Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026

HAIRGO (PTY) LTD (CIPC registration number 2026/762822/07), operating as HairGo ("HairGo," "we," "us," or "our"), operates the HairGo mobile application (the "App"), a marketplace connecting clients with independent hairstylists and beauty professionals in South Africa. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

Account Information

• Full name, email address, and phone number
• Password (stored securely, encrypted, and never visible to us)
• Profile photo (optional)

Identity Verification (Stylists Only)

• South African ID number, full name, and date of birth
• A photograph of your identity document (South African National ID or Passport)
• A selfie, used for facial biometric verification — specifically liveness detection and face matching against your identity document
• This information is submitted to Smile Identity, our identity verification partner, to confirm your identity against official South African records. See Section 5 for details on this third party.

Location Information

• Client physical addresses, provided when booking a service, so stylists can travel to the correct location
• Device location, where permitted by you, to support navigation and address autocomplete features
• Background location (stylists only): while a stylist is travelling to a confirmed appointment, we collect location in the background to share the stylist's live arrival time (ETA) with the client. Collection begins when the stylist starts the trip and stops when they mark arrival. You can disable location access in your device settings, though live ETA will not function without it.

Payment Information

• Payment card details are collected and processed directly by Paystack, our payment processor. HairGo does not store your full card number.
• Stylist bank account details (bank name, account holder name, account number, account type and branch code), collected to enable payouts for completed bookings

Booking and Usage Information

• Booking history, appointment details, and service preferences
• Messages, and any images, exchanged between clients and stylists within the App (including chat images and payment-proof images)
• Reviews, ratings, and any disputes raised regarding a booking

Device and Technical Information

• Device push notification tokens, used to send you booking updates and alerts
• General device and app usage information for troubleshooting and improving the App

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account
• Facilitate bookings between clients and stylists
• Verify stylist identities to help maintain a trustworthy platform
• Process payments and stylist payouts
• Share a stylist's live arrival time with the client during an active trip
• Send booking confirmations, updates, and important notifications
• Provide customer support
• Investigate and resolve disputes between clients and stylists
• Improve and maintain the App's functionality and security
• Comply with legal obligations

3. Who We Share Information With

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as necessary to operate the App:

• Other users: When you book a service, relevant details (such as your name, address, and phone number) are shared with the stylist you've booked, and vice versa, so the service can be delivered.
• Smile Identity: Stylist identity details — including the ID number, name, identity document photo, and verification selfie — are shared with Smile Identity to perform identity verification, facial biometric matching, and liveness checks.
• Paystack: Payment information is shared with Paystack to process transactions securely.
• Service providers: We use Firebase (Google) for authentication, data storage, and push notifications, and Expo to deliver push notifications.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information where required by law or to protect the safety of our users.

4. Data Storage and International Transfers

Your information is stored using Firebase, a service provided by Google, which may process and store data outside of South Africa. By using the App, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside South Africa, where data protection laws may differ. We take reasonable steps to ensure your information remains protected in accordance with this Policy and applicable law, including South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

5. Identity Verification Details

To help ensure the safety of our platform, stylists are required to complete an identity verification check through Smile Identity, a third-party identity verification provider. This check confirms that the ID number and personal details you provide match official South African records. It also includes submitting a photograph of your identity document and a selfie, which Smile Identity uses to perform facial biometric matching and liveness detection to confirm you are the genuine holder of the document. This biometric processing is used solely for identity verification and fraud prevention. Smile Identity's own privacy practices govern how they handle the information submitted to them for this check.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide you services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. If you close your account, we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes, such as fraud prevention and financial record-keeping. Funds for a booking are held from payment until three hours after the stylist marks the appointment complete (the dispute window), after which, absent a dispute, payout may be released.

7. Your Rights and Account Deletion

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information, subject to legal and legitimate business retention requirements
• Object to certain processing of your information
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

You can delete your account directly in the App at any time under Profile → Delete account. This removes your login and personal profile. Records we are legally required to retain (for example, completed-transaction and dispute records) are anonymised rather than erased. You may also exercise any of these rights by contacting us using the details below.

8. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) to our service providers, and payment secrets are handled server-side and never stored in the App. However, no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children's Privacy

The App is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take steps to delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page, and where appropriate, through the App.

11. Contact Us