Privacy policy
Last updated 6 July 2026
RateMate helps South African trade businesses ask their customers for feedback over WhatsApp and SMS. This policy explains how personal information is processed under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). It covers two situations: you gave feedback to a business that uses RateMate (from a message they sent you, or by opening their feedback link or QR code yourself), or you hold a RateMate business account.
If a business sent you a feedback request
The business you dealt with decides to contact you and is the responsible party under POPIA. RateMate processes your information on that business's behalf as its operator. The business confirms it has your consent before adding your details, and that confirmation is logged.
If you used a business's feedback link or QR code: you enter your own name and number, and you give consent yourself by ticking the consent box — that consent covers storing your details, following up on your feedback, and future service-feedback requests from that business. It is logged the moment you submit, and everything below (opting out, retention, deletion) applies exactly the same.
We process, on the business's instruction:
- your name, mobile number and (optionally) company name;
- the score and any comment you choose to submit;
- message delivery status, whether you opened the review link, and your opt-out status.
This information is used only to send the feedback request, show your answer to the business, and alert the business when something went wrong. It is never sold and never used to market anything else to you.
Opting out: reply STOP to any message and you will not be contacted through RateMate again unless you later give fresh consent. Opt-out is re-checked immediately before every send.
Retention and deletion: rating links expire automatically. Free-text comments are deleted automatically after the business's retention period (24 months unless the business sets otherwise). You may ask the business (or us) to delete your details at any time: your name and number are destroyed and only an anonymous score remains. Consent changes, sends, opt-outs and deletions are recorded in an append-only audit log so we can prove they happened.
Message carriers: WhatsApp messages are delivered by Meta Platforms and SMS by SMSPortal. Your number and the message content pass through their systems, which may be located outside South Africa, under their own privacy terms.
If you hold a RateMate business account
For account holders, RateMate is the responsible party. We process your email address, business details, and subscription status. Passwords are stored only as a cryptographic hash — we cannot read them. Payments are handled by PayFast; your card details never reach RateMate's servers. If you connect Google review tracking, we fetch only your business's public, aggregate review count and rating — no reviewer identities.
Your rights
Under POPIA you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, and you may object to processing. Contact us at support@ratemate.co.za. If you believe your information has been mishandled, you may complain to the Information Regulator (South Africa) at inforegulator.org.za.