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Privacy policy

TEMPLATE: This text is a detailed starting point, not legal advice. Have an Irish solicitor review it, fill in the [BRACKETED] details and edit it in Admin > Pages before you launch.

Last updated: [DATE]. This policy explains what personal data Uswapped collects, why, who we share it with and what your rights are. It applies to our website and mobile apps.

1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller is [COMPANY LEGAL NAME], a company registered in Ireland (company number [NUMBER]), registered office [ADDRESS]. For any privacy question or request, email [PRIVACY EMAIL].

2. What we collect

  • Account details: your name, email address, town or city, optional profile picture and bio, and a password (stored only as a one-way hash). If you sign in with Google, Facebook or X we receive your name, profile picture and, where the provider shares it, your email address.
  • Your listings: titles, descriptions, values, photos and the category and condition you choose. Photos are resized on your device and location data is removed before they are saved.
  • Swaps and messages: offers, messages between swap partners, reviews, reports, disputes and the credits held or moved.
  • Delivery addresses: an address you save on your account, or add to a swap. It is shown only to your swap partner for that swap.
  • Payments: a record of purchases and credits. Card payments are handled by our payment provider, so we never see or store your card number.
  • Things you save: items you save, searches you save, people you follow, and your notification choices.
  • Technical data: your IP address, browser type and the pages you request, kept in server logs for security and to keep the service running, and device tokens if you turn on notifications.
  • Approximate location: we work out your country from your network connection or browser language so we can show prices in your local currency and suggest your country. We do not use GPS and we do not track where you are. Your chosen country is kept in a cookie and, if you are signed in, on your account.

3. Why we use it, and our legal basis

  • To run your account and let you swap (performance of our contract with you).
  • To keep the community safe: confirming your email address, checking listings against our banned-items list, handling reports and disputes, preventing fraud and abuse (our legitimate interests, and legal obligations).
  • To send service messages such as offers, swap updates and security emails (performance of our contract).
  • To send announcements and a weekly email of new listings (our legitimate interests, or your consent where the law requires it). You can turn these off at any time in your notification settings or with the unsubscribe link in any email.
  • To keep accounts and credits accurate, for accounting and tax (legal obligations).
  • To understand how the service is used and improve it, using counts of sign-ups, listings and swaps. We do not use third-party advertising trackers.

4. Who we share it with

- Your swap partner sees your name, town, listing and, once a swap is accepted and you add it, your delivery address.
- Delivery services that print labels or collect parcels receive the names and addresses needed to deliver them.
- Service providers who process data for us under contract: hosting and storage, email delivery, our payment provider, and push notification services.
- Other members see your public profile: name, town, picture, bio, badges, reviews and listings.
- Authorities, where the law requires it or to protect people from harm.
- A buyer or successor, if our business is sold, on the same terms as this policy.
We do not sell your personal data.

5. International transfers

Some providers may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where they do, we rely on approved safeguards such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses or an adequacy decision.

6. How long we keep it

  • Your account data until you delete your account. Deleting removes your profile, listings, photos and saved addresses.
  • Records of swaps, credits and payments for as long as the law requires for accounting and tax, normally six years, with your personal details removed where we can.
  • Reports and safety records for as long as needed to protect the community.
  • Server logs for a short period, normally up to 90 days.
  • Messages in a completed swap for as long as needed to resolve disputes, then removed.

6A. Cookies

We use only cookies that are needed for the site to work: to keep you signed in, to protect forms against forgery, to remember your chosen country and to show one-off messages. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies, so we do not show a cookie banner.

7. Notifications and marketing

You choose which notifications you get and how, in Account > Notifications: the bell, your phone or browser, and email (straight away, as a daily summary, or not at all). “News from us” and “Weekly picks” can be switched off separately. Every email has an unsubscribe link. We will still send essential messages about your account and security.

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access your data, correct it, have it erased, restrict or object to how we use it, receive it in a portable format, and withdraw consent where we rely on it. You can download your data and delete your account yourself from the Account page. For anything else, email [PRIVACY EMAIL]. We will reply within one month. You also have the right to complain to the Data Protection Commission in Ireland (dataprotection.ie).

9. Security

We protect your data with encrypted connections, hashed passwords, optional two-step sign-in for staff, restricted access and regular backups. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us straight away if you think your account has been misused.

10. Children

Uswapped is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has signed up, contact us and we will remove the account.

11. Changes to this policy

If we make an important change we will tell you by email or in the app before it takes effect. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.