HOMEWARD COMMUNITY APP
Terms of Use
Public website terms for accounts, community participation, business publishing, subscriptions and platform use
| Document status |
Draft for South African attorney review ā not final legal advice |
| Version |
2.0 ā Updated legal-review draft |
| Updated |
27 September 2026 |
| Intended website route |
/terms |
IMPORTANT BEFORE PUBLICATION: Complete all [PLACEHOLDER] fields, confirm the actual live application behaviour and cookie inventory, and obtain review/approval from a South African attorney. This draft must not be represented as legal advice.
1. About these Terms
These Terms govern access to and use of the Homeward Community App, including the public website, registered accounts, business profiles, Community Feed, Villagers Chat, posts, adverts, media, notifications, paid package features and related services made available by Homeward.
By creating an account, buying or using a package, submitting content, using Villagers Chat, or otherwise using the platform, you agree to these Terms together with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Community Rules, any package or checkout terms shown to you, and any additional rules that apply to a specific feature.
2. Operator and supplier details
- Legal entity / responsible supplier: [HOMEWARD LEGAL ENTITY NAME]
- Registration number: [REGISTRATION NUMBER]
- VAT number / VAT status: [VAT NUMBER OR STATUS]
- Physical/legal address: [PHYSICAL ADDRESS]
- Primary contact email: [INFO / SUPPORT EMAIL]
- Legal notices email: [LEGAL EMAIL]
- Billing contact: [BILLING EMAIL]
- Website: https://harmonyvillage.co.za/
These supplier particulars must be completed and checked against the disclosures required for the actual electronic transaction and subscription flow before publication.
3. Eligibility, accounts and authority
- You must provide accurate and current information and keep your credentials secure.
- You are responsible for activity performed through your account, subject to applicable law.
- Paid packages, business advertising and business administration should only be used by persons aged 18 or older, or persons with lawful authority to act for the relevant business.
- If you act for a business, you confirm that you have authority to create or manage its profile, submit content and enter into applicable package arrangements.
- Homeward may verify identity, business authority, payment status or other information where reasonably necessary for safety, fraud prevention, moderation or compliance.
4. Platform purpose and community model
Homeward is a curated local community and business platform. Public browsing, approved community content, business information, paid business publishing features and community communication tools may be provided. Homeward is not an uncontrolled public social network and reserves editorial and moderation control over public-facing content.
5. User content and licence
You retain ownership of content you lawfully own. By submitting content, you grant Homeward a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, format, resize, display, distribute, archive and promote that content as reasonably necessary to operate, secure and promote the Homeward service and the relevant public/business profile.
You remain responsible for the legality, accuracy, permissions and rights in your text, images, logos, links, business claims and other submissions. You must not submit material that infringes copyright, privacy, confidentiality, personality, trademark or other rights.
6. Community Feed, adverts and moderation
- Content must comply with the Community Rules.
- Homeward may review, edit formatting or obvious errors, request changes, decline, hide, remove, suspend, expire or restore content.
- Paid access or package eligibility does not guarantee approval, publication, reach, ranking, enquiries, sales or any specific commercial result.
- Where the platform uses approval workflows, publication remains subject to the applicable moderation, account, package, visibility and expiry controls.
- Serious safety, fraud, privacy, child-safety or unlawful-content concerns may be preserved in restricted audit/evidence records rather than immediately destroyed.
7. Villagers Chat and communications
Villagers Chat is a communication feature and is subject to these Terms, the Privacy Policy and Community Rules. Users must not use chat to harass, threaten, defraud, impersonate, distribute unlawful material, expose private information, send abusive or sexually explicit content, or circumvent platform safety controls.
Homeward may provide safety controls such as bad-word filtering, image restrictions, reporting, blocking/restriction, read/unread indicators, thread deletion controls and admin review or audit capabilities. The exact live controls must be confirmed before publication. Deleting a thread from a user interface does not necessarily mean that every related record is immediately erased where lawful retention, abuse prevention, security, audit, backup or dispute requirements apply.
8. Paid packages, payments and billing
Paid features depend on the package and billing terms shown at checkout and on valid server-side payment/subscription records. Homeward may use PayFast or another approved payment service provider. Full card details should be handled by the payment provider rather than stored by Homeward unless a separate compliant arrangement is implemented.
- Package names, prices, billing periods, limits and features may differ and must be shown before purchase.
- Activation occurs according to the actual verified payment workflow; a browser return page alone must not be treated as proof of payment.
- Failed, reversed, refunded, disputed, expired or cancelled payments may affect paid features.
- Users must have a reasonable opportunity to review and correct transaction information before completing an electronic transaction where required by law.
- Cancellation and refund rights are governed by the checkout terms, applicable law and any published cancellation/refund policy.
8.1 Fixed-term and recurring arrangements
Where the Consumer Protection Act applies to a fixed-term consumer agreement, cancellation, expiry, renewal notices, reasonable cancellation charges and month-to-month continuation must be handled in accordance with applicable law. The final package design must be legally reviewed to determine which rules apply to each customer type and billing model.
9. Prohibited use
- Illegal, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, hateful, discriminatory, sexually explicit, exploitative or dangerous activity.
- Malware, phishing, credential theft, scraping that violates platform rights, attempts to bypass security, or interference with platform operation.
- Spam, fake accounts, impersonation, misleading adverts, fake reviews/testimonials, false urgency or unsupported claims.
- Publishing another person's private or sensitive information without lawful authority.
- Using the platform to sell, promote or facilitate categories prohibited by the Community Rules.
- Attempting to bypass package, moderation, role, upload, rate-limit or other safety controls.
10. Reports, enforcement and appeals
Users may report content or conduct that appears unsafe, unlawful, infringing, private, abusive, fraudulent or contrary to the Community Rules. Homeward may investigate, restrict content or accounts while reviewing a report, preserve relevant evidence, request information, issue warnings or suspensions, and take other proportionate action.
Where an appeal or review mechanism is offered, the user must provide the relevant reference and reasons. Homeward may uphold, reverse or modify a decision, subject always to rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
11. Third-party services and links
The platform may link to or integrate with PayFast, WhatsApp, email providers, hosting services, social platforms, analytics/security providers or business websites. Those third parties operate under their own terms and privacy practices. Homeward is not responsible for third-party services to the extent permitted by law.
12. Availability, changes and discontinuation
Homeward may maintain, change, suspend or discontinue features, packages or content where reasonably necessary for security, legal compliance, product development, payment issues or operational reasons. Material changes to contractual or privacy terms should be communicated appropriately.
13. Disclaimers and liability
To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, Homeward does not guarantee uninterrupted availability, specific business results, the accuracy of third-party claims or the conduct of other users. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability, remedies or consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
14. Intellectual property
Homeward's platform software, branding, layout, graphics and platform-created materials are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws. User-submitted content remains subject to the ownership and licence provisions above.
15. Privacy and electronic communications
Personal information is processed as described in the Privacy Policy. Marketing communications must be handled separately from necessary transactional or service messages and in accordance with applicable POPIA and ECTA requirements.
16. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Before formal proceedings, users should contact [LEGAL / SUPPORT EMAIL] so that the parties can attempt to resolve the issue, without limiting any statutory complaint or court rights.
17. Changes to these Terms
Homeward may update these Terms when the service, law or business model changes. The current version and effective date should be displayed on this page. Material changes should be notified in a manner appropriate to their significance.
Official legal and regulatory sources reviewed for this 2026 update
- Information Regulator South Africa ā POPIA / PAIA resources and guidance
- Information Regulator eServices ā PAIA manuals, reporting, complaints and security compromises
- Information Regulator ā Guidance Note on Direct Marketing under POPIA (3 December 2024)
- Information Regulator ā Fact Sheet: Handling of Security Compromises (19 August 2025)
- South African Government ā Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- South African Government ā Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
HOMEWARD COMMUNITY APP
Privacy Policy
POPIA-focused public privacy notice for Homeward accounts, businesses, content, chat, payments, moderation and security
| Document status |
Draft for South African attorney review ā not final legal advice |
| Version |
2.0 ā Updated legal-review draft |
| Updated |
27 September 2026 |
| Intended website route |
/privacy |
IMPORTANT BEFORE PUBLICATION: Complete all [PLACEHOLDER] fields, confirm the actual live application behaviour and cookie inventory, and obtain review/approval from a South African attorney. This draft must not be represented as legal advice.
1. Who is responsible for your personal information
Responsible party: [HOMEWARD LEGAL ENTITY NAME], registration number [REGISTRATION NUMBER], physical address [PHYSICAL ADDRESS].
- Information Officer: [NAME]
- Information Officer / privacy email: [EMAIL]
- PAIA contact: [EMAIL]
- General support: [EMAIL]
Technical, hosting, support, email, payment, backup or other service providers may act as operators or independent responsible parties depending on their role. Those relationships must be confirmed and documented.
2. Scope
This Policy applies to the Homeward Community App and related public pages, accounts, business profiles, Community Feed, Villagers Chat, posts, adverts, media, subscriptions/payments, moderation, notifications, support, security and administrative operations.
3. Personal information we may process
- Account and identity information: name, username, email address, telephone number and authentication/account data.
- Business information: company/business details, business profile, contact details, linked users, logos and public-facing information.
- Content: posts, adverts, profile text, uploaded media, reactions, shares and other submissions.
- Villagers Chat: conversation identifiers, participants, messages, timestamps, read/unread state, reports and safety/moderation metadata, subject to the actual live implementation.
- Package and payment information: package/subscription status, payment references, amounts, dates, PayFast/provider callback records, invoices/refunds where applicable. Homeward should not store full card details unless deliberately implemented under a compliant arrangement.
- Moderation and safety information: reports, admin notes, policy flags, appeals, enforcement actions, content snapshots and audit history.
- Technical information: IP address, browser/device information, session/security logs, timestamps, cookies and similar identifiers.
- Support and communications: support requests, transactional notifications and marketing preferences/consent records.
4. Why we process personal information
- Create, authenticate and manage accounts and business relationships.
- Provide public and member features, including Community Feed and Villagers Chat.
- Manage packages, subscriptions, payments, renewals, refunds and billing support.
- Review and moderate content; investigate reports; prevent fraud, spam, abuse and unsafe conduct.
- Send account, payment, moderation, security and support communications.
- Maintain audit logs, security controls, backups and service reliability.
- Comply with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, consumer-protection, access-to-information and dispute obligations.
- Send direct marketing only where lawfully permitted and subject to applicable consent/objection requirements.
5. POPIA justification
Depending on the activity, Homeward may process information with consent, to perform or conclude an agreement, to comply with legal obligations, to protect legitimate interests of Homeward or another person, or under another justification permitted by POPIA. Consent is not treated as the only possible basis for every processing activity.
6. Public information
Approved public posts, adverts, business profiles, logos, images and contact information may be visible to the public. Users must not upload personal information they are not authorised to publish. Chat content is not intended to be public merely because public feed content is public.
7. Direct marketing
Direct marketing must be managed in accordance with POPIA, including section 69 for unsolicited electronic communications, and the Information Regulator's Direct Marketing Guidance Note dated 3 December 2024. Consent and objection/opt-out records should be maintained where required. Marketing consent must not be bundled into unrelated acceptance where separate consent is required.
Transactional communications necessary for accounts, security, payments, subscriptions, moderation or support are distinct from promotional marketing. Users may object to or opt out of marketing using the method provided in the message or by contacting [MARKETING / PRIVACY EMAIL].
8. Cookies and similar technologies
Homeward uses cookies or similar technologies as described in the Cookie Policy. Essential session, security and form-protection technologies may be necessary to provide the service. Any analytics, advertising or social tracking must be accurately inventoried and handled according to the applicable consent and transparency requirements.
9. Sharing and operators
- Authorised Homeward administrators, moderators and support personnel according to role.
- Hosting, infrastructure, backup, email/notification, security and technical support providers.
- PayFast or other payment providers used for payment processing.
- Professional advisers, auditors, insurers, regulators, courts or law-enforcement bodies where lawful and necessary.
- Other providers specifically disclosed when introduced, such as analytics or messaging services.
Written operator arrangements and appropriate safeguards should be maintained where POPIA requires them.
10. Cross-border processing
Some providers may process or store information outside South Africa. Cross-border transfers must comply with POPIA, including the applicable requirements for adequate protection, agreements, consent or other permitted transfer grounds.
11. Security
Homeward should maintain reasonable technical and organisational measures appropriate to the risks, including HTTPS, access controls, least privilege, secure password handling, role-based admin permissions, audit logs, secure uploads, backups, patching and incident response.
11.1 Security compromises
If there are reasonable grounds to believe personal information has been accessed or acquired by an unauthorised person, Homeward must follow POPIA and the Information Regulator's current security-compromise process. The Regulator's 2025 fact sheet states that POPIA does not provide a low-risk reporting threshold and that security compromises must be reported by the responsible party, with affected data subjects notified as required. Incident records should preserve the facts needed for notification and investigation.
12. Retention and deletion
Personal information should be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or as permitted/required by law. Retention may differ for active accounts, public content, chat/safety records, payments, tax/accounting records, moderation evidence, security logs, support records and backups.
Deletion of a user-facing item does not necessarily require immediate deletion of every associated record where Homeward has a lawful retention requirement or legitimate need for security, fraud prevention, dispute handling, audit or backup integrity. Retention periods must be finalised and documented.
13. Children
Homeward is intended to remain suitable for a general community audience but should not deliberately target children for paid business features. Personal information about children requires special care under POPIA. Child-identifying photos, names, schools, routines, contact details or other information should not be submitted or published without lawful authority and appropriate safety review.
14. Your rights
- Ask whether Homeward holds personal information about you and request access as permitted by law.
- Request correction or deletion of inaccurate, excessive, irrelevant, outdated or unlawfully obtained/retained information where applicable.
- Object to certain processing and withdraw consent where processing depends on consent.
- Object to or opt out of direct marketing.
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator South Africa.
- Exercise access-to-records rights under PAIA through the applicable process.
15. PAIA and Information Officer
Homeward must complete and make available the PAIA manual required for the relevant private body and ensure that its Information Officer registration and procedures are current. The Information Regulator's eServices guidance states that organisations must develop a PAIA manual and make it available through their websites and at their offices; language and other formal requirements must be confirmed for Homeward.
16. Contact and complaints
Privacy requests: [PRIVACY EMAIL]. PAIA requests: [PAIA EMAIL]. Security concerns: [SECURITY EMAIL]. You may also lodge a complaint through the Information Regulator's official channels.
17. Changes
This Policy should be reviewed whenever Homeward introduces material new processing, analytics, advertising technology, chat/media capabilities, payment providers or other significant platform changes. The effective date and current version must be shown publicly.
Official legal and regulatory sources reviewed for this 2026 update
- Information Regulator South Africa ā POPIA / PAIA resources and guidance
- Information Regulator eServices ā PAIA manuals, reporting, complaints and security compromises
- Information Regulator ā Guidance Note on Direct Marketing under POPIA (3 December 2024)
- Information Regulator ā Fact Sheet: Handling of Security Compromises (19 August 2025)
- South African Government ā Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- South African Government ā Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
HOMEWARD COMMUNITY APP
Cookie Policy
Public cookie and similar-technologies notice for the Homeward Community App
| Document status |
Draft for South African attorney review ā not final legal advice |
| Version |
2.0 ā Updated legal-review draft |
| Updated |
27 September 2026 |
| Intended website route |
/cookies |
IMPORTANT BEFORE PUBLICATION: Complete all [PLACEHOLDER] fields, confirm the actual live application behaviour and cookie inventory, and obtain review/approval from a South African attorney. This draft must not be represented as legal advice.
1. Purpose
This Cookie Policy explains how Homeward Community App uses cookies and similar technologies on https://harmonyvillage.co.za/ and related web/PWA functionality. It must be reconciled against a live technical cookie/script inventory before publication.
2. What cookies are
Cookies are small data files stored or read by a browser. Similar technologies may include local storage, session storage, pixels, SDK identifiers or other browser/device identifiers. They can be used to maintain sessions, protect forms, remember preferences, understand usage or support advertising/measurement.
3. Categories
3.1 Strictly necessary / essential
These technologies are required to operate core functionality such as authentication, session management, security, CSRF/form protection, load balancing, package checkout and fraud prevention. Disabling them may prevent the application from working.
3.2 Preferences
Preference technologies may remember choices such as interface state, dismissed notices, language or other non-essential settings. The actual live list must be confirmed.
3.3 Analytics
Analytics technologies may measure usage, performance, errors or content popularity. They must not be described as active unless they are actually deployed. If non-essential analytics are enabled, Homeward must implement the appropriate transparency and consent/choice mechanism.
3.4 Advertising and social tracking
Advertising pixels, retargeting tags or cross-site social tracking must not be listed as active unless actually deployed. If tools such as Meta Pixel, Google Ads or similar technologies are introduced, this Policy and the consent mechanism must be updated before or at deployment.
4. Current live cookie inventory ā REQUIRED BEFORE PUBLICATION
| Name |
Provider |
Purpose |
Category |
Duration |
Active? |
| [CONFIRM] |
Homeward |
Laravel/application session |
Essential |
[CONFIRM] |
[CONFIRM] |
| [CONFIRM] |
Homeward |
CSRF/form protection |
Essential |
[CONFIRM] |
[CONFIRM] |
| [ADD ALL LIVE COOKIES / LOCAL STORAGE / THIRD-PARTY TAGS] |
|
|
|
|
|
Do not publish a guessed cookie list. The production browser/application must be inspected and this table replaced with the real cookie, local-storage and third-party script inventory.
5. Consent and choices
Homeward may set technologies that are strictly necessary to provide the service without treating them as optional marketing preferences. Non-essential analytics, advertising or similar tracking should be held back until the required user choice/consent mechanism is satisfied. The exact legal basis and implementation must be confirmed during legal and technical review.
Users can also control cookies through browser settings. Blocking essential cookies can prevent login, account, checkout, chat or other application functionality from working correctly.
6. Personal information and POPIA
Where cookie or similar-technology data identifies or can reasonably be linked to a person, it may constitute personal information and must be processed consistently with POPIA and the Privacy Policy, including transparency, purpose limitation, security, retention and data-subject rights.
7. Third-party technologies
Third-party providers may set or receive identifiers only where the relevant service is actually integrated. Their own privacy/cookie terms may also apply. Homeward must maintain an accurate provider list and should not activate new non-essential tags without updating its inventory and user choices.
8. Retention
Cookie and identifier lifetimes must match the live technical configuration and should not be longer than reasonably necessary for their purpose. Session technologies should expire according to the application/security design; persistent technologies must have a defined duration.
9. Changes
This Policy must be reviewed whenever analytics, advertising, social, security, authentication, payment or PWA technologies change. The live cookie inventory is part of this Policy and must remain accurate.
10. Contact
Questions about cookies or privacy may be sent to [PRIVACY EMAIL].
Official legal and regulatory sources reviewed for this 2026 update
- Information Regulator South Africa ā POPIA / PAIA resources and guidance
- Information Regulator eServices ā PAIA manuals, reporting, complaints and security compromises
- Information Regulator ā Guidance Note on Direct Marketing under POPIA (3 December 2024)
- Information Regulator ā Fact Sheet: Handling of Security Compromises (19 August 2025)
- South African Government ā Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- South African Government ā Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
HOMEWARD COMMUNITY APP
Community Rules
Clean, family-friendly, all-ages rules for Community Feed, business content, Villagers Chat and other Homeward participation
| Document status |
Draft for South African attorney review ā not final legal advice |
| Version |
2.0 ā Updated legal-review draft |
| Updated |
27 September 2026 |
| Intended website route |
/community-rules |
IMPORTANT BEFORE PUBLICATION: Complete all [PLACEHOLDER] fields, confirm the actual live application behaviour and cookie inventory, and obtain review/approval from a South African attorney. This draft must not be represented as legal advice.
1. Our standard
Homeward is a clean, family-friendly, all-ages local community and business platform. Content and conduct must be lawful, respectful, truthful, safe for a general community audience and appropriate for families, businesses, schools, churches and community members.
These Rules apply to posts, adverts, business profiles, images, links, Community Feed interactions, Villagers Chat, reports and other user or business submissions.
2. Allowed content
- Truthful local business adverts, offers and service information.
- Respectful community announcements and useful local information.
- Family-safe community, church/ministry and organisation updates.
- Business profiles and images that the uploader is authorised to publish.
- Neutral public-safety or municipal information that is factual and not party-political campaigning.
- Other lawful, respectful content approved under Homeward's moderation rules.
3. Content and conduct we do not allow
Swearing and vulgar content
Public-facing content must remain clean. Repeated or severe abusive language may lead to restrictions.
Hate and discrimination
No attacks, degrading treatment or exclusion targeting protected or personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, disability, nationality or similar grounds.
Harassment, bullying and threats
No intimidation, stalking, humiliation, threats, targeted abuse or encouragement of harm.
Adult or sexual content
No pornography, nudity intended to be sexual, sexual solicitation or explicit sexual material.
Violence and shocking content
No graphic violence, glorification of serious violence, credible threats or shocking material unsuitable for an all-ages community.
Child-safety risks
No exploitation, grooming, sexualisation, dangerous exposure, private contact details, location routines or other content that places a child at risk.
Political campaigning and fights
Homeward is not a party-political debate platform. Party campaigning, political fighting and inflammatory political content may be declined. Neutral civic/service information may be reviewed separately.
Fraud, scams and impersonation
No fake businesses, phishing, fraudulent offers, impersonation, fake endorsements or deceptive identities.
Misleading advertising
No false prices, fake discounts, fake scarcity, fake testimonials, unsupported guarantees or deceptive commercial claims.
Private information / doxing
Do not publish another person's private address, identity number, banking/payment details, confidential messages, medical information or other private data without lawful authority.
Weapons, illegal drugs and dangerous goods
Homeward may prohibit or restrict weapon sales, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and other dangerous or unlawful goods/services.
Alcohol, tobacco, vaping and gambling
These categories remain blocked/restricted under the current clean all-ages policy unless Homeward adopts a lawyer-approved exception in future.
Extremism and terrorism
No praise, propaganda, recruitment, facilitation or support for terrorist or extremist activity.
Dangerous acts or instructions
No content encouraging dangerous challenges, serious self-endangerment, unlawful harmful conduct or instructions intended to cause harm.
Spam and platform abuse
No repetitive spam, mass unsolicited promotion, bot abuse, manipulation, malicious links or attempts to bypass limits and safety controls.
Copyright and other rights
Only upload content you own or are authorised to use. Do not infringe copyright, trademark, privacy, confidentiality or personality rights.
Deceptive AI / deepfakes
No misleading synthetic media, fake endorsements or impersonation intended to deceive users.
4. Health, financial, legal and other high-risk claims
Medical miracle claims, guaranteed financial returns, credit/investment claims, serious legal accusations, public allegations against identifiable people/businesses, fundraising and other high-risk claims may be declined or held for manual review. Homeward may require evidence or refuse publication where a claim creates unreasonable legal, safety or trust risk.
5. Business advertising
- Advertisers must be authorised to advertise the relevant business, goods or services.
- Prices, discounts, availability, qualifications and material conditions must be accurate.
- Paid access allows eligible use of package features; it does not buy immunity from moderation or guarantee publication.
- Homeward may request evidence supporting claims or business authority.
- Content that breaches these Rules may be declined, removed or restricted even if a package has been paid for.
6. Images and media
- Images must be clean, lawful, relevant and suitable for a general audience.
- The uploader must own the media or have permission to use it.
- Do not upload private documents, bank cards, identity documents, confidential correspondence or medical records for public display.
- Child-identifying images require special caution, lawful authority and appropriate safety review.
- File types, sizes and other upload controls may be limited for security and moderation.
7. Villagers Chat
- Be respectful. Do not use chat for harassment, threats, sexual content, hate, fraud, spam or intimidation.
- Do not send or request private, financial, identity or child-related information unless genuinely necessary and lawful.
- Do not use chat to evade restrictions that apply to public posts or adverts.
- Images may be blocked in chat under the current safety design.
- Homeward may use bad-word filtering and other safety controls and may allow users to report abusive conversations.
- Read/unread and deletion controls are user-interface features and do not override lawful security, audit, abuse-prevention or retention requirements.
- Serious threats, fraud, child-safety risks or unlawful content may be escalated and relevant evidence may be preserved under restricted access.
8. Reporting content or conduct
Use the available Report function or contact [CONTENT REPORT / SUPPORT EMAIL] if content or conduct appears unsafe, hateful, explicit, fraudulent, private, infringing, threatening or otherwise contrary to these Rules.
High-risk reports involving child safety, credible threats, private information, fraud, hate or unlawful content should be prioritised. False or abusive reporting may itself lead to restrictions.
9. Moderation and enforcement
- Homeward may warn or ask for changes for minor issues.
- Repeated issues may result in a warning or temporary posting/chat restriction.
- Serious prohibited content may be removed or declined and the account may be suspended pending review.
- Fraud, threats, child-safety concerns or other high-risk matters may result in immediate restriction, evidence preservation and escalation.
- Where appropriate, Homeward may quarantine content so it is hidden from public/user access while a serious matter is investigated.
Automated filters or scans may assist moderation but should not be the sole basis for serious account sanctions where human review is reasonably required. If an automated safety check fails, content that depends on that check should remain restricted/pending rather than being made public merely because the scan failed.
10. Appeals / review requests
Where Homeward provides a review or appeal process, include the relevant post, advert, chat/report or moderation reference and explain why you believe the decision should be reconsidered. Homeward may uphold, change or reverse a decision, subject to applicable law.
11. Privacy and evidence
Reports, moderation actions, safety scans, account restrictions and appeals may require processing of account details, content, chat/report metadata, IP/device information and audit records. This processing is explained in the Privacy Policy. Serious evidence must be protected with restricted access and retained only as lawfully justified.
12. Changes to these Rules
Homeward may update these Rules as the platform adds features or as safety, legal or community requirements change. Material changes should be communicated appropriately and the current version/effective date must be displayed.
Official legal and regulatory sources reviewed for this 2026 update
- Information Regulator South Africa ā POPIA / PAIA resources and guidance
- Information Regulator eServices ā PAIA manuals, reporting, complaints and security compromises
- Information Regulator ā Guidance Note on Direct Marketing under POPIA (3 December 2024)
- Information Regulator ā Fact Sheet: Handling of Security Compromises (19 August 2025)
- South African Government ā Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002
- South African Government ā Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
