Ghana’s Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) governs what companies and public bodies may do with information about you - your name, number, Ghana Card details, photographs, health and money records. It is enforced by the Data Protection Commission, which has said 2026 will be a year of enforcement.

Your rights

Under the Act you can:

  • Ask what a company holds on you, and get a copy.
  • Have it corrected if it is wrong, or deleted where it should not be kept.
  • Object to its being used in a way that causes you harm or distress.
  • Stop direct marketing: messages and calls selling you things.
  • Ask for a decision made automatically about you to be reconsidered.
  • Complain to the Data Protection Commission, and claim compensation in court for damage caused by a breach.

Every organisation that processes personal data in Ghana is meant to be registered with the Commission. Unregistered loan apps are one of the reasons the Commission has warned the public.

Using them

  1. Write to the company, by email or letter, and keep a copy. Say who you are, which right you are using, and what you want: a copy of your data, a correction, or that it stop contacting you.
  2. Prove who you are, usually with your Ghana Card, so they do not give your data to someone else.
  3. Give a date for a reply, and note when you sent it.
  4. If they do not answer, or refuse, complain to the Data Protection Commission at https://dataprotection.org.gh, with your letter and any reply.

The common cases

  • Spam texts and calls. Reply STOP where offered, and write to the company if it continues.
  • A loan app messaging your contacts. Report it to the Commission and, if it is unlicensed, to the Bank of Ghana.
  • Your name published as a debtor. The Commission has acted against a lender for publishing defaulters’ names without consent.
  • A leak. If a company tells you your data was exposed, change any passwords and PINs it held and watch for fraud attempts.
  • A photo or video of you posted without consent. Ask the poster and the platform to remove it; the Cyber Security Authority handles online abuse.

— Loan apps — Online fraud in Ghana — Ghana’s regulators, and who to complain to