Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 2023

HandsHQ is committed to safeguarding the privacy of its customers and website users while providing the highest possible quality of service. This policy sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.  We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully (in accordance with Data Protection Legislation). If you have any requests concerning your personal information or any queries with regard to these practices please contact [email protected].

HandsHQ is the data controller in relation to personal data collected by us so that we can provide our services to you as a representative of one of our corporate customers or as an individual customer . In relation to personal data which is processed by you using our services, you are the data controller and we are the data processor. For more information in relation to our role as data processor, please see our terms and conditions of supply.

Contact Information

You can mail us at:
HandsHQ Limited
WeWork, The Bower
207 Old Street
London
EC1V 9NR
Email: [email protected]

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Information collected

We collect the information you supply to us through our online registration forms and through direct interactions with you (including your company’s name; your name, email, business address, job title, phone numbers, photos, site/project details; and details of contact content including queries and complaints).

We also collect information (including see Use of Cookies section) automatically about your visit to our site.

We will collect your information for the following purposes (we have indicated which ‘lawful basis’ applies to each purpose by allocating a number next to the purpose, the number corresponds to the list of lawful basis below*):

  • To provide our core services to you and/or the organisation that you represent (1 and 2);
  • To facilitate you setting up an account so that you can access our system and services (1 and 2);
  • To address an issue with our service that is raised by you (1 and 2);
  • In our testing/staging environment in order to test new products and functionality and fix any defects or bugs in the software and services that we provide (2);
  • To obtain feedback from you on particular features of our service so that we can improve it (2);
  • aid strategic development (2);
  • audit usage of the site (2 and 3);
  • To administer the website (2 and 4);
  • To supply you with marketing communications (2 and 4).

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

Use of personal information

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data for the following lawful basis*:

  1. Where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
  2. Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
  3. Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.
  4. In limited circumstances where you have provided us with your consent.  

Where we do rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data in relation to sending direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us.

You can ask us or third parties to stop contacting you for marketing purposes at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time.

Where you opt out of receiving these marketing messages, this will not apply to personal data provided to us as a result of a product/service purchase, warranty registration, product/service experience or other transactions.

Duration of Processing

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal data are available in our retention policy which you can request from us by contacting us.

Use of cookies

We use the following cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our Sites. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our Sites, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services.
  • Analytical or performance cookies. These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our Sites when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our Sites works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
  • Functionality cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our Sites. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
  • Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit to our Sites, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our Sites and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests.

You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_t1fo80IIg0UwPO6CLvXJBo83EPIOJvhlRuJxpHiz4c

Consent and control

Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a cookie banner requesting that you consent/reject or customise your preferences, to set those cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of cookies you are enabling us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of cookies unless those cookies are strictly necessary; however certain features of Our Sites may not function fully or as intended. You will be given the opportunity to allow and/or deny different categories of cookies that We use. You can return to your cookie preferences to review and/or change them at any time.  

In addition to the controls that we provide, you can choose to enable or disable cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third-party cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device.

The links below provide instructions on how to control cookies in all mainstream browsers:

Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en-GB

Microsoft Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/278835

Microsoft Edge: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/products/microsoft-edge (Please note that there are no specific instructions at this time, but Microsoft support will be able to assist)

Safari (macOS): https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411?viewlocale=en_GB&locale=en_GB

Safari (iOS): https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201265

Mozilla Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-Cookies-website-preferences

Android: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en (Please refer to your device’s documentation for manufacturers’ own browsers)

We don't store your credit card details

Please note we do not store credit card details. This information is passed directly to our payment service provider (Recurly - https://recurly.com/) over an encrypted link and is never stored on our system. Stripe (www.stripe.com) processes payments on our behalf. Both providers are PCI compliant.

Your data

Control sharing of personal and business data

We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below:

  • Service providers acting as processors based globally who provide IT and system administration services.
  • Professional advisers acting as processors or joint controllers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers based in the UK who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services].
  • Third parties to whom we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal data in the same way as set out in this privacy notice.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

Some of our external third parties are based outside the United Kingdom (UK) so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the UK. By using our service, you consent to such transfer, subject to us complying with our obligations below.

Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

  • We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by either the European Commission or the UK, as the case may be.
  • Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved by either the European Commission or the United Kingdom which give personal data the same protection it has in Europe or the UK, as the case may be.

A full list of our third parties with which we may share your data can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dwn4PFbpwdXur4iSoiO0j5P4wkUF1Wds50KfjF4mtSc/edit?usp=sharing

Finally, we reserve the right to the extent permissible by applicable Data Protection Legislation, to cooperate with law enforcement officials in the investigation of alleged unlawful activities of HandsHQ website users or relating to HandsHQ users. We will have no legal liability for such disclosures of your information.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request").This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
  • Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.
  • Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.
  • Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.
  • Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: (a) if you want us to establish the data's accuracy; (b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it; (c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or (d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.
  • Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
  • Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

You can find detailed information about your rights under UK Data Protection legislation on the UK Information Commissioner's website at www.ico.gov.uk.

Changes to this policy

We may edit this policy from time to time. Please check this policy regularly for any changes. We will post all changes here, and if we make any substantial changes we may also notify you by email.