Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Safer City Solutions (Pty) Ltd ("Safer City Solutions", "we", "our", or "us") collects, uses, shares, and protects your information when you use the Safer City GO mobile application and related services (the "Services").
Safer City Solutions is the responsible party under the South African Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and acts as a data controller under the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar laws.
By using the Services, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.
1. Information we collect
1.1 Information you provide
- Account information: name, email address, mobile phone number, date of birth (where required), password (stored hashed).
- Profile information: profile photo (optional), home and work addresses (optional), vehicle details (optional), medical notes (optional, used for emergency response).
- Safe word: stored as an irreversible cryptographic hash (SHA-256). Never stored in plain text.
- Family Circle members: names, phone numbers, and relationships of people you invite to your circle. Each member must accept the invitation before any data is shared.
- Crime reports: description, category, photo (optional), location, and timestamp of incidents you report.
- Subscription information: tier (Free / Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum), billing status, and renewal date. Payment card details are handled by our payment processor (Paystack); we do not store full card numbers.
- Support correspondence: messages, screenshots, and any other content you send when contacting support.
1.2 Information collected automatically
- Location data: GPS coordinates (with your permission) used for crime-map context, route planning, SOS response, and Family Circle live tracking.
- Device information: device model, operating system, app version, language, time zone, and a generated device identifier.
- Usage information: screens viewed, features used, session duration, crash logs, and similar diagnostic data.
- Network information: IP address (used only for security and rate-limiting), approximate geolocation derived from IP for fraud prevention.
1.3 Information from third parties
- Crime data: official records and partner contributions used to populate the Verified Crime Incidents Map. Where these contain personal information, we apply de-identification and confidence-scoring before publication.
- Payment status: confirmation messages from Paystack (or other regional payment processors) confirming successful subscription transactions.
2. How we use your information
We use your information to:
- Provide and operate the Services (map, navigation, SOS, Family Circle, reporting).
- Process SOS panic events — including sharing your location, profile, and emergency contacts with our 24/7 control room and, where applicable, with certified responder partners in supported regions.
- Verify your identity during a panic event (via your safe-word) to prevent false dispatches and detect duress.
- Show you a personalised view of the crime map and predictive routes.
- Notify you (via push, SMS, email, or in-app) about safety alerts, Family Circle events, subscription changes, and product updates.
- Process subscription payments and manage billing.
- Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
- Improve the Services through aggregated, de-identified analytics.
- Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from regulators or law enforcement.
We rely on the following lawful bases (GDPR) / legal grounds (POPIA) for processing:
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Providing Services you requested | Performance of a contract (you agreed to our Terms) |
| Emergency response (SOS) | Vital interests (yours and others') + your consent |
| Family Circle tracking | Consent of all participants |
| Marketing communications | Consent (you can withdraw at any time) |
| Fraud prevention and security | Legitimate interest |
| Legal compliance | Legal obligation |
3. How we share your information
We share information only as described below.
3.1 With our 24/7 control room
When you trigger SOS, your location, profile, emergency contacts, and (if recorded) voice-note are shared with our trained dispatchers for the purpose of responding to your emergency.
3.2 With certified responder partners
In supported regions, after the dispatcher verifies your safe-word, we share the information needed for response with a vetted partner (armed response, medical, or roadside, depending on the service type).
3.3 With Family Circle members you choose
Only people you invite — and who accept — can see your shared location, route history (Gold tier), or check-in status. You can remove any member at any time.
3.4 With third-party service providers
We use trusted vendors to operate the Services. They process information only on our instructions and under contractual safeguards (including Standard Contractual Clauses where required):
- Cloud infrastructure: Google Cloud Platform (primary region: Johannesburg)
- Maps and navigation: Google Maps Platform
- Voice and SMS: Twilio
- Payments: Paystack (and regional equivalents)
- Push notifications: Apple Push Notification Service, Google Firebase Cloud Messaging
- Email: SendGrid
- AI processing: Anthropic, Google Vertex AI (for crime-report vetting; inputs are de-identified)
- Analytics: internal analytics only; no third-party advertising trackers
3.5 Aggregated and de-identified data
We may share statistical insights derived from the Services (for example, "crime incidents per neighbourhood per month") with research institutions, government agencies, insurers, mobile network operators, and banks. This data contains no personally identifiable information and cannot be linked back to you.
3.6 Legal disclosures
We may disclose information when required by law, by valid court order, by subpoena, by an order from the Information Regulator (South Africa) or equivalent authority, or where necessary to protect life, prevent serious harm, or defend our legal rights.
3.7 Business transfers
If Safer City Solutions undergoes a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred. We will notify you and any successor entity will be bound by this Privacy Policy or one offering equivalent protection.
3.8 We do not sell your personal information.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to advertisers or data brokers. "Sale" is defined here per CCPA and similar laws.
4. International data transfers
Safer City Solutions is headquartered in South Africa. Some of our service providers (cloud, AI, payments) process data in other countries — including the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.
We rely on legally recognised transfer mechanisms (POPIA s72; GDPR Standard Contractual Clauses; UK Addendum; or equivalent) to protect your information in those jurisdictions.
5. Data retention
We keep your information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy:
| Data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Account profile | While your account is active + 90 days after deletion |
| Location history (live) | 30 days (Free / Bronze / Silver) · 14 days route history surfaced (Gold) · longer for Platinum |
| Crime reports you submit | Indefinitely (kept de-identified for public safety) |
| SOS panic event records | 5 years (legal and insurance defensibility) |
| Voice recordings from dispatch calls | 5 years |
| Payment records | As required by tax and financial law (typically 5–7 years) |
| Support correspondence | 3 years |
| Security and fraud logs | Up to 1 year |
When data is no longer needed, we delete, anonymise, or aggregate it.
6. Your rights
You have the following rights with respect to your personal information. We will respond to verified requests within 30 days (or sooner where the law requires).
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Deletion — ask us to delete your account and associated data, subject to legal retention obligations.
- Restriction or objection — ask us to limit or stop certain processing.
- Data portability — receive your information in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Withdraw consent — at any time, where processing is based on consent.
- Lodge a complaint — with the South African Information Regulator, an EU/UK Data Protection Authority, the California Attorney General, or your local privacy regulator.
To exercise any right, email info@safercitygo.com with the subject "Privacy Request" and enough detail to verify your identity.
7. Children
The Services are not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the European Union and United Kingdom). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at info@safercitygo.com and we will delete it promptly.
A parent or guardian may use Family Circle to share location with a child's device, but the account-holder must be an adult.
8. Security
We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including:
- TLS 1.3 encryption for all data in transit.
- AES-256 encryption for data at rest in our cloud storage.
- Hashed (not encrypted) passwords and safe-words.
- Role-based access controls and audit logging for our staff.
- Regular vulnerability scanning and penetration testing.
- A documented incident-response process for any suspected breach.
No system is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a personal information breach that puts you at risk, we will notify you and the relevant regulator without undue delay, in line with POPIA s22 and GDPR Art 33-34.
9. Cookies and similar technologies
Our mobile app does not use browser cookies. Our website safercitygo.com uses a minimum of strictly necessary and analytics cookies. You can adjust your preferences via the cookie banner on first visit and at any time via our cookie settings link.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top. If changes are material, we will notify you via the app or by email before they take effect.
11. Contact us
For questions, complaints, or to exercise any right under this policy:
Safer City Solutions (Pty) Ltd
Information Officer
Cape Town, South Africa
Email: info@safercitygo.com
Website: https://safercitygo.com
South African Information Regulator (POPIA supervisory authority):
JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
Website: https://inforegulator.org.za
If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom, you may also contact your national Data Protection Authority. A list is available at edpb.europa.eu.
If you are a California resident, you may contact the California Attorney General at oag.ca.gov.