UNDERSTAND PRIVACY

Why does a comparison need five people?

One household's rent should stay private. That's why every comparison needs current, approved costs from at least five different people. Five entries from one person don't count as five people.

Five people, not five entries

You can add more than one cost, but you only count once in each comparison. Every separate breakdown, including any split by verification status, needs five different people of its own. The same rule applies to price ranges.

Below five, we don't show a middle figure, a range or an exact count. An empty page won't reveal how many people have already contributed.

Checked first, kept current

New contributions wait for a person to review them before they count. If you edit yours, it goes back for review and is marked as unverified again. Your change won't enter a public comparison unchecked.

Rent costs count for twelve months after payment; energy costs for six. After that, they leave the current public comparisons. You can still find the original amount in your account history.

Five people can't speak for a whole city

Five people is our minimum for privacy, not a promise that their costs represent everyone. Contributions are voluntary. Check the number of people, dates and limitations beside each figure to see how much it can tell you.

Your private comparison leaves out your own costs and uses at least five other people. If there aren't enough similar situations, we broaden it step by step and tell you who's included. The same privacy rules apply even when only you see the result.

Sources and further reading