Privacy policy
Who looks after your information
Netplots is the “controller” of your personal information under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018). For any privacy question or request, email support@netplots.com.
What we collect
| What | Why | Public? |
|---|---|---|
| Email address and password (stored scrambled, we can't read it) | To create your account, log you in, and send you account emails | No |
| Username, profile picture and bio | Your public profile, and to show who owns which plots | Yes |
| Plots you own, and the images, titles and links you add | To show them on the map | Yes, once approved |
| Forum posts, likes and reports | To run the forum and keep it safe | Posts and like counts are public; reports aren't |
| Orders: which plots you bought, when, and how much you paid | To give you your plots, and for our accounts and tax records | Your purchases appear in the live feed and on your profile |
| The email address of someone you send a gift to, and your gift message | To email them a link to claim their gift | No |
| Upvotes, and whose invite link you joined through | To count upvotes and give referral rewards | Upvote totals are public; who voted isn't |
| Whether you want email updates, and who invited you | To send news only to people who asked for it, and to count invites | Invite counts appear as badges on profiles |
| Marketplace listings, offers and sales; your Stripe payout account ID if you sell | To run the marketplace and pay sellers. Stripe collects sellers' identity and bank details itself; we never see them. | Listings (plot, price, note and seller) are public; offers and sale prices aren't |
| Squares you paint and plots you dig on the map | To apply the daily limits and remove paint that breaks the rules | The paint is public; who painted it isn't |
| Pages you visit on Netplots, the site that sent you, your country and device type (phone, tablet or computer) | To see how many people visit and which posts bring them. No cookies: we count visits with an anonymous ID that changes every day, made from a one-way scramble of your connection, so we can't recognise you or follow you from day to day. Deleted after 13 months. | No |
| Card details | Handled entirely by Stripe. We never see or store them. | No |
| Technical information such as IP address and browser type | Collected automatically by our hosting to keep the site secure and working | No |
Our legal reasons for using it
- To provide what you've asked for (a contract): your account, your plots, your profile and forum posts.
- Legitimate interests: keeping Netplots secure, preventing fraud and abuse, moderating content, and improving the site.
- Legal obligations: keeping financial records, and responding to lawful requests.
Who we share it with
We don't sell your information. We use these trusted services to run Netplots, and they only use your data to provide their service to us:
- Supabase: our database, accounts and file storage
- Vercel: hosts the website
- Stripe: takes payments and pays marketplace sellers (Stripe Connect)
- Resend: sends our emails
Some of these companies are based in, or store data in, the United States. Where that happens, the transfer is protected by the UK's approved safeguards (such as the UK-US Data Bridge or standard contractual clauses).
We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect people from harm, for example when reporting illegal content.
Cookies
We only use cookies that are needed for the site to work: they keep you logged in. Your basket of selected plots is kept in your browser tab and disappears when you close it. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies. Our visitor counts don't use cookies either (see the table above).
How long we keep it
- Your account information: for as long as you have an account.
- Order records: 6 years, because UK tax law requires it.
- Removed images, rejected uploads and deleted posts: we may keep a copy for up to 12 months for moderation and safety, then delete it.
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of the information we hold about you;
- correct anything that's wrong (you can change your username, picture and bio yourself);
- delete your account and information (apart from what we must keep by law, like order records);
- stop or limit how we use it, or object to it;
- send your information to you or another service in a common format.
To make a request, email support@netplots.com. We'll reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Children
Netplots is for people aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect information from children.
Changes
If we change this policy we'll update the date at the top, and tell you by email or on the site if the changes are significant.