Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Maetheon Ltd (company number 17262818, Office 1253, 85 Dunstall Hill, Wolverhampton, WV6 0SR, United Kingdom) is the data controller for Search IT. Contact: [email protected].

2. What we collect

• Account data: name, email, password (stored encrypted), country, phone (optional), time zone.
• Listing data: business details, photos and documents you upload, including verification documents.
• Payment data: plan, amounts, invoices. Card details are handled by Stripe; we never see or store them.
• Booking, message and review data: names, contact details, booking times and notes; messages between customers and businesses; reviews and replies.
• Usage data: IP address, device and browser, pages viewed, clicks on listings, cookies (see our Cookie Policy).
• Communications: messages you send us by email, WhatsApp or our forms.

3. Why we use it and our legal basis

• To provide your account, listings, bookings and plans (contract).
• To take payments and keep tax and accounting records (contract and legal obligation).
• To check listings, claims and verification documents and to prevent fraud and spam (legitimate interests).
• To send service emails such as codes, receipts and approvals (contract).
• To improve Search IT and measure performance (legitimate interests; analytics cookies only with consent).
• To send news and offers, only if you opt in (consent). You can unsubscribe at any time.

4. Who we share it with

Stripe (payments), our hosting and email providers, analytics providers (with consent), and professional advisers. Public listing information is visible to everyone. When a customer sends a booking request or enquiry, we share their details with the business. We never sell personal data.

5. International transfers

Some providers process data outside the UK. When they do, we use safeguards approved under UK law, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or adequacy regulations.

6. How long we keep it

Unverified accounts: 7 days. Deleted accounts: 30 days, then erased. Verification documents: 30 days after our decision. Invoices and payment records: 6 years (UK legal requirement). Messages between customers and businesses: 2 years after the last reply. Contact messages: 2 years. Server logs: 90 days.

7. Your rights

You can ask to access, correct, delete, restrict or move your data, and object to processing. You can download your data and delete your account from your dashboard. Contact [email protected] for anything else. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

8. Security

We use encryption in transit, hashed passwords, two-factor authentication for staff, access controls and regular backups.

9. Children

Search IT is not intended for anyone under 18.

10. Changes

We will post updates here and tell you about important changes by email.