Privacy Policy
1. Who we are
South Facing Garden is a trading name of Gulliver Consultations Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 16674246). We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.
- Email, including all data protection questions: hello@southfacinggarden.co.uk
- Post: Gulliver Consultations Ltd, 5 Lilly Lane, Chickerell, Weymouth, England, DT3 4FU
- We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Registration number: ZC273431.
We are not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer and have not appointed one. Questions about your information go to our nominated data protection contact at the email address above.
This policy covers our website (southfacinggarden.co.uk), our web app (app.southfacinggarden.co.uk) and our mobile apps.
2. The short version
- You can use the free postcode preview and the free sample report without giving us your name or email address.
- If you buy a single report or a report pack we need your email address, so your credits can be kept for you and restored on another device.
- We do not receive or store your card details. Payment is handled by Stripe.
- Addresses you search are sent to our data suppliers so we can build the report.
- Analytics and session recording are optional and switched off unless you turn them on.
- We do not sell your personal information.
3. What we collect and why
| What | When | Why we use it | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property addresses and postcodes you search | Each search | To find the property, get data from suppliers and build the report | Contract (providing the report you asked for) |
| Device identifier (a random ID created and stored in your browser or app) | First visit; sent with searches and at checkout | To recognise a device that viewed a free report before free reports were withdrawn (so it can still reopen that property, and carry it into your account when you buy), and to prevent misuse | Legitimate interests (honouring earlier free reports and preventing misuse); contract |
| IP address | Each request | Security, and limiting excessive searches from one network | Legitimate interests (security and preventing misuse) |
| Email address | When you buy a single report or a report pack, or restore access | To hold your credits and unlocked properties, send your one-time code and purchase confirmation, and deal with cancellations and refunds | Contract |
| One-time verification code | When you restore access | To check the email address is yours | Contract |
| Purchase records (Stripe payment references and customer ID, date, amount, pack, refund or dispute status, what you confirmed at checkout, and whether your confirmation email was sent) | When you buy | To provide what you paid for, handle refunds and disputes, and keep business records | Contract; legal obligation (accounting records) |
| Credits and unlocked properties (your balance and the property references you have unlocked) | As you use the service | So you can reopen reports without paying again | Contract |
| Sign-in token | After buying or restoring | To keep you signed in on that device | Contract |
| Preferences you choose (for example buyer type and priorities in the welcome questions) | If you answer them | To tailor the report summary | Legitimate interests (personalising the service you asked for) |
| Referral details (name, email, phone, address and what you tell us about your needs) | Only if you submit a mortgage, survey or home-services enquiry form | To pass your enquiry to the partner named on the form | Consent |
| Messages you send us | When you email us | To reply and keep a record | Legitimate interests; contract |
| Your cookie and analytics choice | When you make or change it | To remember your choice | Legal obligation; legitimate interests |
| Analytics and session recordings | Only if you turn them on (section 6) | To understand how the website and app are used and improve them | Consent |
| Report audit record (a report reference, the property reference number, a coded customer reference that does not reveal who you are, the dates the report was generated and expires, and the names — not the contents — of the property data fields shown) | Each new report | To meet our property data supplier's reporting and audit requirements, and to check our supplier costs | Legitimate interests (meeting our contract with our data supplier) |
We do not ask for your name unless you submit a referral form or write to us. We do not ask for, and do not want, sensitive information about you such as health information.
Where we rely on legitimate interests, you can ask us for more information about how we balanced them against your rights, and you can object (section 12).
4. Buying, and restoring your access
Payments on our website and web app are taken by Stripe on its own checkout page. Stripe receives your email address, your payment details, our device identifier for your browser, and the record of what you confirmed at checkout. We receive confirmation of payment and Stripe's reference numbers, not your card number. Stripe also uses payment information for its own purposes, such as preventing fraud and meeting its legal obligations, under its own privacy policy.
Purchase confirmation. When your credits are added we email you a confirmation of your purchase and the terms that apply. The email is sent for us by Resend. We keep a record that it was sent.
Restoring access. When you choose "Restore access" we email a 6-digit code to the address you enter. The code is kept for 10 minutes and then deleted. The email is sent for us by Resend.
Our mobile apps. Nothing can currently be bought inside our iOS and Android apps. If you bought a subscription in an app before subscriptions were withdrawn, the payment was handled by Apple or Google. The apps use RevenueCat to check whether such a subscription is still active; RevenueCat receives an app user identifier and the status of the purchase. If you chose to add your email address in the app, it is linked to that subscription so you can restore access.
5. Where your information is stored
On our servers (Cloudflare): your email address with your credits, unlocked property references and purchase records; the free-report record for your device; short-lived security records; shared report links; and temporary copies of supplier data.
In your own browser or app: the items listed in section 6. Saved properties are kept only on your device and are not sent to our servers. Clearing your browser data removes them; your credits remain safe on our servers and can be restored with your email address.
6. Cookies, analytics and similar technologies
We store some information on your device. Some of it is essential. Analytics and session recording are optional.
6.1 Essential storage (always on)
These are needed for the service you have asked for, or to remember your privacy choice. They are not used for advertising.
| Name | Where | What it is for | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
sfg_consent | Cookie (shared by our website and app) and browser storage | Remembers your cookie and analytics choice | 180 days, then we ask again |
sfg_device_id | Browser storage (app) | The random device identifier used to recognise an earlier free report and to prevent misuse | Until you clear your browser data |
sfg_pending_report | Browser session storage (app) | The postcode and house number or name you searched, kept while you go to checkout so we can take you back to them | Removed when you return from checkout, and in any case when you close the tab (it is not used after 2 hours) |
sfg_token | Browser storage (app) | Keeps you signed in after you buy or restore access | Up to 32 days; renewed while you use the service |
sfg_pro_email | Browser storage (app) | Remembers the email address you used, so you do not have to retype it | Until you clear your browser data |
sfg_saved:… | Browser storage (app) | Your saved properties | Until you remove them or clear your browser data |
sfg_onboarding, sfg_onboarding_done, sfg_walkthrough_seen | Browser storage (app) | Your answers to the welcome questions, and whether you have seen the introduction | Until you clear your browser data |
sfg_dyslexia, sfg_mkt_comfort | Browser storage (app and website) | Your reading and display preference | Until you clear your browser data |
sfg_partner_type, sfg_partner_org | Browser storage (app) | Set only if you open an invitation link from one of our partners; records which partner | Until you clear your browser data |
6.2 Optional tools (off unless you turn them on)
We use two optional tools on our website and in our web app. Each is a separate choice. Inside our iOS and Android apps we offer only Google Analytics: Microsoft Clarity is not used there. Neither is loaded, and neither sets cookies, unless you have accepted it.
- Google Analytics measures visits and how pages and features are used, so we can improve them. It sets cookies with names beginning
_ga, which last up to two years. Google provides this to us as our processor. We use it for measurement only: our settings tell Google not to use the information for advertising or for personalising adverts. - Microsoft Clarity shows us how pages are used during a visit, including recordings of clicks, scrolling, mouse movement and what is shown on screen. It sets cookies named
_clckand_clsk, and Microsoft may set its own cookies from its own domains (such asCLIDandMUID). We cannot guarantee a recording will never capture something you type or a property you look at, so please bear that in mind when deciding. Microsoft is a separate controller of this information. It may use it for its own purposes, including advertising, as described in the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
Our lawful basis for both tools is your consent.
6.3 Your choice
- The first time you visit, we ask. You can accept both, reject both, or choose each one separately.
- You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using Cookie settings at the bottom of every page of the website and app. Withdrawing is as easy as accepting.
- When you withdraw consent for a tool, we stop using it and delete the cookies it set for our website. Cookies that Microsoft has set from its own domains can be removed in your browser settings.
- Rejecting or withdrawing does not affect how the service works.
- We ask again after about six months, or sooner if we add a tool or change what one is used for.
6.4 Content from other providers
Some features load content directly from another provider. When that happens your browser contacts the provider, which receives your IP address and technical details of your browser.
| Feature | Provider | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Maps and satellite imagery in the Sun Tracker | Mapbox | The map software is downloaded from Mapbox when the app opens. Maps and imagery load when a report shows the Sun Tracker. Mapbox's map software then stores a random identifier in your browser storage (names beginning mapbox.eventData), which Mapbox uses for usage statistics and billing. |
| Shadow modelling in the Sun Tracker | ShadeMap | Contacted when the Sun Tracker loads. |
| Terrain heights in the Sun Tracker | Amazon Web Services (AWS Terrain Tiles) | Receives requests for the terrain tiles covering the map area being viewed. |
| Street View when choosing a property | Loaded only when the property picker opens. Google acts as a separate controller and may store its own cookies. | |
| Postcode lookups | postcodes.io (Ideal Postcodes) | Receives the postcode you search. |
| Recorded sales | HM Land Registry (Price Paid Data) | Receives the postcode you search, for the free postcode preview and the house prices section. |
| Flood information | Environment Agency (flood-monitoring service) | Receives the location of the postcode you search (its centre), for the free postcode preview and the flood section. |
| Fonts | Google Fonts | Loaded on every page. Google says the fonts service does not set cookies; it receives your IP address and browser details to deliver the fonts. |
| Software libraries | cdnjs (Cloudflare) and unpkg | Deliver program files the app needs, when the app opens. |
7. Who we share information with
We share only what each organisation needs.
Organisations that provide services to us
| Organisation | What for | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Hosting, storage and security | Everything held on our servers; IP addresses |
| Stripe | Payments | Email address, payment details, device identifier, what you confirmed at checkout |
| Resend | Sending emails | Email address and the content of the email (your one-time code or your purchase confirmation) |
| Anthropic | AI-assisted report summary and garden direction analysis | The property address and report details, your welcome-question answers, and a satellite image of the property. Not your email address or payment details. |
| Analytics, only if you accept it (section 6) | Device, usage and visit information | |
| RevenueCat | Checking existing subscriptions in our mobile apps | App user identifier and purchase status |
Microsoft. If you accept Microsoft Clarity, Microsoft receives device, usage and session-recording information and is a separate controller of it (section 6.2).
Data suppliers. To build a report we send the property's address, postcode, property reference number or coordinates to the supplier of each dataset. We send our main property data supplier, Chimnie, a monthly count of reports, and, if it asks to audit us, a copy of our report audit records (section 3). Those records identify customers only by a coded reference. They do not receive your email address. Suppliers include Chimnie, Ordnance Survey, Geoapify, Ofcom, Police.uk, the Environment Agency, Historic England, NBN Atlas, PlanIt, Mapbox, ShadeMap and postcodes.io. The current list is in the app under "Data sources & licences".
Partners you ask us to contact. If you submit a referral form, we send the details you entered to the partner named on that form: The Mortgage Broker for mortgages, e.surv for surveys, or Please Connect Me for home services. They will use your details under their own privacy policies. We do not send your details to a partner unless you submit its form.
Others. We may disclose information where the law requires it, or to professional advisers, or to a buyer of our business, in which case this policy continues to apply.
We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for other companies' advertising, except that Microsoft may use Clarity information for its own purposes if you have accepted Clarity (section 6.2).
8. Transfers outside the UK
Some of the organisations above are based outside the United Kingdom, or process information outside it. The table shows where, and the safeguard that applies under each provider's published terms.
| Organisation | Where | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare, Inc. | United States and other countries where it operates | UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework (the "UK–US data bridge"); UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses |
| Stripe | Ireland (Stripe Payments Europe, Limited), with transfers to Stripe, LLC in the United States | UK adequacy regulations for Ireland; UK–US data bridge; UK Addendum |
| Resend (Plus Five Five, Inc.) | United States | UK–US data bridge; UK Addendum |
| Anthropic | Ireland (Anthropic Ireland, Limited), with processing in the United States and elsewhere | UK adequacy regulations for Ireland; UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses |
| Google (Analytics, only if you accept it) | Ireland (Google Ireland Limited), with processing in the United States and elsewhere | UK–US data bridge; UK Addendum |
| Microsoft (Clarity, only if you accept it) | United States | UK–US data bridge |
| Mapbox, Inc. | United States | UK–US data bridge |
| RevenueCat, Inc. | United States | UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses |
| Geoapify (Keptago Ltd) | Cyprus; hosted in the European Union | UK adequacy regulations for the European Economic Area |
| ShadeMap, and Amazon Web Services (terrain tiles) | United States | These receive only your IP address and technical details of the map being viewed, directly from your browser, when you use the Sun Tracker |
You can ask us for more information about these safeguards using the contact details in section 1.
9. How long we keep information
There are two different things to understand here: what our systems delete by themselves, and what stays until someone acts.
9.1 Deleted automatically
| Information | Deleted after |
|---|---|
| One-time verification code | 10 minutes |
| Address-lookup limit record for your IP address | About 24 hours |
| Search-limit counter for your IP address | 30 days after your last search |
| Sign-in token | Up to 32 days; renewed while you keep using the service |
| Supplier property data held temporarily to build reports (property data, not information about you) | Up to 30 days |
| Shared report link | No later than 90 days after the report was generated |
| Your cookie and analytics choice | 180 days |
| Report audit record | 3 years after the report was generated |
9.2 No automatic expiry
These records are not deleted by the system on any timer. That is deliberate for the first two, because purchased credits never expire.
| Information | What "no automatic expiry" means for you |
|---|---|
| Your email address, credit balance and unlocked property references | Kept so your credits and reports remain available. Deleted when you ask us to (see 9.3). |
| Purchase, refund, checkout-confirmation and confirmation-email records | Kept as business records. See 9.3. |
| Free-report record for your device (the device identifier and the property reference) | Kept so a device that viewed a free report before free reports were withdrawn can still reopen it. Deleted when you ask us to. |
| Saved properties, preferences and identifiers in your own browser | Stay on your device until you remove them or clear your browser data. The supplier's address text in a saved property is replaced with your own search text after 90 days. |
9.3 Our retention policy for records with no automatic expiry
"No automatic expiry" does not mean we keep information for ever regardless.
- On request. If you ask us to delete your account information we will do so, unless the law requires us to keep it. Deleting your account removes any unused credits and your unlocked reports, and they cannot be restored.
- Records we must keep. We keep purchase and refund records for as long as accounting and tax law requires, even if you ask us to delete your account. For a company this is normally six years from the end of the financial year the record relates to.
- Review. We review the records we hold from time to time and delete those we no longer need.
9.4 Other records
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Server logs | The log messages our own software writes do not contain email addresses, device identifiers, IP addresses or the contents of referral forms. Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, separately records technical details of each request, such as its web address and IP address, for a limited period for security and fault-finding. |
| Google Analytics data (only if you accepted it) | Google keeps user-level and event-level data for the period set in our Analytics account, which is no more than 14 months. |
| Microsoft Clarity data (only if you accepted it) | Microsoft publishes its retention periods: session recordings are generally kept for 30 days, and some data, such as heatmaps, for longer. |
| Emails you send us | For as long as needed to deal with your enquiry and keep a record of it, and no longer than six years. |
10. Shared report links
When you create a link to share a report, we store a copy of that report's summary: the address, postcode, property reference, coordinates, scores and summary text. It does not contain your email address or anything that identifies you.
- Anyone who has the link can open it. There is no password. Share it only with people you trust.
- The link stops working no later than 90 days after the report was generated.
- We ask search engines not to index shared reports, but we cannot control what a recipient does with a link.
- You cannot delete a link yourself at present. Email us and we will remove it.
11. Security
We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), signed sign-in tokens and access controls, and we never receive your card details. No online service can be guaranteed completely secure. If a breach affecting your information occurred and the law required it, we would tell you and the Information Commissioner's Office.
12. Your rights
You have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct it;
- ask us to delete it;
- ask us to restrict how we use it, or object to our using it where we rely on legitimate interests;
- receive information you gave us in a portable format; and
- withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent. For analytics and session recording, use "Cookie settings".
To use any of these rights, email hello@southfacinggarden.co.uk. We will reply without undue delay and within one month. We may need to check your identity, usually by confirming you control the email address on the account. Some rights do not apply in every case; for example we may need to keep purchase records to meet legal obligations.
We do not make decisions about you by automated means that have a legal or similarly significant effect.
13. Children
The service is not aimed at children, and we do not knowingly collect children's personal information.
14. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have used your information, please email hello@southfacinggarden.co.uk so we can try to put things right. We will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days and tell you the outcome without undue delay.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, telephone 0303 123 1113.
15. Changes to this policy
We will post any changes here and update the version number and date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use information we already hold about you, we will tell you by email where we hold your address or by a notice in the service.
16. Contact
Gulliver Consultations Ltd, trading as South Facing Garden
Registered in England and Wales, company number 16674246
Registered office: 5 Lilly Lane, Chickerell, Weymouth, England, DT3 4FU
ICO registration number: ZC273431
hello@southfacinggarden.co.uk