Safety & trust
For the client who opens their door. For the therapist who walks through it. This is what SHAI does to protect both of them, and how each safeguard works. We only claim what we can show.
Our safety principles
Nobody is anonymous
Every therapist is checked by SHAI, and every client is known to SHAI before a visit happens.
Payment comes before the address
A therapist only learns the exact address once the client has paid through SHAI.
No contact before commitment
Clients and therapists cannot message each other until the booking is paid.
Anyone can walk away
A therapist may decline or stop any booking that feels unsafe. There is no penalty for putting safety first.
Help is one tap away
Emergency numbers and an SOS alert to SHAI sit inside every paid booking.
Before the booking
Each therapist uploads their identity document and takes a live selfie in the app, and the SHAI team compares the two before approval. Nobody appears to clients until we've reviewed their full application, and the ID verified tag cannot be switched on by a therapist.
Therapists submit their certificates, and the Qualified tick only appears once SHAI has reviewed them. Pregnancy massage can only be offered by a therapist with an approved prenatal certificate, and that is enforced by the system, not by trust.
Clients confirm their email address and verify their South African mobile number, and agree to the client code of conduct before their first booking. Before accepting, the therapist sees the client's first name, how many treatments they've completed on SHAI, when they joined and whether their mobile is verified.
SHAI treatments are professional wellness treatments only: nothing sexual is offered, asked for or allowed. Clients give their real name, a correct address and honest health information, treat their therapist with respect, and book and pay only through SHAI. Breaking these rules means an account can be suspended or removed, and serious incidents are reported to the police.
Clients can choose the gender of their therapist and read real reviews. Only a client who completed a treatment can leave one, and therapists cannot edit their ratings.
The booking itself
A request is sent with the treatment, time and address, and nothing is charged. The therapist sees only the suburb, the client's first name and track record, and what they'll earn. Once they accept, the client has a set time to pay, and unpaid requests lapse on their own.
The address lives in a private part of the database and is released only to the therapist of a paid booking. That's enforced in the database itself, not only in the app.
Messaging stays closed until the booking is paid, so nobody can be pressured or harassed before a booking is real. Phone numbers and email addresses are removed from chat, and SHAI keeps the original so attempts to move a client off SHAI can be seen.
A therapist can decline any request or withdraw before payment, with a reason, and safety is one of the reasons they can choose. A therapist's surname, date of birth and mobile number are never shown to clients.
During the treatment
Every paid booking has a Safety button for both sides. It holds the emergency numbers, an Alert SHAI now button that sends an SOS to the SHAI safety team with the booking, both people's details, the address and, if the phone allows it, the location, and a Share my booking option that sends the details to someone you trust.
The therapist marks on my way, arrived, treatment started and treatment complete. Every step is time stamped and kept for both sides.
A therapist may end a treatment at any point if they feel unsafe. The client is refunded in full automatically, the therapist is not penalised, and when the reason is safety SHAI follows up personally.
After the treatment
When the treatment should end, the therapist is asked: are you safe? I need help alerts SHAI at once. If they haven't checked in twenty minutes after the planned end, SHAI is alerted and calls them.
The client reviews the therapist. The therapist privately rates the client and answers one question: did you feel safe the whole time? The client never sees this, and a no or a low rating alerts SHAI immediately.
Either side can report a problem on any paid booking, including I felt unsafe. The therapist's payout is held until SHAI has resolved it. Clients are also asked privately whether they were asked to book or pay outside SHAI.
How SHAI responds
SOS alerts, calls for help and missed check ins land on a safety desk inside the SHAI admin console, showing the booking, the address, both phone numbers and the location when it's shared. SHAI calls the person who raised the alert, calls the police on 10111 if they can't be reached or are in danger, and writes down what happened before closing it.
Any client with an unsafe report, or an average therapist rating of three or lower, appears on a flagged list. SHAI reviews each case and can block them from booking, and every block carries a written reason.
Therapists who break the agreement follow a clear ladder: a warning, then a thirty day suspension with lower placement, then removal from SHAI.
Anyone can freeze or delete their own account, but not while a booking, refund, reported problem or payout is still open.
Money and privacy
All payments run through PayFast, a licensed South African payment provider. SHAI never stores card details. If a therapist cancels, the client is refunded in full, and late cancellations follow one published rule.
Addresses, phone numbers and identity documents are only visible to the people who need them, when they need them. Booking and payment records are kept for five years as South African law requires, and personal details are removed from them when an account is deleted.
In an emergency
SHAI is not an emergency service. In danger, always call for help first. Otherwise use the Safety button inside your booking, or Help & support on SHAI.