Privacy
This is placeholder text. Every section marked [NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW] must be checked by a qualified person before First Key goes live.
The short version
- You don't need an account.
- Your money answers (savings, income, rent, debts) stay on your device. We never send them to our server.
- If you ask for a viewing, we share your name, email and message with that home's agent, and only after you agree.
- If you sign up for home alerts, we keep your email, top price, place and bedrooms to send them, and nothing else. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe. Unconfirmed alerts are deleted after 7 days, and stopped ones after 30.
- We only use analytics if you say yes, and never with your name, email or money figures.
- We count how often each home is viewed and liked, so its agent can see how it's doing. These are just numbers: no cookies, nothing stored on your device, and your address is only used, scrambled, to count you once a day.
Who we are [NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW]
First Key is run by [COMPANY NAME], [REGISTERED ADDRESS], company number [NUMBER]. We are the data controller for the information described here. Contact us at [PRIVACY EMAIL].
What stays on your device
Your answers to the start questions, the homes you like or pass on, your guide and checklist progress, your mortgage settings and when you last looked at homes are saved in your browser's local storage. They aren't sent to us. You can clear them all with “Clear everything” on the You page, or by clearing your browser data. Each one is listed under Cookies and storage below.
Viewing requests [NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW]
When you ask for a viewing we collect your name, email address and message, and:
- email them to the estate agent who listed that home, so they can reply to you;
- keep a copy with the time you agreed, the exact wording you agreed to, and which agent it went to;
- keep a scrambled (hashed) version of your connection address and email for a short time, to stop spam.
Lawful basis: your consent, which you give by ticking the box. [CONFIRM BASIS AND WORDING]. Once the agent has your details, they are responsible for how they use them under their own privacy notice.
We keep viewing requests for [RETENTION PERIOD, e.g. 12 months] and then delete them. Rate limit records are deleted after two days.
Estate agents' accounts [NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW]
If you're an estate agent with an account, we keep your work email to send you sign-in links, and a cookie that keeps you signed in for up to 30 days. The cookie is needed for signing in, so we don't ask first. Photos you upload are resized and have their location data removed before anyone sees them.
Who we share data with [NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW]
- The estate agent for the home you ask about.
- Our email provider ([e.g. Resend]), which delivers viewing requests and home alerts.
- Our hosting and database providers ([e.g. Netlify, Supabase]).
- Google, for analytics, only if you agree.
- OpenFreeMap, which serves the map on a home's page. Your browser asks it for map pictures of that area, so it sees your IP address, like any website. It isn't sent anything about you.
- postcodes.io, if you add where you work or study. Our server asks it where that postcode or town is, without your IP address or anything else about you. We don't keep what you typed: the answer goes back to your device and stays there.
[CONFIRM INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS AND SAFEGUARDS]
Your rights [NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW]
You can ask to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you, or withdraw your consent, by emailing [PRIVACY EMAIL]. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
Changes
Last updated [DATE]. If we change how we use your data, we'll update this page.