Privacy policy

The Good List helps neighbours share the local services they use and would hire again. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. The Good List is run by The Good List Pty LTD (registration number 2026/880276/07), the "responsible party" under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Our Information Officer is Jordan Cahn. Last updated 3 November 2026.

What you don’t need to give us

You can browse The Good List without an account; the app uses an anonymous ID for that. To recommend, comment, vote or like, you create a free account with your email address.
We only ask for your phone number in two cases: if you leave a negative review (see below), or if you manage a business on The Good List.

What we collect

Your account: your email address and a password (stored securely by Firebase; we never see your password). Your profile: a first name and your suburb. Only you can see your profile.
Profile picture (optional): if you add one, it’s shown next to comments where you’ve chosen to show your name. You can remove it any time.
What you post: recommendations and comments, whether you’d hire someone again, what you paid if you choose to say, after-hours help if you mention it, and your suburb. These are public to everyone using The Good List, including on shared web pages. Your first name is shown with a comment only if you switch that on.
Negative reviews: if you say you wouldn’t hire a business again or leave a negative comment, we ask for your name and phone number. Only Good List admins and moderators see these. They are never shown in the app and never given to the business unless you agree.
Your activity: “helpful” likes and dislikes, businesses you save to Saved, reports you make and people you block. Likes and dislikes are counted publicly without your name; saved businesses, reports and blocks are private.
Businesses you add: the name, service, and any phone number, address or website you enter. Only add business details, never someone’s private number.
Community lists: some businesses were added from a community’s list of recommended contractors, with that community’s permission, and are labelled that way. A business can ask to be removed at any time.
Business owners: if you claim a business or sign up for Verified or Featured, we collect your name and phone number so we can call you, and keep a record of your plan. Payments are made through Paystack, which handles your card or bank details; we never see them.
Usage counts: when someone views a business page or taps Call or WhatsApp, we record it (with the anonymous ID and date) so the business can see monthly totals. In the app a business sees only the totals, never your name, email or number.
“Did you hire them?”: after you call or WhatsApp a business, the app may ask whether you hired them. If you answer, we save the answer with the anonymous ID and month. Only Good List admins see answers, to understand how much work The Good List sends businesses; a business may be told a total, never who.
Searches with no results: the words searched and the suburb, without your name or account, so we know which services neighbours are missing.
Stopping spam: a private note on your account of when you last added a business or logged a search, and how many businesses you added that day. It holds nothing else, and only you can see it.
Crash reports: if the app crashes, it sends technical details (phone model, app version and what went wrong) to Sentry so we can fix it. They don’t include your posts, email or location.

Cookies and storage

The Good List doesn’t use advertising or tracking cookies, and doesn’t track you across other sites or apps.
The website only remembers your light or dark theme, in your own browser. The web app keeps you signed in, and uses Google reCAPTCHA (see “How we use it”) to check that visits come from a real person, which may set a cookie. On iPhone, the app keeps your settings on your phone.
If we ever add analytics or advertising tracking to the website, it will stay off until you switch it on under “Cookies & privacy choices”, and we’ll update this policy.

Location

If you allow it, The Good List uses your phone’s location to find your suburb and to pin a place you recommend. Your own location is not stored or shared. If you pin a place, only that place’s position is saved, as part of the business’s listing.
If you type your suburb instead, we save that suburb’s map position with your profile so distances stay right.
You can say no, or switch location off in your phone’s Settings, and still use The Good List by picking or typing your suburb.
In the web app (in a browser), places you search for and the spot you pin are looked up with OpenStreetMap’s free address search, without your name or account. On iPhone this uses Apple Maps on your phone.

Notifications

If you allow notifications, The Good List schedules reminders on your own phone, such as asking whether you hired a business you contacted. The reminders themselves send nothing to us; only an answer you choose to give is saved (see “Did you hire them?” above). You can switch them off in your phone’s Settings.

How we use it

To show recommendations near you and rank businesses by how many neighbours would hire them again.
To keep The Good List fair and friendly: a person’s first post, negative reviews, dislikes, accusations and posts with a phone number or web address are checked by the Good List team before they count or appear. Anyone with an account can report a post; once 3 people have, it’s hidden until the team has looked at it. We filter offensive words, review reports within 24 hours, and look out for businesses posing as neighbours.
To give a business the chance to respond: before a negative review goes live, we tell the business what it says (without your name or number) and give them 7 days to put things right. We may phone you to check the review or to tell you the outcome.
To give businesses their monthly totals, and to contact businesses about claims, Verified and Featured.
To check that requests come from the real Good List app (Firebase App Check with Apple’s DeviceCheck, or Google reCAPTCHA in the web app). This doesn’t identify you.
We don’t sell your information, we don’t show third-party adverts, and paying businesses never get your personal details. Paying never changes reviews or rankings.

Who can see it

The Good List team: the operator, and a small number of admins and moderators who help run it and check posts. They may only use your information to run The Good List and must keep it confidential.
Service providers who process it for us: Google Firebase (database, sign-in, web pages and App Check), Google reCAPTCHA (App Check in the web app), the OpenStreetMap Foundation (address search in the web app), Paystack (business payments) and Sentry (crash reports).
Anyone else only if the law requires it, for example a court order.

Where it’s stored

Our database is in Google’s Johannesburg data centre (africa-south1).
Some providers process information outside South Africa: Sentry (crash reports), OpenStreetMap (web address searches, in the UK and EU) and parts of Google’s and Paystack’s services. We only use providers bound by data protection terms that give protection similar to POPIA.

How long we keep it

Your comments, votes, likes, “Did you hire them?” answers, saved businesses, reports, blocks and profile stay until you remove them or delete your account.
The name and number from a negative review are kept while the review is on The Good List, and deleted as soon as it’s removed or changed to a positive one.
Business listings stay so neighbours can keep finding them. Claim, Verified and Featured requests are deleted once we’ve dealt with them; records of payments are kept as long as tax law requires.
Crash reports are kept for up to 90 days.

Your choices and rights

Delete everything: Profile → Delete my data removes your profile, picture, comments, votes, likes, the contact details from any negative review, “Did you hire them?” answers, page-view records, saved businesses, reports, blocks, requests and account, straight away (the anti-spam note goes too, once a day has passed since you last added a business). Businesses you added stay listed (without your name), because neighbours rely on them, and crash reports expire within 90 days.
Edit or remove a comment at any time from the business page.
Under POPIA you can ask what we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it. Email info@thegoodlist.co.za, or call or WhatsApp 063 685 1378, and we’ll respond within 30 days.
If you’re unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za.

Children

The Good List is meant for adults. Please don’t use it if you’re under 18.

Changes and contact

If we change this policy we’ll update the date above, and tell you in the app if the change is important.
Questions, requests or problems: Jordan Cahn, Information Officer, The Good List Pty LTD, at info@thegoodlist.co.za, or call or WhatsApp 063 685 1378.