Privacy policy

• You don't need an account. We never ask for your name, phone number or email.
• We don't store your IP address and we don't sell or share data for advertising.
• Your exact location (GPS) is used only on your phone, to show what's near you. It is never sent to us. We only note the rough town your internet connection comes from.
• Your browser keeps a random code so we can stop spam and count visits. We store it only in scrambled form.

Hood Guide (hoodguider.com), based in Ghana, is responsible for the information described here, under Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843). To reach us, use our About & contact page.

• A random device code. The first time you use the site, your browser makes up a random code and keeps it on your phone. It contains nothing about you. When you post a review, report a review, send a listing or open a page, the code is sent with it and we store it only scrambled (a "salted hash"). We use it to limit spam (for example, one review per place per month) and to count different visitors.
• Reviews you post: the star rating, your comment, the nickname you choose (optional) and the date. These are shown publicly on the place's page. Don't include personal details in reviews.
• Reports about reviews: the reason you chose and the date, so we can check the review.
• Business listings you send ("List your business"): the business details you type (name, address, business phone and WhatsApp numbers, website, opening hours, prices, map location, description), photos you add, how you're connected to the business and your note. We may call the business number to confirm the listing. Once approved, these details are shown publicly. Photos are resized on your phone and their hidden location data is removed before they are sent.
• Photos you send ("Send a current photo" on a place's page): the photo, your optional note and the date. The photo is kept private until our team checks it; if approved it becomes the place's public photo, otherwise it is deleted. Photos are resized on your phone and their hidden location data is removed before they are sent. We don't ask for your name or number.
• "My listings" (business owners): the phone that sent a listing can later change it, add photos and reply to reviews. We recognise that phone only by its scrambled device code, with no account. We keep a record of each change (what changed and when) so we can fix mistakes or misuse. Replies to reviews are shown publicly under the review.
• Visit counts: which pages are opened (for example a city, a category or a place), the type of device (phone, tablet or computer), the name of the website that sent you (for example google.com, not the full address), the time, and the approximate town, region and country of your internet connection. That location is worked out by our web host from the connection; we keep only the place names, never your IP address or exact position, and on mobile data it is often just the nearest big city. This tells us which areas and places people look for and where our visitors are, so we can add businesses there. If your browser has "Do Not Track" or "Global Privacy Control" switched on, no visits are counted.

• Your location, when you tap "Use my location" or sort by "Nearest": your phone works out the nearest area itself. Your location is not sent to us or stored.
• Small settings in your browser's storage: your chosen city and community, the random device code, and whether you closed the "Add to home screen" card. You can delete them any time by clearing this site's data in your browser settings. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.

These companies process data for us, only to run the site:

• Supabase (database and file storage, servers in Ireland, EU) stores the data described above.
• Vercel (website hosting) delivers the pages. Like any web host, it handles your IP address briefly to send you pages and protect against attacks; we don't receive or keep it.
• Cloudflare Turnstile (the "I'm human" check on forms) looks at signals from your browser to tell people from bots, under Cloudflare's privacy policy.
• OpenStreetMap map pictures load only when you open a map. Your browser then contacts OpenStreetMap's servers directly.
• Google Maps opens only if you tap "Directions" or "Open in Google Maps". You then leave our site and Google's privacy policy applies.

Because these services are outside Ghana, the data above is stored and processed abroad.

• Visit counts: about 13 months, then deleted automatically.
• Reviews and reports: while the review is on the site, or until we remove it.
• Business listings and photos: while the business is listed, or until it is removed.

You can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, and you can object to how we use it. Because we don't know who you are, tell us which review or listing you mean (the place and date help). Business owners can ask us to correct or remove their listing at any time. You can also complain to Ghana's Data Protection Commission.

Hood Guide is meant for adults (it lists bars and nightclubs). It is not directed at children under 18, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.

The data is protected by access rules in the database, encrypted connections (https) and limits that block spam. Only our administrators can see listings waiting for approval, reports and visit counts.

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Related: Terms of use and Reviews policy.