This Privacy Policy explains how Help a Neighbour ("we", "us", "our"), operated by its owners and shareholders, collects, uses, stores, shares and protects your personal information when you use the Help a Neighbour app, website and related services (the "Service"). We process personal information in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA") and other applicable laws. By using the Service you confirm that you have read this policy.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us:
- Your cell number, used to log you in with a one-time SMS code.
- Your first name and suburb.
- A selfie or family photo, if you ask for help, and the AI portrait we make from it. A Helper profile photo, if you choose to add one.
- Your South African ID number, for verification and to stop duplicate accounts.
- Household details such as household size, address and prepaid electricity meter number.
- Help requests, stories, shopping lists, till slips and photos of what was bought, and thank-you messages in text, voice, photo or video.
- Business enquiries: company name, contact name, phone, email, monthly amount and message.
- Details of a person you ask for on their behalf, such as their first name and cell number.
- Reports you make about other users.
Information we collect automatically:
- Device and browser type, a random device code stored on your phone, IP address, approximate location from IP, and app usage logs. We use the device code to stop people paying for their own help request and to spot fraud.
- Checkout attempts (time and amount), used for speed checks against card fraud.
- Timestamps and records of purchases, deliveries and account activity.
- Small files stored on your device to keep you logged in.
Information from others:
- Payment status from our payment providers. We do not see or store full card numbers. If you save a card, the provider gives us a token and, where shared, the last four digits.
- Delivery confirmations from product suppliers and networks.
- Fraud and verification signals from service providers.
2. Why we use your information
- To create and secure your account and log you in.
- To check that help requests are real and within limits (including our Transparency Score).
- To buy and deliver prepaid products and vouchers on behalf of Helpers.
- To process payments, service fees and tips.
- To prevent fraud, duplicate accounts, direct contact between users and other misuse.
- To show thank-you messages to the Helpers involved.
- To provide support, handle complaints and improve the Service.
- To meet our legal, tax, accounting and regulatory duties.
We rely on the lawful grounds in POPIA, including performing our agreement with you, our legitimate interests in running a safe and fair service, compliance with the law, and your consent where needed.
3. What other users can see
On a live help request, Helpers can see only the Neighbour's first name, suburb, photo and portrait, the items asked for, the story, and progress. Your ID number, cell number, address, meter number and voucher codes are never shown to other users. Helpers can choose to stay anonymous to Neighbours. Business names are never shown publicly. Helpers see their own receipts with first names, what was bought, voucher references and delivery times. Only our admin team sees business enquiries, fraud alerts and AI check details.
4. Automated checks
We use automated tools, including artificial intelligence, to review help requests, items and thank-you messages for safety, accuracy and fairness. Stories are checked for contact details. Till slips are checked by three different AI models, and two out of three decide. A banned-item result pauses the account until a person reviews it. You can ask for a person to review any automated decision that affects you.
5. Messages we send
The only SMS we send is your one-time login code. We do not send marketing SMSs. Other updates are shown inside the app.
6. Who we share information with
- Service providers who host our systems, send SMS codes, process payments, run automated checks and supply prepaid products, only as needed to provide their service and under confidentiality duties.
- Product suppliers, only the details needed to deliver a product, such as a cell number or meter number.
- Payment providers receive only your payment details and a short order description, such as "Order #100123 · 3 items · service fee incl. VAT · tip". They never receive Neighbour names, shopping lists or voucher details.
- Law enforcement, regulators or courts, when required by law or to protect people from harm or fraud.
- A buyer or successor of the business, under the same protections as this policy.
We do not sell your personal information.
7. Moving information across borders
Some of our service providers store or process information outside South Africa. When this happens, we make sure the information is protected to a standard similar to POPIA, as POPIA requires.
8. How long we keep information
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above, or as required by law. Records of purchases are generally kept for at least five years for tax and anti-fraud reasons. Records of closed and excluded households are kept so that they cannot take part again. One-time login codes are deleted or expire after 10 minutes.
9. How we protect information
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures, including encryption in transit, private file storage, strict access rules so users can only see their own private data, and limited staff access. No system is completely secure, and we will tell you and the Information Regulator if a breach affects you, as the law requires.
10. Your rights
- Ask whether we hold information about you and get a copy.
- Ask us to correct or delete information that is wrong, out of date or no longer needed.
- Object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent where we rely on it.
- Ask for a person to review an automated decision.
- Complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa.
To use these rights, contact us through the help options in the app. We may need to confirm who you are first. Some information must be kept even if you ask us to delete it, for example to prevent fraud or meet legal duties.
11. Children
The Service is for people aged 18 and older. Household details may include the number of children in a household, but we do not knowingly collect other personal information about children.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows the latest version. For important changes we will tell you in the app.