Your responsibilities under POPIA

Under POPIA your business is the "responsible party" for your customers' information, and RateMate handles it on your behalf. Some of the work is done for you: see How RateMate helps you stay POPIA compliant. The rest is yours. This is practical guidance, not legal advice. For your own situation, check with your own adviser.

Only add people you may contact

When you add or import customers you tick a box saying they are your customers and you have a lawful basis to contact them about their service. When you add someone over WhatsApp, your tap to confirm the send counts as that confirmation. RateMate records it but cannot check it. Add people you have actually done work for or quoted for. Customers who rate through your QR code give their own consent: see Walk-in ratings. Do not import a bought list or contacts you collected for something else.

Honour requests made outside RateMate

A customer may phone you, email you or tell you on site. RateMate only knows what you enter.

• If they ask you to stop messaging them, opt them out the same day. See Opt a customer out or back in.
• If they ask what you hold or ask you to delete their details, see Handle a customer's data request.
• Do not message someone you have opted out from your own phone either.

Keep your own records accurate

You cannot edit a customer's name or number once they are added. If a detail is wrong, opt them out so nothing goes to the wrong person, or delete their data and add them again with the right details. If a customer tells you their number has changed, check that the new number is theirs before you add it.

Copies RateMate's deletion does not reach

Deleting a customer or closing your account does not reach copies you hold yourself:

• Low-score alert messages in your own WhatsApp or email inbox.
• Spreadsheets, downloaded exports and customer details saved in your phone.

Delete them when a request or your own retention rules say you should. See Export your data.

Handle comments with care

Customers write what they like in the comment box. It can include names, health or money details, or complaints about staff. Share comments only as far as you need to, and think before you paste one into a group chat or a social post. RateMate clears comments after 24 months, but a screenshot you took stays with you.

Look after who has access

Only invite people who need to see your customers, and remove them when they leave. See Invite a team member and Owner and member roles. Owners can erase customers and export or close the account, so keep the owner login to people you trust.