Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This policy explains how PlanPulse collects, uses and protects personal data. It covers you if you use planpulse.org and our related services, and it also covers businesses we contact who do not have an account with us — if we emailed you about planning applications in your area, section 6 is the part written for you. We are committed to handling personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

2. Data we collect

We collect your name and email address when you create an account, so that we can authenticate you and send email alerts for the planning applications you track. We also collect limited usage data (such as the pages you visit and the searches you run) and technical data (such as your IP address and browser type) to operate and improve the service. We do not collect payment card details.

3. How we use your data

We use your data to provide and maintain the service, manage your account, send service-related communications and status-change alerts for tracked applications, respond to support requests, analyse usage to improve PlanPulse, and comply with our legal obligations. We send marketing communications to registered users only where you have given consent. Separately, we send business-to-business marketing to companies who are not registered users, relying on our legitimate interests rather than consent — section 6 explains this in full, and every such email carries a one-click unsubscribe.

4. Legal basis for processing

We process personal data on the following bases: performance of our contract with you (to provide the service); our legitimate interests (security, preventing misuse, and the business-to-business marketing described in section 6); compliance with legal obligations; and your consent, where applicable, for example for optional analytics or for marketing to registered users. Where we rely on legitimate interests we have assessed that our interest does not override your rights, and you can object at any time.

5. Planning application data

The planning application data shown in PlanPulse is sourced from publicly accessible council planning portals, where councils publish it as public record information. Some of it is personal data: an application normally names the applicant and the planning agent acting for them, and we store agent contact details where a council publishes them.

We treat that data with more care than the public register does. Where we email a third party about an application, we withhold the applicant's name unless we can positively identify the applicant as a company, public body or other organisation, and we reduce the precision of the site address whenever the applicant appears to be a private individual, so that we are not circulating someone's home address. Planning data is provided for information only — see our Terms of Service for the accuracy disclaimer.

6. Businesses we contact who are not registered users

We contact businesses who do not have a PlanPulse account, to tell them about planning applications near them and to introduce the service. If that is how you came to this page, this section is the notice we owe you under Article 14 of the UK GDPR, because we obtained your details from a source other than you.

Where we got your details. For planning agents and other professionals, from the council planning portals that publish the applications you are named on. For tradespeople, from publicly available business sources such as your own website, business directories and the Companies House register.

What we hold. Business contact details only: your name, business email address, telephone number, company name, company registration number, trading address or the area you cover, your trade or professional discipline, and the planning applications we matched you to. We record whether you have unsubscribed.

What we do with it, and our lawful basis. We email you about planning applications in your area that look relevant to your work, and invite you to try PlanPulse. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f): marketing a business service to businesses likely to have a use for it. For tradespeople we add only businesses we can confirm are registered companies, with a company name and Companies House number we have checked. We do not sell these details, and we do not share them for anyone else's marketing.

How long we keep it. Until you unsubscribe or object, or until we no longer have a use for it. If you unsubscribe we keep your email address on a suppression list, so that we can make sure we do not contact you again.

Your choices. Every email we send you carries a one-click unsubscribe link, and we will not email you again once you use it. You can also object to this processing, or ask us what we hold and where we got it, by emailing hello@planpulse.org. All the rights in section 9 apply to you, whether or not you have an account.

7. Data sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with service providers who help us operate PlanPulse (under appropriate agreements), with authorities where we are legally required to do so, and in the event of a business transfer, in which case we would give you notice.

8. Data retention

If you have an account, we retain your personal data for as long as that account remains active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it to meet a legal obligation.

Records that are not attached to an account — the business contact details described in section 6 — are not covered by that period, because there is no account to close. We hold them on the basis set out in section 6, and delete them on request.

9. Your rights

You have the right to access, correct or erase your personal data, to restrict or object to its processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@planpulse.org. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

10. Cookies

We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and maintain your session. Any non-essential cookies are used only with your consent, and you can manage cookies through your browser settings.

11. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, and store it securely in an EU/UK data centre. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Children

PlanPulse is not intended for children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here with a new effective date, and your continued use of PlanPulse after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

14. Contact

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, email us at hello@planpulse.org.