CivicWatch SA Privacy Policy

Effective date: 13 June 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how CivicWatch SA collects, uses, stores, and shares personal information when you use the CivicWatch SA mobile application and related services.

1. Who We Are

CivicWatch SA is a civic reporting platform intended to help residents report municipal infrastructure and service delivery issues, track updates, and receive community and official responses.

2. Information We Collect

Depending on how you use the app, we may collect the following categories of information:

• Account information: your email address, alias, authentication provider details, and basic account metadata when you register or sign in.
• Apple sign-in data: if you use Sign in with Apple, we receive the information made available through Apple and our authentication provider.
• Report content: titles, descriptions, comments, follows, likes, shares, status updates, and other content you submit through the app.
• Media and evidence: photos and videos you attach to reports, plus associated file metadata such as content type and size.
• Location information: latitude and longitude that you submit or allow the app to access so a report can be routed to the correct municipality and ward.
• Notification data: device push subscription identifiers and topic preferences used to deliver alerts and in-app notifications.
• Device and app data: limited technical information required for app functionality, security, crash handling, local preferences, and cached content.
• Biometric unlock state: the app can use Face ID or other supported device biometrics to unlock the app, but we do not receive or store your biometric template.
• Speech input: if you use voice dictation for a report, audio and transcription processing may be handled by operating system speech recognition services.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal information to operate and improve CivicWatch SA, including to:

• create and manage user accounts;
• authenticate users and secure access to the app;
• accept, store, display, and manage municipal issue reports;
• resolve the municipality and ward associated with a report;
• store and display attached report media;
• deliver push notifications, in-app notifications, and report updates;
• support moderation, abuse prevention, troubleshooting, and service security;
• maintain a public accountability record of submitted reports and related activity.

4. Public Nature of Reports

CivicWatch SA is designed for civic accountability. Reports may be visible to other users of the app and may include your alias, report title, description, report status, municipality and ward details, report media, comments, and location-related information associated with the report.

Please do not upload sensitive personal information about yourself or others unless it is strictly necessary and you have a lawful basis to do so.

5. Permissions and Device Features

The app may request the following permissions only to support features you choose to use:

• Camera: to capture report photos or videos.
• Photo library: to attach existing photos or videos to a report.
• Location: to identify the municipality and ward relevant to a report.
• Microphone: to record video evidence or use voice input when available.
• Speech recognition: to transcribe dictated report descriptions.
• Notifications: to deliver alerts, status changes, and community activity updates.
• Biometric authentication: to unlock the app locally on your device after sign-in.

6. Legal Basis and POPIA

Where the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA") applies, we process personal information on the basis of consent, the performance of our service to you, legitimate interests in operating and securing the platform, and where applicable, compliance with legal obligations.

7. Service Providers and Third Parties

We may use third-party providers to deliver core parts of the service, including:

• Supabase for user authentication and related account services;
• Cloudflare services, including media storage and delivery for uploaded files;
• OneSignal for push notification delivery and device subscription management;
• Google Maps SDK for map-based location selection and display functionality, where used;
• Apple platform services for Sign in with Apple, notifications, speech recognition, and biometric unlock support where applicable.

These providers process information under their own terms and privacy policies. We do not sell personal information for advertising.

8. International Processing

Some service providers may process or store information outside South Africa. Where this occurs, we rely on appropriate contractual, technical, and organizational safeguards that are reasonable in the context of the services used.

9. Data Retention

• Account data is retained while your account remains active, unless a longer retention period is required for security, legal, or operational reasons.
• Reports and associated public accountability records may be retained even if you later request account deletion, although account-linked identifiers may be minimized or anonymized where appropriate.
• Push notification identifiers may be retained until they expire, are rotated, or are removed from our systems.
• Local app preferences and cached data remain on your device until cleared by the app, overwritten, or removed by uninstalling the app.

10. Your Choices and Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have rights to:

• access personal information we hold about you;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your account and certain related personal information;
• withdraw consent for permissions such as location, camera, microphone, speech recognition, or notifications through your device settings;
• object to or request restriction of certain processing, where legally applicable.

To make a privacy or POPIA request, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before processing a request.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information against unauthorized access, misuse, loss, disclosure, or alteration. However, no mobile app, database, storage service, or internet transmission method is completely secure.

12. Children

CivicWatch SA is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children in a manner inconsistent with applicable law. If you believe a child has provided personal information unlawfully, contact us so we can review the matter.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we may update the effective date and provide additional notice within the app or through other appropriate channels.

14. Contact Us

For privacy questions, POPIA requests, or account deletion requests, contact:

• Email: support@civicwatchsa.co.za
• Subject line suggestion: Privacy Request or Data Deletion Request