Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

The Traders Yard is a peer-to-peer marketplace for UK tradespeople. In this policy "The Traders Yard", "we", "us" or "our" refers to the platform operator. For questions about your data, contact us at privacy@traderapp.co.uk.

2. What Data We Collect

When you register or use The Traders Yard we may collect:

• Account information — name, username, email address, trade type, and location.
• Listing data — item descriptions, photos, prices, and condition.
• Transaction data — purchase history, offer activity, and payment details (processed via our payment provider; we do not store full card numbers).
• Communications — messages sent between buyers and sellers on the platform.
• Usage data — pages visited, search queries, and device/browser information.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your data to:

• Operate and improve the The Traders Yard platform.
• Process transactions and send order confirmations.
• Enable messaging between buyers and sellers.
• Send service notifications and, where you have opted in, marketing emails.
• Detect and prevent fraud or misuse of the platform.
• Comply with legal obligations.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your data under the following lawful bases (UK GDPR):

• Contract — to provide the services you have signed up for.
• Legitimate interests — to improve the platform and prevent fraud.
• Consent — for optional marketing communications.
• Legal obligation — where required by law.

5. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with:

• Payment processors — to handle transactions securely.
• Cloud hosting providers — to store and serve the platform.
• Law enforcement — where legally required or to protect user safety.

Your public profile, listings, and reviews are visible to other users of the platform.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you close your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 90 days, except where we are required by law to retain it longer (e.g. transaction records for tax purposes).

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Erasure — ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Restriction — ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Object — object to processing based on legitimate interests.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@traderapp.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

The Traders Yard uses essential cookies to keep you signed in and remember your preferences. We do not currently use third-party advertising cookies. You can control cookies in your browser settings, though disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or by a notice on the platform. Continued use of The Traders Yard after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.

10. Contact & Complaints

For privacy questions contact us at privacy@traderapp.co.uk. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.