Privacy Policy

Last updated: 29 September 2026 1. Introduction CareCircle (Pty) Ltd ("CareCircle", "we") runs the CareCircle app and website, a marketplace that connects families with independent caregivers in South Africa. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and your rights under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). CareCircle is for adults (18+) only. 2. Information We Collect Information you give us: - Account details: name, email address, phone number, password (stored by our sign-in provider, never by us) and your role (family or caregiver). - Profile details: profile photo, bio, experience, languages, skills and certifications, hourly rate, availability, and your suburb/city with its map coordinates. - Verification documents (caregivers): identity document, passport or work permit, electronic criminal record check results, driver's licence and certificates you choose to upload. - Jobs, applications, bookings, messages, reviews and ratings you create. - Photos you take with the camera or choose from your device, only when you add them. Information collected automatically: - Location: only when you tap "Use my current location" or view nearby caregivers, and only while you are using the app. We never collect location in the background. - Device and app information: device model, operating system, app version, a push-notification token and an app-integrity token (used to protect our services from abuse). - Usage and diagnostics: which screens and features you use, crash reports and performance data. - Advertising ID (used for ads, see section 6). Payments: CareCircle is free to use — there are no subscriptions or paid plans. The only payment in the app is the optional background check fee for caregivers, which is processed on Paystack's secure payment page (card or Instant EFT). We do not see or store your full card number. We keep a record of each transaction (amount, date, reference). Subscriptions bought before 29 September 2026 continue to be processed by Google Play or Paystack until they end or are cancelled. Health-related information: CareCircle does not collect health data from your device and does not integrate with Health Connect or any health tracking service. Health-related information reaches us only if you enter it, for example describing a care recipient's needs in a job post, or a caregiver listing a clinical skill. Under POPIA this may be special personal information. We use it only to match caregivers to jobs and to let matched users communicate; we never use it for advertising or profiling. 3. How We Use Your Information - To create and run your account and show your profile to the right people. - To match families and caregivers, and to show caregivers near you. - To verify caregivers' identity and background before they are marked as verified. - To deliver messages, notifications, bookings and reviews. - To process the background check fee, and to prevent fraud and abuse. - To keep the app working, fix crashes and improve features. - To show ads, which keep CareCircle free (section 6). - To comply with legal obligations. 4. Who We Share It With We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with: - Other users, as needed for the service: your public profile, reviews, and the messages and job details you exchange with the people you deal with. - Service providers that process data on our behalf: - Google and Firebase (cloud hosting, database, file storage, sign-in, notifications, analytics, crash reporting, app integrity, and address search). - Google Play (subscriptions bought before 29 September 2026 only). - Paystack (card and Instant EFT payments). - Algolia (caregiver search index; only your public profile). - Twilio (sending SMS verification codes). - Google AdMob (ads). - Authorities, when the law requires it. Some of these providers store data outside South Africa (for example in the United States or the EU). They are bound by agreements that protect your information to a standard consistent with POPIA. 5. Data Security We use encryption in transit, access controls and security rules that limit each user to their own data, and app-integrity checks. Verification documents are visible only to you and our verification team. 6. Advertising CareCircle is free for everyone and is supported by ads from Google AdMob: a banner in search results and an occasional full-screen ad after you submit a job application. Ads never appear while you are paying for a background check. If you still have a subscription bought before 29 September 2026, you will not see ads until it ends. AdMob may use your device's advertising ID and, where required by law and with your consent, show personalised ads. You can change your ad choices at any time in Settings > Ad privacy (where available), and reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings. Ads are limited to content suitable for general audiences. 7. Your Rights Under POPIA, you have the right to: - Access the personal information we hold about you. - Correct inaccurate information (most of it directly in Edit Profile). - Object to processing. - Delete your account and personal information (section 8). - Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (inforeg.org.za). 8. Deleting Your Account and Data You can delete your account at any time in the app: Settings > Delete Account. You can also email privacy@thecarecircle.co.za from the address on your account to have it deleted without using the app. When you delete your account we: - cancel any subscription you still hold from before CareCircle became free; - delete your profile, your settings and all files you uploaded, including your photos and verification documents; - delete your sign-in account; - replace your name with "Deleted User" on reviews you wrote and on messages you sent. The text of those reviews and messages stays visible to the other person, because it is part of their history. We keep, only as long as needed: - payment records (background check fees, and any subscription you held before CareCircle became free), which are required by tax and accounting law; - jobs, applications and bookings that another user is part of, for their records and to resolve disputes; - a minimal deletion record (date and counts, no personal details) for our audit trail. Information in our backups is overwritten on our normal backup cycle. 9. Data Retention We keep your information while your account is active. After you delete your account we keep only what is listed in section 8, for as long as the law or a legitimate dispute requires. 10. Children CareCircle is not directed at children and may only be used by people aged 18 or over. Families may describe the children they need care for in job posts; we use this only to match caregivers and never for advertising. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it. 11. Cookies See our Cookie Policy for how the website uses cookies and similar technologies. 12. Changes to This Policy We may update this policy. We will tell you about significant changes by email or in the app before they take effect. 13. Contact Us Information Officer: privacy@thecarecircle.co.za CareCircle (Pty) Ltd, South Africa