01Who we are

KasiConnect is a hyperlocal community app for South African township ("kasi") communities, connecting people for piece jobs, marketplace buying and selling, accommodation listings, and local community posts.

Contact: KasiConnect
Email: support@kasiconnect.co.za
Contact email: ntebomalatjie1@gmail.com

If you have questions about this policy or how your information is handled, contact us at the email above.

02Information we collect

Information you give us directly

• Account information: first name, last name, email address (via Google Sign-In), and profile photo.
• Location: your province, town, and kasi/township — entered by you, not collected via GPS. KasiConnect does not access your device's location.
• Profile details: a short bio, if you choose to add one.
• Content you post: job listings, marketplace listings, accommodation listings, community feed posts and comments, and photos attached to any of these.
• Messages: the content of chats you send to other users through the app, for the purpose of delivering them and keeping a record you can refer back to.
• Verification information: if you choose to verify your account, we collect a photo of your ID document and your phone number. This is reviewed by our admin team and is not shown publicly — only a "Verified" badge appears if approved.
• Ratings and reviews: star ratings and written reviews you give or receive from other users.
• Reports: if you report another user's content, we collect the reason and details you provide.
• Safety check-ins: if you use this optional feature before an in-person meetup, we collect the meetup details you enter and the phone number or KasiConnect account of the person you choose to notify if you don't check in safe.

Information collected automatically

• Device and usage information: general app usage and interaction data, used to understand how KasiConnect is used and to fix problems.
• Crash and diagnostic data: if the app crashes or encounters an error, technical details are collected to help us fix it.
• Push notification token: a device-specific identifier used to deliver notifications about messages, job matches, and other activity. This is stored separately from your public profile and is not visible to other users.

Information from third parties

If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from Google, as permitted by your Google account settings.

What we do NOT collect

• We do not collect your precise GPS location.
• We do not have access to your card, bank, or OTT voucher details — voucher redemption for Pro subscriptions and listing boosts is handled directly between your device and OTT Mobile's payment system; KasiConnect never sees or stores your voucher PIN.
• We do not sell your personal information to anyone.

03How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Create and manage your account
• Show your listings, posts, and profile to other users in your area
• Match you with relevant job opportunities based on your interests and location
• Deliver chat messages between you and other users
• Send push notifications about messages, job matches, ratings, verification status, and safety alerts
• Review and process ID verification requests
• Process Pro subscription and listing boost payments via OTT Mobile vouchers
• Investigate reports of inappropriate content or behaviour, and take action such as removing content or restricting accounts
• Understand how the app is used so we can improve it and fix bugs
• Show advertisements to non-Pro users (see Section 6)
• Comply with legal obligations

04Who can see your information

• Other users can see your public profile (name, photo, bio, town/kasi, verification badge, average rating), and any listings, posts, comments, and ratings you've made public through the app.
• The person you're chatting with can see the messages you send them.
• Our admin team can review reported content, verification submissions, and (where necessary to resolve a report or investigate abuse) the underlying content and reporter/reported party identities.
• Service providers who help us run the app:
  • Google Firebase (authentication, database, file storage, push notifications, analytics, crash reporting) — Google may process this data on servers outside South Africa.
  • Google AdMob — shows ads to non-Pro users. See Section 6 for details on ad personalization and consent.
  • OTT Mobile — processes voucher redemption for Pro subscriptions and boosts. We send the voucher PIN you enter to OTT Mobile for validation; we do not store it.
• Legal authorities, if required by law, to protect our rights, or to protect the safety of our users.

We never sell your personal information to advertisers or data brokers.

05Location and hyperlocal matching

Your province, town, and kasi/township are used to show you jobs, listings, and posts relevant to your area, and to show your own posts to people nearby. This is based entirely on what you enter when you set up your profile — KasiConnect does not track your real-time location.

06Advertising

Non-Pro users see ads served through Google AdMob. Depending on your region and consent choices (presented via a consent form on first use, as required for users in the EEA/UK and as a matter of good practice elsewhere), these ads may be personalised based on general usage data. You can avoid ads entirely by subscribing to KasiConnect Pro. Advertising partners are bound by their own privacy policies for how they handle any data collected through ads.

07Data retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active, plus a reasonable period afterward to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. If you delete your account, your profile and the content you've posted are permanently deleted, other than information we're required to keep for legal or safety reasons (for example, records related to an active report or investigation).

08Security

We use Firebase's security infrastructure, including access-control rules that restrict who can read or write specific data, to protect your information. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable, industry-standard steps to protect your data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse.

09Your rights and choices

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information (most of your profile can be edited directly in the app)
• Delete your account and data — you can do this yourself at any time from Profile → Delete Account, which permanently removes your account and everything you've posted. You can also request this by emailing support@kasiconnect.co.za.
• Object to certain uses of your information, such as personalised advertising
• Complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your information has been mishandled

10Children's privacy

KasiConnect is intended for users aged 18 and older, given the app facilitates paid work, in-person meetups, and financial transactions between users. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we've collected information from someone under 18, we will delete it.

11International data transfers

KasiConnect uses Google Firebase, which may store and process data on servers located outside South Africa. Google maintains its own data protection safeguards for these transfers. By using KasiConnect, you consent to this transfer as necessary to provide the service.

12Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll notify you through the app. Continued use of KasiConnect after a change means you accept the updated policy.

13Contact us

Questions, requests, or complaints about your data:

Email: support@kasiconnect.co.za
Contact email: ntebomalatjie1@gmail.com

You may also lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa: inforegulator.org.za