How Ubonile works

• 1

  Tell us what happened

  One question at a time, on your phone, in under three minutes: the kind of incident, a pin on the map, how far around it to ask, the day and time, and what to look for.
• 2

  Confirm it is you

  We send a code to your phone or email. A case number is optional, and you can add it later.
• 3

  A person checks it

  Names and accusations come out. Anything about someone who may still be held, a missing person, a child, or a sexual offence waits for the investigating officer. Domestic violence never becomes public, and we point you to helplines.
• 4

  It goes out

  You get a link, a printable poster with a QR code, and a picture for your status. Nearby camera owners and people who follow the area are asked in private.
• 5

  You watch progress

  You see that it is live and how far it reached. After 24 hours you see whether anything has come in, as a yes or not yet. Once your officer is verified, you see a range.
• 6

  Link your officer, then close

  Add the station, the case number and the officer. We verify them ourselves. A request lives 30 days, and the officer can extend it to 90. You can pause or close it any time.

What you never see. What people sent, or who they are. That is what keeps them willing to help.

• 1

  Register it once

  The kind of camera, roughly where, and how many days it keeps footage. The spot is rounded to a 200 metre grid.
• 2

  Stay off every map

  There is no map of cameras, and nobody can browse a list. Staff see only totals for areas with five or more.
• 3

  Get a private check

  Only when a live request covers your area and your footage is likely still there. You see how many days are left.
• 4

  Look, then choose

  Found something, checked and found nothing, or remind me tomorrow. If you found something, you send it like anyone else, with your own identity choice.

• 1

  Get verified

  Apply, or be named by the person who asked. We find your station in the SAPS directory, phone the station on its published number, and check your police mailbox or the commander's word. You confirm the case and set up a password and an authenticator. A second member of staff approves.
• 2

  Open the case room

  Evidence sits on a timeline around the incident time. A secure viewer puts a visible watermark with the officer and the time on every view, and every view is logged.
• 3

  Ask and canvass

  Ask contributors questions through a blind channel, mark what is useful, and ask for an identity release that the contributor must accept. See how many cameras were asked and how many answered.
• 4

  Take the pack

  Originals, a manifest, and a custody report with hashes and how to check them. Access is per case, lasts 90 days and can be renewed.
• 5

  Propose an alert

  You can propose a verified safety alert for an area. A second person at Ubonile approves it first.
• 6

  Keep your own procedure

  Ubonile works beside SAPS procedure and does not replace it.

• Sealed on arrival

  Each file is checked, encrypted with its own key, and its fingerprint is recorded. The original is kept as it came, and a separate viewing copy is made for the officer.

• Written to a log

  Every action on a case goes into a log in which each entry depends on the one before. We publish a fingerprint of all logs every day on the transparency page.

• Deleted on a schedule

  Without a verified officer, 90 days. With one, until the officer releases it, reviewed yearly. Unfinished uploads go after 24 hours.