge within 10 days and respond substantively within 45.
See also security and terms of service.