Information We Collect
To provide a secure platform, we collect information that identifies you or relates to your professional standing. This includes:
- Profile Data: Name, contact details, professional certifications, and profile photos which go through a moderation queue before becoming publicly visible.
- Identity Documents: Ghana Card or Passport images, selfie, and document number for identity verification. Uploaded securely and reviewed by our admin team.
- Transaction Data: Details about services rendered and payments made via our escrow system.
- Technical Data: IP addresses, browser types, and usage patterns to prevent fraud.
- Communication Data: In-app chat messages. Phone numbers and email addresses are automatically removed from messages before storage for your safety.
- Location Data: GPS coordinates collected at check-in and check-out when a Pro starts and completes an on-site job.
- Verification Data: Email address for email verification and phone number for check-in/out PINs.
THE CORE PRINCIPLE
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Your information is used strictly to facilitate direct client-pro connections and ensure platform security.
How We Use Your Data
We use the collected data to maintain the integrity of the iKnowsome1 ecosystem:
- Facilitating the search and hire of vetted professionals.
- Processing secure payments through our verified gateways (Paystack).
- Identity verification — including document scanning and manual admin review of your ID and selfie.
- Moderating profile photos before they become publicly visible on the platform.
- Masking phone numbers and email addresses in in-app chat to prevent off-platform solicitation.
- Verifying physical job attendance via email-based 6-digit PIN codes at check-in and check-out.
- Enabling two-way reviews — both clients and pros can rate each other after a completed job.
- Communicating updates regarding your projects or account status.
Data Security
iKnowsome1 follows industry-standard security practices to protect your data:
- Password Hashing: All passwords are hashed using bcrypt. Never stored in plain text.
- KYC Image Access Control: Identity documents and selfies are stored on our servers with access restricted to admin personnel only for verification audits.
- Session-Based OTPs: All verification codes and PINs are session-based and expire within 5 minutes.
- Chat Sanitization: Phone numbers and email addresses are automatically removed by our sanitization layer before messages are stored in the database.
- Access Control: Database access is restricted to authorized services only, with no direct public exposure.
- Photo Moderation Queue: Profile photos are not publicly visible until approved by an admin moderator.
Data Retention
We retain your data only as long as necessary to provide our services or comply with legal obligations:
- Account Data: Retained until you delete your account. You can request permanent deletion at any time from your account settings page.
- KYC Data: Identity documents and biometric data are retained for the duration of your account plus 12 months for regulatory compliance purposes.
- Chat Messages: Retained for the duration of the job plus 6 months to allow for dispute resolution.
- Reviews: Retained permanently as part of a user's reputation history on the platform. Reviews cannot be deleted after submission.
- Location Data: GPS coordinates from check-in and check-out are retained for 90 days.