Account & Security

Updating your profile

Click your name in the top-right corner and choose Profile Settings, then open the Personal Information card to update your name, phone number, address, or profile photo.

Appearance & display

You can personalise how Notarise It looks. Your choices are saved to your account, so they follow you on any device you sign in from.

Light or dark mode — use the sun/moon button in the top navigation bar to switch between light and dark themes at any time.

Corner style — open Profile Settings and find the Appearance card to choose how rounded the interface corners are:

Option	Look
Rounded (default)	Soft, friendly corners
Subtle	Lightly rounded
Sharp	Crisp, near-square edges

Your selection updates the whole interface instantly and persists across sign-ins. It's purely visual — it doesn't change any of your data or how sessions work.

Changing your email address

1. Open Profile Settings → Personal Information and click the mail icon beside your email address.
2. Enter the new email address you'd like to use, and your current password — this confirms it's you.
3. A 6-digit verification code is sent to the new address. Entering it proves you can receive mail there, which is what makes the change safe.
4. A security alert goes to your old address at the same time, so a change you did not make cannot happen quietly.

You will be signed out

For security, changing your email address ends your current session. Sign back in with your new email address and your existing password.

Changing your password

1. Open Profile Settings → Security Settings, find Password, and click Change.
2. Enter your current password.
3. Enter and confirm your new password (minimum 12 characters, must include uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character). The form ticks off each requirement as you type.
4. A 6-digit code is sent to your email address. Enter it to confirm the change — a stolen session cannot change your password without access to your inbox.
5. You are signed out of every device once the change completes. Sign back in with your new password.

How signing in works

Every sign-in asks for a second factor. Your password alone never gets you in — the question is only which second factor you are asked for:

Your setup	After your password you are asked for
2FA off (the default)	A 6-digit code emailed to you, on the Verify your login screen
2FA on	A 6-digit code from your authenticator app

So turning 2FA on does not add a step. It replaces the emailed code with one generated on your phone — which is stronger, because it does not depend on your mailbox being secure, and it works even when you have no signal for email.

If the emailed code does not arrive

Check spam first, then use Resend code on the verification screen. Codes expire after 5 minutes, and only the most recent one works.

Two-factor authentication (2FA)

2FA is optional for clients, in the sense above: you can choose to swap the emailed code for an authenticator app, and we recommend it.

Notaries are different

A notary is required to complete two-factor authentication at every sign-in, and cannot switch it off. They perform the notarial act, hold a commission and draw payouts to a bank account, so an impersonated notary is not something a refund can undo. If you hold both a client and a notary account, the requirement follows the notary one.

To enable 2FA:

1. Open Profile Settings → Security Settings, find Two-Factor Authentication, and click Enable.
2. Click Set Up Authenticator App.
3. Scan the QR code with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, or similar).
4. Enter the 6-digit code shown by the app to confirm setup.
5. Save your recovery codes in a safe place — these can be used if you lose access to your authenticator app.

To reset 2FA (e.g. if you change phones): Open Profile Settings → Security Settings → Two-Factor Authentication and click Reset 2FA. A modal opens with two options:

• Reset with App — enter your current 6-digit authenticator code to reset immediately.
• Email code — if you no longer have access to your authenticator, click Lost access to your authenticator? Send email code instead. A 6-digit code is sent to your registered email address. Enter it to confirm the reset.

After either path, 2FA is disabled and you can set up a new authenticator app from the same security section.

Changing phones?

Reset 2FA before you wipe or sell your old device. Once you have your new phone, re-enrol via Profile Settings → Security Settings → Two-Factor Authentication → Enable.

Social sign-in (Google / Facebook)

Individual clients can sign in with Continue with Google or Continue with Facebook on the login page.

If you already have an email and password account with the same email address, clicking Continue with Google or Continue with Facebook will ask you to confirm it's you — enter your password (or your authenticator code if 2FA is on) to link the two. After linking, you can sign in with either method.

Setting a password for a social-only account

An account created with Google or Facebook has no password. If you ever need to sign in with your email and password — for example, if social sign-in is unavailable — use Forgot password on the login page to set one. Your email is already verified, so no verification code is needed.

Account deletion

You can request deletion of your account at any time from the platform.

Cancel active bookings before requesting deletion

The platform will block your deletion request if you have pending or confirmed bookings. You must cancel all active appointments first.

We strongly recommend doing this yourself via Dashboard → Appointments — cancelling more than 2 hours before a session gives you a full refund on the notarisation fee. This is the same window described in Booking a session. If active bookings are processed during the admin review of your deletion request, the cancellation penalty applies:

What happens to the booking fee
Refunded to you	The majority of the notarisation fee
Paid to the notary as compensation	A share of the notarisation fee
Retained by the platform	The remainder
Service charge, its VAT, and the payment processing fee	Non-refundable

The exact proportions are set by the platform and can change. The amount refunded to you is calculated against the rates in force when you cancel.

Steps:

1. Cancel any active bookings via Dashboard → Appointments.
2. Open Profile Settings → Danger zone → Delete account. The same control is available on the Data & Privacy page.
3. Read the summary of what will be deleted and what is retained for legal compliance.
4. Enter your password to confirm. Your request is submitted and your account is placed in read-only mode.
5. A 7-day grace period begins. Your account closes permanently at the end of it.
6. Once closed, your personal data is anonymised and you receive a confirmation email.

You can change your mind

During the 7-day grace period the Delete Account page shows your scheduled closure date and a Cancel deletion request button. Cancelling restores full access immediately. After the grace period ends, closure cannot be undone.

What is retained after deletion

Notarisation certificates and audit trail records may be retained for the statutory minimum period — at least 6 years under the Notaries Public Professional Practice Regulations 2026 (Reg 14(3), made under the Notaries Public Act 2023) — even after your account is deleted. These records do not contain personally identifiable information after anonymisation.

Downloading your data (NDPA 2023)

Under the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, you have the right to a full copy of your personal data.

1. Open Profile Settings → Data & Privacy (/settings/data-privacy).
2. Click Request data export.
3. A ZIP archive is prepared and a download link emailed to you within a few minutes. The link is valid for 24 hours.

What the export contains, as JSON files inside the ZIP: your profile, documents, appointments, sessions, transactions, ratings, audit logs and subscription history.

What it does not contain: records the platform is required to retain by law — notarial certificates, session recordings, and statutory financial records. These are excluded from the export and are retained for their statutory periods regardless of any deletion request.

How long records are kept

Record type	Retention	Basis
Notarial acts & session recordings	6 years	Notaries Public Professional Practice Regulations 2026, Reg 14(3)
Financial transaction records	6 years	Nigerian tax law (FIRS)
Audit logs for notarised documents	7 years	Same statutory basis

Session reminders

Reminders are sent automatically on a fixed schedule, and there is nothing for you to configure — Session Reminders is a notary setting, not a client one, so you will not find it in your profile.

Channel	When it arrives
Email	24 hours, 7 hours, 90 minutes, 1 hour, 30 minutes and 15 minutes before your session

Reminders are sent by email only. WhatsApp, SMS and automated voice-call reminders are built but not yet switched on — see Comparing the plans. Make sure the email address on your account is one you actually read.

None of these can be turned off. Missing a session costs you money — cancelling inside the two-hour window returns only 70% of the notarisation fee, and not attending can carry a no-show fee — so the platform takes responsibility for making sure you were told, rather than leaving it to a setting.

SMS and voice calls are for notaries

Neither is switched on yet. When they are, both will be features of a notary's practice subscription and will be sent to the notary, never to a client, on any plan.

See Booking a Session for what each reminder says.