Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

KNOWPRO SA (PTY) LTD, registration number 2024/504159/07, trading as Know a Pro ("Know a Pro", "we", "us" or "our"), operates an online platform that helps people in South Africa discover and connect with independent professionals and registered businesses and enables participating professionals and businesses to create and manage public profiles, receive reviews and use related platform features.

Know a Pro is the responsible party for personal information where we determine why and how that information is processed.

Information Officer: Reandra Maree

Information Officer email: reandra@knowapro.co.za

General privacy/support email: support@knowapro.co.za

Business telephone: +27 82 055 9229

Business / physical address: 184 Upper Buitenkant Street, Oranjezicht, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

2. Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information processed through the Know a Pro website, user accounts, professional and business profiles, verification, subscriptions and payments, reviews, customer enquiries, support, marketing and related operational activities.

It should be read together with our Terms & Conditions, Cookie Policy, Review Policy / Community Guidelines and PAIA Manual.

3. Personal information we may process

Account information: name, email address, telephone number, login details, account type, account status and authentication records.

Professional and business information: trading name, registered business name, CIPC registration information, service categories, service areas, public contact details, business description, social or website links, profile photographs, logos, portfolio content and other listing information.

Identity and verification information: information required for supported identity checks, including South African ID-related information and selfie/facial-match or liveness information processed by the approved verification provider. For the Verify Now identity-verification flow, the underlying ID, selfie and liveness data is submitted directly to Verify Now; Know a Pro receives the verification outcome/status needed to operate the platform and does not receive or store the underlying ID, selfie or liveness material from that flow.

Documents and credentials: CIPC documents, qualifications, certificates, licences, optional background-check status or other supporting records where these features are offered.

Customer enquiry information: the customer’s name and contact details, requested service, location or service area, message content, the professional contacted and related dates or status information.

Reviews and feedback: rating, review text, reviewer/account information, job or service context, moderation/reporting information and private feedback where offered.

Subscription and transaction information: selected plan, billing cycle, payment status, transaction references, invoices and limited payment-related information received from the payment provider. Know a Pro does not intend to store full payment-card details.

Technical and usage information: IP-related information, browser and device information, login activity, pages viewed, searches, clicks, referral or campaign information, cookie identifiers, error logs, security records and preference choices.

Communications and compliance records: emails, support requests, complaints, privacy and PAIA requests, incident records and related correspondence or evidence.

4. How we collect information

Directly from you when you register, create or manage an account or profile, submit an enquiry, review or feedback, provide supporting information, make a subscription payment, contact support or exercise a legal right.

From verification providers when they return the minimum verification status or information required for the relevant service.

From payment and other service providers when they return transaction, service, delivery or security information needed to operate the platform.

Automatically through the website, browser/device, security logs and configured analytics or measurement technologies.

From another user where they submit a review, report, enquiry, complaint or other content involving you, subject to the platform’s rules.

From public or official sources, including CIPC, where lawful and relevant to a verification or business-information purpose.

5. Why we process personal information

Create, authenticate and administer user and professional/business accounts.

Build, publish, manage and improve professional/business profiles and directory discovery features.

Verify identity, business registration and other trust signals that are offered on the platform.

Connect customers with professionals and deliver enquiries.

Enable, authenticate, publish and moderate reviews, ratings and private feedback.

Manage subscriptions, billing, payments, refunds and financial administration.

Provide QR codes, profile links and other platform functionality.

Provide support and send account, verification, security, billing and service communications.

Prevent fraud, impersonation, misuse and security incidents and investigate complaints.

Improve, troubleshoot and measure website and platform performance.

Measure marketing and advertising performance where the relevant technologies and user choices permit it.

Comply with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, PAIA/POPIA and dispute-resolution obligations.

Establish, exercise or defend legal rights and enforce our Terms and platform policies.

6. Lawful processing and transparency

Know a Pro processes personal information for specific, defined purposes and only where an appropriate basis exists under POPIA and other applicable law. Depending on the activity, processing may be necessary to enter into or perform an agreement, comply with a legal obligation, protect a legitimate interest, pursue a permitted legitimate interest, or rely on consent where consent is the appropriate basis.

Where information is required to provide a requested service or complete a legal or verification requirement, failure to provide it may mean that the relevant account, verification, payment, listing or feature cannot be completed.

7. Public profile information

Professional and business profiles are intended to make selected information public so that potential customers can evaluate and contact the relevant professional or business. Public fields may include names or trading names, business information, service categories, service areas, selected contact information, profile images, portfolio content, social or website links, reviews and earned verification badges.

Information such as passwords, private feedback, non-public billing information and private administrative account information is not intended for public display. Full street-address visibility may be controlled separately from location information used for search or service-area functionality.

Users must not upload portfolio images, documents or other content containing another person’s personal information unless they have an appropriate right or permission to provide and publish it.

8. Identity and verification

Know a Pro uses specialist verification services for supported identity and related verification functions. Verify Now has been selected for identity-related verification. The current launch model requires supported professionals to complete South African ID and live-photo/selfie verification before a professional profile goes live.

For the Verify Now identity-verification flow, the underlying ID, selfie and liveness material is submitted directly to Verify Now. Know a Pro receives the positive/negative verification outcome or status required to update the relevant profile verification state and does not receive or store the underlying ID, selfie or liveness material from that flow.

Registered Businesses may also be required to provide CIPC registration information or supporting documents. Additional verification options, such as HURU-related background checks, qualifications, licences or certificates, may be offered separately and will be described when activated.

A verification badge confirms only the specific check described by that badge. It is not a guarantee of workmanship, quality, safety, honesty, suitability or future conduct.

Verification-related queries may be sent to verify@knowapro.co.za. Users should not send identity documents or selfies to ordinary support or WhatsApp channels unless specifically instructed through an approved process.

9. Payments and subscriptions

Know a Pro uses Paystack for subscription-payment processing. Paystack and relevant financial service providers process the payment information required to complete transactions.

Know a Pro receives and retains only the transaction, subscription, billing and status information reasonably required for account administration, accounting, support, disputes and compliance. Know a Pro does not intend to store full payment-card details.

Payments for the underlying services performed by professionals are ordinarily handled directly between the customer and the professional or business unless Know a Pro expressly introduces a different service.

10. Reviews and private feedback

Know a Pro may allow users to submit ratings, public reviews and private feedback. Public reviews may display the information described in the live review flow and our Review Policy / Community Guidelines. Private feedback is not intended to be published as a public review.

Reviews and related content may be moderated, reported, investigated, restricted or removed in accordance with the Review Policy, our Terms and applicable law. Review and moderation records may be retained for legitimate platform-integrity, complaint, dispute or legal purposes.

11. Cookies, analytics and advertising

Know a Pro uses or may use strictly necessary website technologies for secure sessions, authentication, security and core account functionality.

The website also uses Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 4 for tag management and analytics, and may use Meta Pixel, LinkedIn and TikTok measurement technologies for advertising and campaign measurement where configured and permitted.

Our Cookie Policy explains these technologies, the categories of cookies or similar technologies used, and the choices available to website visitors. Optional analytics or advertising technologies will be handled in accordance with the site’s implemented cookie/privacy preference controls.

12. Service providers and recipients

Know a Pro uses third-party providers where reasonably necessary to operate and secure the service. Current or planned provider categories include:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) for core cloud infrastructure, including hosting, RDS PostgreSQL database, S3 user uploads/images, backups, logs and monitoring in the South Africa region.
• Verify Now for identity/document/selfie/liveness-related verification.
• HURU for optional background-check verification if that feature is activated.
• Paystack for subscription-payment processing and transaction administration.
• Google Workspace for business email and internal/shared business communications.
• Resend for transactional platform email delivery.
• Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 4 for tag management and website measurement.
• Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok for advertising measurement where the relevant tags are enabled.
• Professional advisers, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies and other recipients where disclosure is authorised or required by law.

Third-party providers may process information under their own privacy terms and, where they act on our behalf, under applicable data-processing or service arrangements.

13. Hosting and security

Know a Pro’s core production infrastructure uses Amazon Web Services in the South Africa region, including AWS RDS PostgreSQL for the database, AWS S3 for user uploads/images, daily backups in the same region with a rolling 7-day backup cycle, and AWS logs and monitoring. User accounts use email-and-password authentication. The application enforces HTTPS with HSTS; passwords and one-time codes are stored in hashed form. Administrative access uses role-based permissions, rate limiting, 24-hour sessions, lockout after repeated failed login attempts and optional email-based two-factor authentication.

Know a Pro applies reasonable technical and organisational measures appropriate to the nature of the information and the risks involved. Measures include controlled administrative access, secure authentication, encrypted transmission, hosted infrastructure, backups, logging and monitoring, rate limiting, service-provider controls and an internal security-incident response process. Security controls are reviewed as the platform develops.

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Users should protect their login details and notify Know a Pro promptly if they suspect unauthorised access to their account.

14. Cross-border processing

Know a Pro’s core website infrastructure described above is hosted in South Africa. Some third-party providers used for communications, payments, analytics, advertising or other technology functions may process information, or make support and processing resources available, outside South Africa.

Where personal information is transferred to a recipient in another country, Know a Pro will address the applicable requirements of section 72 of POPIA and use an appropriate permitted transfer basis and safeguards where required.

15. How long we keep information

Know a Pro retains personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed or lawfully permitted for the purpose for which it is held. Retention periods differ by record type and may be affected by account status, operational and dispute needs, fraud prevention, security, contractual obligations, legal or accounting requirements and provider or backup cycles.

When an account is permanently deleted through the administrative process, the core account is hard-deleted. Certain linked records, such as reviews, lead or enquiry message threads, favourites and uploaded files, may remain where they are stored separately from the core account and where continued retention is reasonably necessary or technically required. Cancelled subscriptions and unpublished profiles may also leave limited internal records for support, disputes, fraud prevention, accounting, legal obligations and platform integrity.

High-risk verification information is minimised as described in section 8. Daily AWS backups are retained on a rolling 7-day cycle. Know a Pro periodically reviews retention practices and, where identifiable personal information is no longer lawfully required or authorised to be retained, will delete, destroy or de-identify it as soon as reasonably practicable, subject to applicable legal, technical, security and backup requirements.

16. Your rights

Subject to POPIA, PAIA and other applicable law, you may have the right to:

• ask whether Know a Pro holds personal information about you and request access to applicable records;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information;
• request deletion or destruction of personal information where the applicable legal requirements are met;
• object to certain processing in the prescribed manner;
• withdraw consent where processing depends on consent, without affecting processing already lawfully undertaken;
• opt out of direct marketing communications; and
• raise a complaint with Know a Pro and lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator.

Ordinary privacy and account requests may be sent to support@knowapro.co.za. Formal Information Officer correspondence may be sent to reandra@knowapro.co.za. Requests for access to records are handled through the applicable PAIA process described in our PAIA Manual.

17. Direct marketing

Where Know a Pro sends direct marketing by electronic communication, we will apply the applicable POPIA requirements and user preferences, and provide a practical way to opt out. We may retain the minimum suppression or preference information necessary to respect an opt-out and avoid unintentionally re-subscribing a person.

18. Security incidents

Know a Pro maintains an internal security and personal-information incident procedure. Suspected incidents are escalated, investigated and contained with Information Officer oversight. Where a security compromise triggers notification obligations under POPIA, Know a Pro will follow the applicable Information Regulator process and notify affected data subjects where required.

19. Children

Know a Pro is not presently designed for children to register as professionals or independently use paid or verification-dependent features that require legal contracting capacity. If Know a Pro later intentionally introduces services that involve children’s personal information, the applicable POPIA requirements will be assessed before that processing is introduced.

20. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when the platform, providers, processing activities, legal requirements or operational practices change. The current version and revision date will be published on the Know a Pro website. Material changes may also be communicated through the platform or appropriate contact channels.

21. Contact and complaints

Know a Pro privacy/support: support@knowapro.co.za

Information Officer: Reandra Maree — reandra@knowapro.co.za

Business telephone: +27 82 055 9229

Business / physical address: 184 Upper Buitenkant Street, Oranjezicht, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

You may also lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa). Current general contact details include:

Telephone: 010 023 5200

Toll-free: 0800 017 160

Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za

Office: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg

Postal: P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017

Website / eServices: inforegulator.org.za and eservices.inforegulator.org.za

The Regulator may update its contact channels from time to time. Users should check the Regulator’s current website or eServices portal when lodging a formal complaint.