Request for better Review & Transparency of Sitters profile

THS News & Feedback
1

Hi THS,

I have a request:

I understand how the review process works: once a sitter submits their review, the owner can respond to clarify or refute anything. However, there is a deeper issue that concerns me.

Some owners feel pressured to leave “nice” reviews even when the experience was not positive, because sitters have our full name and home address while we do not have theirs. When we ask for a driver’s license or full name, some sitters become defensive and simply say, “THS already did a background check.”

In our case, we had a sitter involved in activities we were uncomfortable with, and we only discovered this through her social media—far too late to make a different decision. We eventually learned her family name through conversation and looked her up. Had we known this information beforehand, we would not have selected her.

My proposal is simple: THS should provide full transparency of the sitter’s name. Sitters have our full name and address; owners should have the same level of information. This would create a more balanced, safer, and more transparent experience for everyone.

This is done at AirBnb’s and Turo’s where they will assist in providing the full information of both parties.

Secondly, when it comes to reviews, owners should be able to see a sitter’s reciprocal reviews directly on that sitter’s page.

Right now, only the sitter’s review of the owner is visible. In my case, I wrote a fair and accurate review of the sitter for the reasons I explained. She then posted a distorted review of me as an owner. I submitted a rebuttal and laid out the full truth, including concerns about my dog’s well‑being.

However, potential sitters will never see my side of the story because my rebuttal is not displayed on her sitter profile. Important context — including the concerns I raised — appears only in my review of her, not in hers.

This creates an imbalance in transparency, and it’s exactly why reciprocal reviews should be visible on both sides.

2

I’m a sitter and I agree owners should get our full names, but probably the reason why you don’t get our address is because a lot of sitters are doing it full time, so they don’t have a conventional address, like with us for example, we don’t see our home as our home anymore, it’s a vacation let for others to enjoy, but some don’t even have that anymore, because they love the lifestyle they now have, surrounding themselves with pets.

That part is already 100% transparent on both sides. All you need to do is click on the review that was left for the sitter and you can read their review of each owner. Sitters can look at the reviews left by owners on previous sits too that way.

3

@Dkcolson11, welcome to the THS Forum.

Curious what you do with information on the home address of the pet parent. You mention social media - would you somehow seek to personally review the social media feeds of prospective housesitters prior to sit confirmation? We’d guess that only a small subset of pet parents would seek to complete video call diligence beyond video call and reviews.

If a prospective pet parent asked us for government issued identification - passport, drivers license, etc - then we’d ask why. If we had use of pet parent vehicle then their having a temporary copy of our drivers license seems fair game. But if there was no credible direct cause then we’d simply withdraw our application.

We agree with @HappyDeb advice re second Q - proposed function is already possible.

On a pragmatic basis. if you’re atypically risk adverse then perhaps state in your listing that applicants must have completed a minimum number of housesits with 5* rating. If that’s not enough then consider hiring a paid professional.

4

Sitters aren’t told the hosts full name by THS only the first name of the host appears on a listing -

I personally share my full name and my mobile number in my application. I would not have a problem with THS sharing the full name of both host and sitters .

It’s likely the U.K. GDPR legislation around data sharing that makes THS reluctant to share this information .

5

Yup. If THS shares the sitter’s full verified name, they should share the host’s as well. They do neither now, and the hosts don’t even have verified identities.

Personally, as a sitter, I’ve always shared my full name when applying, because I include my LinkedIn profile as well. And as soon as we’re coordinating a video chat, prospective hosts get my email address and phone number, which also is good for WhatsApp and Signal. I expect mutual transparency from prospective hosts.

6

I agree that the person’s full name that is displayed on their license or passport be given to hosts and I am a sitter. Some people use their nickname so the name on passport should be giving to you. If a sitter refuses to give their last name, I would cancel them. This is a person in your home while you are gone. I always give the host my last name when they ask. I live in a well known retirement community and when I say the name they know exactly where I am since I only sit in my state and the one next to it for now. I can’t imagine allowing someone to stay in my house without knowing who they are.

7

It’s not just the UK, GDPR is throughout the EU. If THS disclosed full addresses to the hosts they’d be breaking the law, it’s as simple as that.

Doesn’t matter if the sitter and host are both in the US, totally irrelevant where the law is concerned. The data is held in the UK and it’s UK law that applies.

8

I think THS should offer background checks as an optional service for HOs and sitters. You’d obviously have to pay an additional fee for the service. Cost would depend on the depth of the background check. More money, but for some people, it’d be worth the peace of mind.

Yes, you get one if you joined in the US, but really, how in-depth is it?

As an optional service, it would benefit who ever wants it and it’d be a little extra money for THS, which I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.

9

THS cannot offer background checks because of UK GDPR (General Date Protection Regulation) law.

To get waivers from individuals to hold the data would be onerous, expensive and subject to stringent protection, auditing and the risk wouldn’t be acceptable.

10

So THS wouldn’t be able to obtain the data and only provide relevant info to the HO/sitter? If not, how do employers check out potential employees?

11

If an individual grants specific consent, a company can do a background check on users, prospective employees, employees, etc.

Likewise, if an individual gives specific consent, a company could share their info.

12

I would not do anything about the address per se. However, I do feel, just like Facebook, when people post opinions or reviews, as long as they know that their information is not fully available, then they have no reason to think twice of what is written. They can say anything they want and how they want so they can hold that “power” over you for they know “where you live” mentality. I hold back. Especially when during the sit I have “words” with the sitter and, in this case, got offended and basically lied on my review. I was blind sided for I did not know by me telling her she is not following the instructions to care for my dog, she found offensive. Anyway, I would not retaliate, but I feel if they felt like I do, “you know where I live or you know all about me” they would also be careful of what they post on your review.

13

Got it! Thanks!

14

That is the feeling I am getting now. I try to vet as much as possible during the interview process, but I am finding I am getting half truths. The real person comes out during the sit unfortunately.

15

I was not aware of being able to click on the review to see both sides until I did some “digging”. I was wondering if this can be placed on their profile the reviews they left for the owners. This will get another side of their personality and how they treat and express about the owners. Does everyone know about this? This is why I would like all the reviews given and received to be on the profile. Maybe have two tabs: Review received and Reviews given.

16

Why can’t trusted house sitters share sitters’ personal details with hosts?

TrustedHousesitters cannot automatically share a member’s private contact or personal details (such as full names, exact addresses, phone numbers, or ID documents) with hosts because doing so without direct permission violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Under the law, TrustedHousesitters acts as a “data controller,” meaning they are legally responsible for safeguarding the information you give them. Proactively passing that data to another user infringes on several core pillars of the GDPR legislation:

  1. Lack of a Lawful Basis for Processing (Article 6)To share personal data legally, a company must have a valid legal reason. TrustedHousesitters cannot claim “performance of a contract” as a reason to pass over private details because their platform provides a secure messaging inbox. Since users can successfully communicate, vet each other, and coordinate sits entirely inside the app without exchanging off-platform details, automatically exposing private data is deemed legally unnecessary.

  2. Violation of Data Minimisation (Article 5)The data minimisation principle states that companies must only process and share the absolute minimum amount of data required to complete a task.Revealing a user’s phone number or email before a match is made violates this principle. TrustedHousesitters satisfies the co re service by showing only first names, reviews, and general locations.

  3. Purpose Limitation. When users sign up and submit their phone numbers or verification documents, they provide them exclusively to TrustedHousesitters for account creation and security vetting. Using that data for a completely different purpose—such as giving it to a third-party host—without separate, explicit authorization breaks the rule that data can only be used for its originally stated purpose.

  4. Data Security and Proliferation Risks (Article 32)Once a company transmits personal data to an individual host, it entirely loses control over that data. If a host’s personal phone is hacked, or if they carelessly store a sitter’s details, the citizen’s data is compromised. TrustedHousesitters minimizes this risk by keeping data encrypted and contained within their own secure environment.

17

I also asked Gemini AI this: Could THS share sitters personal data with hosts if the sitters gave permission?

Yes, THS could legally share a sitter’s personal data with hosts if the sitter gave explicit permission, but the platform chooses not to automate this for safety and business reasons. Under GDPR Article 7, consent is a fully valid lawful basis for processing and sharing data. However, implementing an automated feature to share personal info based on consent creates significant legal, technical, and operational hurdles for the platform.

Why Platforms Avoid “Consent-Based” Automated Sharing

Strict Rules for Valid Consent: For consent to be legal under GDPR, it must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. THSs would have to build complex, granular consent forms (e.g., separate checkboxes for sharing a phone number versus sharing an email address).

The Right to Withdraw Consent: Under GDPR, users have the right to withdraw their consent at any time, and it must be as easy to withdraw consent as it was to give it. If a sitter revokes permission, THSs would face the impossible task of forcing a private host to delete the data off their personal devices.

Joint Controller Liability: If THS officially transfers data to a host via an automated feature, they risk being classified as a “joint data controller.” If that host later leaks, misuses, or sells the sitter’s data, THSs could still face severe GDPR non-compliance fines.

Platform Disintermediation (Business Risk): Beyond data laws, THSs wants to keep users communicating inside their encrypted app. Automatically giving out phone numbers and emails encourages users to take their business off the platform, bypassing the company’s safety terms and renewal ecosystem.

Hope that helps.

18

Owners choose their sitters.

Owners can ask potential sitters for more personal information.

Owners can place in their profile, “We will only consider sitters who are willing to divulge their full legal name.”

Your home, your pets, your rules.

19

It wouldn’t work, it would add huge confusion, because whoever was looking may mistake those extra reviews for the profile they are looking at, rather than, so they may not realise it isn’t for the profile they are actually looking at. We’ve got 100% 5 star reviews, but quite a number of the owners we sit for haven’t (even though we perceive them as great), it’s simply where things haven’t gone according to plan. I would hate it if someone looked at our profile and thought it was us with the less-than-perfect score that we have maintained for 3 years with 50+ reviews. If an owner incorrectly questioned me about a review that wasn’t even ours, I’d be replying in a defensive way, for no reason, and I wouldn’t be interested in sitting for anyone that made me feel defensive for no reason. So there’s a high chance of confusion, instead of trusting in our reviews.

But yes you are right, it does give a fantastic insight as to what someone is like, and I DEFINITELY do it with any owners that have a less-than-perfect score to get the full and rounded picture of events, which is how we end up sitting for some great owners with less-than-perfect scores, it’s perfect for that, especially when some of the owners we’ve sat for have been on THS for over a decade so they’re bound to have the odd thing go less-than-perfectly at some point, same with sitters.

20

I would think that someone coming into your home and entrusting them with the care of your home and pets, would be a lawful basis for sharing such background info.