This Privacy Policy explains what personal information ShareARide ("we", "us", "our") collects through the ShareARide mobile app and related web pages (together, the "Service"), why we collect it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

ShareARide is a ride-sharing platform connecting drivers offering seats on a trip with riders looking for one. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in line with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Account information (all users)

• Name, surname, phone number, email address, and password (handled securely by Firebase Authentication — we never see or store your raw password).
• Your role (rider or driver) and, if you choose to set one, a privacy username shown to other users instead of your real name.
• Profile photo, if you choose to add one.
• Trip history, ratings you give and receive, and any complaints filed by or about you.

Driver verification information (drivers only)

Location information

• Trip locations: the cities/towns and, where provided, precise pickup coordinates for trips you post, book, or search for.
• Live location during a trip: while a trip is under way, the driver's device shares real-time location so riders on that trip can see the vehicle's progress. This stops as soon as the trip ends.
• Location sharing for safety: a rider or driver can generate a link that shares their live location with someone of their choosing (e.g. a family member), even if that person doesn't use ShareARide. Anyone with that link can view the shared location until it's revoked. We keep a log of when a shared-location link is viewed, so the person who created it can see who's been checking on them.
• Background/coarse location is used, with your permission, to show you nearby trips and improve trip-matching relevance.

Payment information

Card payments are processed entirely by our payment partner, PayFast — we never receive or store your full card number, expiry date, or CVV. We only receive confirmation that a payment succeeded, the amount, and a PayFast transaction reference. Cash payments made directly to a driver involve no card data at all. Your name, email, and phone number are passed to PayFast to process a card payment, as required for any such transaction.

Communications

• Messages you send in a trip's group chat (visible to that trip's driver and confirmed riders only).
• Push notification tokens, so we can send you trip updates, booking confirmations, and payment notifications via Expo's push notification service.
• Emails we send you (welcome messages, receipts, trip-completion summaries) via our email delivery provider.

Automatically collected information

• Basic device and app information (app version, platform) attached to error logs, used only to diagnose and fix bugs.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account, and verify drivers before they can post trips.
• To connect riders and drivers, process bookings, and show relevant trip information to each other.
• To process payments and pay out driver earnings.
• To send booking, payment, and trip-status notifications.
• To provide the live-tracking and location-sharing safety features.
• To respond to support requests and investigate complaints or safety incidents.
• To detect fraud, abuse, and keep the platform safe for everyone using it.

3. Who We Share Information With

• Other users: a driver's name/username, rating, vehicle, and (once a booking is confirmed) phone number are shown to riders on that trip, and vice versa — only what's needed to coordinate the trip.
• PayFast (our payment processor), for card payments.
• Google Firebase / Google Cloud Platform, which hosts our app's database, authentication, file storage, and backend functions. Firebase acts as our infrastructure provider — it does not use your data for its own purposes.
• Expo, to deliver push notifications to your device.
• Our email delivery provider, to send transactional emails (receipts, welcome messages).
• Anyone you personally choose to send a live-location-sharing link to.
• Law enforcement or regulators, only where required by law.

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose.

4. Data Retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterwards to meet legal, accounting, fraud-prevention, and dispute-resolution obligations (for example, financial transaction records). You can request deletion of your account at any time — see Section 6.

5. Data Security

We use Firebase's security infrastructure, including access-control rules that restrict who can read or write each piece of data, to protect your information. Sensitive driver-verification documents and banking details are locked down so only you and authorised admin staff can access them. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work to protect your information using industry-standard practices.

6. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or outdated information.
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations.
• Object to certain processing of your information.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your rights have been infringed.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.

7. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for anyone under 18. Driver verification and payment processing require legal capacity to contract. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page when we do. Continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the updated policy.