FAQs
Our guide contains answers to some of the most common questions about Love South Norwood. Use the filter to navigate the page.
General FAQ
What is Love South Norwood exactly?
Love South Norwood is comprised of a suite of web administered tools for community organisations and local businesses as well as mobile applications for Android and iOS.
What does it cost?
Love South Norwood is completely free to visitors and residents. Local businesses sign-up and are given 1 year's free trial. As the trial period comes to an end, business users can decide whether to pay £5 a month to continue to be part of Love South Norwood. The monthly subscription is put towards running costs like hosting and keeping the platform maintained.
Why South Norwood?
Love South Norwood is part of the South London Partnership’s InnOvaTe Programme which was awarded £4 million for a South London multi-purpose ‘Internet of Things’ platform project to help people live better, healthier lives and to generate economic growth. South Norwood is helping to pioneer new technology for local communities.
Who owns the data?
Croydon Council secured the funding for the platform and therefore they are legally listed as the data owners with community organisations like the South Norwood Business Network and WeLoveSE25 having access and oversight.
How do you make money?
Loqiva, the company which supplies the platform is funded by the Innovate Programme. Long term the platform will be funded by a small subscription fee and other optional paid-for services.
Is this software in use anywhere else?
South Norwood was the first full installation of the Loqiva software. We're are currently deploying Loqiva in several locations around the UK, Ireland and the US.
App Users FAQ
Is the Love South Norwood smartphone app free to use?
Yes, Love South Norwood is completely free. All you pay for is your bandwidth.
What kind of data do you collect?
Love South Norwood needs to collect personal data to make recommendations to you. When signing up, you explicitly tell us your name, age range, gender and postcode together with some information about your interests. After this, the app monitors your location. You can opt to turn location monitoring off in the normal way on your phone but this will limit some of the features of Love South Norwood.
How do you protect my privacy?
The data that's displayed on Love South Norwood is aggregated and anonymised. We hash and encrypt data in transit, and all the decisions made intelligently by the platform to serve you content are done so privately and autonomously. We have built our platform with the principal of using data ethically. All data is stored in the UK.
Can I delete my account?
We hope you won't, but of course if you feel the need to delete your account, you can do so on the app at any time. When you delete your account then all the data personally identifiable to you is instantly erased from our system.
Will the smartphone apps be updated?
Yes, we will be regularly updating the smartphone app with fixes and new features. Please download the latest version to enjoy the best experience.
Business FAQ
How can my business benefit from Loqiva?
Simply join Love South Norwood and subscribe as a local business. Love South Norwood is available to businesses located in the areas the platform serves. This is the reason your business address and credit card details are requested on sign-up to help verify you.
Is my business within the area Love South Norwood covers?
Love South Norwood is restricted to businesses located within, or very near to, the area typically defined as South Norwood. Click here to see a graphic of the area South Norwood covers.
Why do you need card details if Love South Norwood is offering a free trial?
Even though Love South Norwood is free for local businesses for 1 year, we still need to check you are a genuine business. Validating a debit or credit card helps us to do this. We will let you know by email when your free trial is nearly over so you can decide whether to continue with Love South Norwood on a paid basis.
How can Love South Norwood help generate more revenue for my business?
Love South Norwood creates a local community of users that your business is able to market to. You are able to list your business, promote offers to particular demographic groups within the community, and set GeoAlerts to encourage footfall to your premises whilst people are local to you. You can also view analytics of your local area.
How much does it cost?
Our goal is to help every participating local business to make a few additional sales each month. We've been asking local businesses what the platform would be worth to them to start with and have concluded that a fee of £5 per month seems fair and reasonable.
Can I try it out for free?
Sure, when you sign up you get 1 year's free trial. If you choose to continue your subscription then we'll bill on the same day your free trial ends every month.
What happens if I stop my subscription or don't pay?
If, for any reason, you stop your subscription or we don't receive payment, then we'll keep your business account available up to 1 year so you can change your mind and/or try making payment again. After this Love South Norwood deletes your account, content and analytics information in line with its data policy.
Can someone come in and talk me through it?
Absolutely. Simply drop us a line on using contact form on this website and a member of our team will contact you.
Still need some help?
Feel free to get in touch with us and we will be happy to discuss any questions with you.