Helperbit offers different geoverification steps: according to the completed level, when a natural disaster occurs, users can receive direct donations. This does not compromise the user’s privacy, which, on the contrary, is safeguarded through appropriate procedures.
Why geolocalize
Helperbit is not only a fundraising platform. In case of a natural disaster, indeed, it allows some additional operations, available if the users have previously registered their geographical position and the platform has verified their correctness before a calamity happens.
- If the residency address of a user has been voluntarily geolocated, Helperbit associates its bitcoin wallet with those coordinates. Each new earthquake that is recorded by the platform is automatically analyzed by Helperbit, allowing donors to check if there are individuals or entities that fall within the area of influence of the event and make a direct donation to the selected beneficiaries.
- Users, whose address is geoverified, receive information on the level of risk in their area, in relation to the different types of natural disasters.
- In case of calamity the platform asks to users, that live in the are and whose address is geoverified, if they are willing to host for a short period people left homeless. This service is still under development.
- When an event occurs and there are users in the involved area, the platform asks them if they need hospitality or they can offer it.
Which methods we use
Helperbit offers many levels of geoverification, which allow to access to different services.
Level 1: The user can self-certify his residency position. This allows him to obtain only information about the risks related to his area.
Level 2: The user can also enable the GPS function of his mobile/browser. Soon this will allow him to be contacted in case of an event nearby to offer or request hospitality.
Level 3: Send a document to certify the domicile. This paper should report the same name of the account’s owner. The accepted documents are:
- Bill of a domestic utility (electricity / gas / water / telephone line bill)
- Certificate of residence issued by the General Register Office
Level 4: The user can request the sending of a OTC (One Time Code), which is sent to the user’s home address and which allows full access to all the geographic services of the platform, such as the possibility of receiving direct donations if affected by a natural disaster.
How we manage and use user data
User privacy is a very important value for us. Each user, through his own configuration page, can modify the settings related to the public display of his data. With reference to the geographic coordinates that determine the location of the geoverified address, Helperbit automatically performs an obfuscation of the accuracy and defines the user’s position in a more generic way (within a square of 10km of side). This is a sufficiently large dimension to evaluate the intersection with a calamity but too coarse to know exactly the position, protection users’ privacy.
