Privacy Policy

TradeSwap operates an online marketplace that lets members advertise services and arrange exchanges of services with each other. For the personal information described in this policy, TradeSwap is the data controller.

TradeSwap is operated by TRADESWAP GROUP LIMITED, a UK registered company, company number 16775026. Registered office: 11 Gloucester Close, Roman Heights, Corbridge, United Kingdom, NE45 5SG. Contact: Tradeswapco@gmail.com.

Account information. Your name, email address and password (stored only as a secure hash by our authentication provider). If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address and Google account identifier from Google instead of a password.

Profile information you choose to add. Display name, business name, town or area, approximate location coordinates used for distance-based search, profile photo, short bio, qualifications, availability and portfolio images.

Listings and swaps. The services you offer and need, indicative values, scope and quantity, proposed dates and locations, agreed exchange values, any agreed cash balancing amount, approval and completion confirmations, and your individual platform fee status.

Messages and reviews. Messages you send to other members through the Platform, and ratings and review text you publish.

Dispute information. Descriptions, photographs, documents and other evidence you submit if you raise or respond to a dispute.

Technical information. Basic information generated when you use the site, such as IP address, browser and device type, and error diagnostics, used to keep the service running and secure.

We do not currently collect payment card details, because no payment provider is connected to the Platform yet. Platform fees are recorded in test mode only.

• To provide your account and the Platform — creating and securing your account, publishing your profile and listings, matching, messaging, swap records and fee records. Lawful basis: performance of our contract with you.
• To send service emails — sign-up confirmation, email verification, password reset and notifications about your swaps. Lawful basis: performance of our contract with you.
• To keep the Platform safe and lawful — preventing fraud, investigating misuse, manipulation of values or fees, safety complaints and disputes, and moderating reviews. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in protecting members and the Platform, and compliance with legal obligations.
• To handle disputes and complaints — reviewing evidence and facilitating communication between members. Lawful basis: legitimate interests and, where relevant, establishing or defending legal claims.
• To meet legal and accounting duties — records of platform fees, tax and regulatory requirements. Lawful basis: legal obligation.

We do not use your personal information for advertising profiling, and we do not sell your personal information.

Your display name, business name, area, profile photo, bio, qualifications, availability, portfolio images, listed services and indicative values, verification labels, rating and reviews are visible publicly on your profile.

Members you are swapping with additionally see the swap record you share with them and the messages you send. Where you raise or respond to a dispute, the information you submit may be shared with the other member where reasonably necessary to investigate or resolve it.

Do not post information in a profile, listing, message or review that you would not want another member to see.

Supabase — our backend provider, supplying the Postgres database, authentication, file storage and server functions that run TradeSwap. Data is held in an EU-hosted region.

Google — only if you choose to sign in with Google. Google confirms your identity to us; their own privacy terms apply to your Google account.

Email delivery — account and notification emails (verification, password reset, swap notifications) are sent through our backend’s email service so the message reaches your inbox.

Hosting and delivery — the website itself is served by our hosting platform, which processes technical request data such as IP address in order to deliver pages and block abuse.

Professional advisers and authorities — for example legal or accounting advisers, or a regulator or law enforcement body where we are legally required to disclose information.

Not currently used: there is no payment provider connected (Stripe is not yet live), no analytics or advertising platform, and no third-party marketing tool. If we introduce one, we will update this policy first, and any non-essential cookies or similar technologies will be introduced with an appropriate consent mechanism.

The TradeSwap database, account records and uploaded files are hosted in the European Union. Some providers we rely on — for example Google, if you use Google sign-in — may process limited information outside the UK or EEA. Where that happens, we rely on the safeguards required by data protection law, such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses.

• Account and profile — while your account is open. If you delete your account, we remove or anonymise your profile and listings, keeping only what we must retain for the reasons below.
• Swap records, fee records and approvals — retained for up to six years after the swap, to meet accounting and tax duties and to deal with any later claim or dispute.
• Messages — retained for the life of the swap record and then in line with the period above, because they evidence what was agreed.
• Reviews — published reviews may remain visible after an account closes, shown without identifying details of a closed account.
• Dispute evidence — retained while the dispute is open and for up to six years afterwards.
• Security and error logs — kept for a short period, normally no more than 12 months.

You have the right to:

• be told how your information is used, and to access a copy of it;
• have inaccurate information corrected;
• have information erased, where no overriding reason to keep it applies;
• restrict or object to processing based on our legitimate interests;
• receive certain information in a portable form; and
• withdraw consent, where we have relied on consent.

You can update most of your information yourself from your profile. To make any other request, contact us using the details on the Platform. We will respond within the time limits set by law, normally one month.

You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk. We would be grateful for the chance to resolve your concern first.

Access to member data is controlled by row-level database rules so members can only reach their own records and information that is intentionally public. Passwords are stored as secure hashes by our authentication provider, and traffic to the site is encrypted in transit. No system can be guaranteed completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us promptly if you think your account has been accessed.

TradeSwap is not for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect information about children. If you believe a child has created an account, please contact us and we will remove it.

See the Cookie Policy for details of the cookies and browser storage TradeSwap uses.

We may update this policy — for example when we connect a payment provider or add a new service. The date at the top shows when it was last changed, and we will give members reasonable notice of material changes where appropriate.

See also the Terms of Use and the Cancellations & Disputes.