Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

PinGH is Ghana's verified local business discovery platform, operating at pingh.africa. We connect consumers with local businesses across Ghana and help businesses build trust through verified reviews and identity badges. PinGH is the data controller responsible for your personal data under the Ghana Data Protection Act 2012.

2. What data we collect

From consumers (people who search and leave reviews)

• Phone number — collected when you submit a review. Used only to send a one-time verification code (OTP). We store a hashed version — your raw number is never saved in our database.
• Review text and star rating — what you write and the stars you give. This is shown publicly on the business profile.
• Display name — a masked version of your phone number (e.g. 0244****56) shown next to your review.

From business owners

• Business name, location, phone, hours, description — public profile information you provide when claiming a business.
• Phone number — used to verify that you are the owner of the business via OTP.
• Ghana Card number — collected only if you apply for a verified badge. Used for identity confirmation. Never shown publicly.
• MoMo account number — collected only for badge applications. Used to confirm business ownership and for subscription payments.

Automatically collected

• Usage data — pages visited, search queries. Collected via Google Analytics in anonymised form. No personal information is attached.

3. Why we collect it

• Phone numbers — to verify that reviews are from real people and that business profiles are claimed by real owners. Without this, fake reviews and fraudulent claims would be impossible to prevent.
• Business profile information — to display accurate business listings that help people find services near them.
• Ghana Card numbers — to confirm identity for verified badge applicants, cross-referenced with the NIA database.
• MoMo account numbers — to confirm business ownership and process badge subscription payments.
• Usage analytics — to understand how PinGH is used and improve the platform.

4. How we store and protect it

All data is stored in Google Firebase (Firestore and Firebase Auth), hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure. Google Cloud meets international security standards including ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II.

Phone numbers used for OTP verification are stored in hashed form — we cannot recover your actual number from what we store. Ghana Card numbers are encrypted at rest and accessed only by PinGH staff during the badge review process.

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. On verified deletion request, we remove personal data within 30 days.

5. Who we share it with

We share data only in these limited cases:

• Google Firebase — our database and authentication provider.
• Paystack — our payment processor for badge subscriptions. Handles payment data under their own PCI DSS compliant privacy policy.
• Google Analytics — anonymised usage statistics only.
• Legal requirements — we may disclose data if required by Ghanaian law or court order, or to prevent fraud.

We do not share your personal data with advertisers, marketing companies, or any other third parties.

6. Your rights under Ghana Data Protection Act 2012

Under Act 843, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data — request a copy of everything we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate data — ask us to fix incorrect information.
• Delete your data — request removal of your personal data within 30 days.
• Object to how we use your data.
• Complain — if you feel your rights have been violated, contact the Data Protection Commission of Ghana at dataprotection.org.gh.

To exercise any right, email privacy@pingh.africa. We respond within 14 days.

7. Children

PinGH is not intended for anyone under 13 years old. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has submitted data, contact us at privacy@pingh.africa and we will delete it immediately.

9. International Data Transfers

PinGH is operated by Leone Digital Africa Limited, a company registered in Ghana. The technical infrastructure we use — Firebase (database, storage, authentication) and Google Analytics — is provided by Google LLC, whose servers are located in the United States of America.

By using PinGH and submitting your data, you acknowledge and consent to your personal data being transferred to, stored on and processed on servers in the United States of America. Google applies industry-standard security measures. For more information visit policies.google.com/privacy. We take all appropriate steps to ensure compliance with the Ghana Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843).

10. Cookies and Analytics

PinGH uses Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our platform. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect anonymised usage data. No personally identifiable information is shared for advertising purposes.

When you first visit PinGH, you will be shown a cookie consent notice. You may accept or decline. If you decline, Google Analytics will not load and no cookies will be placed on your device. You can change your preference by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site.

11. Your Right to Complain

If you believe your data protection rights have been violated, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Ghana Data Protection Commission:

Data Protection Commission
Pawpaw Street, East Legon, Accra
Digital Address: GA-414-1469
Phone: +233(0)302-222-929
Email: info@dataprotection.org.gh
Website: dataprotection.org.gh

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will update the "Last updated" date when we do. Continued use of PinGH after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy. We will never reduce your privacy rights without notice.