Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Ask(S)Me ("Ask(S)Me", "we", "our", or "us") operates the Ask(S)Me waitlist and, in due course, the Ask(S)Me advisory platform at asksme.co.uk (the "Service").

We act as a data controller under UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This means we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is used.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at admin.asksme@gmail.com.

2. Information we collect

a) Waitlist signups

When you join the Ask(S)Me waitlist, we collect:

• Your name
• Your email address

b) Optional survey responses

After joining the waitlist, you can choose to answer a short survey to help us build Ask(S)Me for you. If you complete it, we also collect:

• The type of business you run (e.g. sole trader, limited company)
• The sector your business operates in
• How long you have been trading
• A description of your biggest admin or compliance challenge
• An estimate of how many hours a month you spend on admin and compliance
• Whether you would pay for a tool that addressed your challenges

Completing the survey is entirely optional. You can skip it with no effect on your waitlist place.

c) Usage data

Like most websites, we may collect basic technical data when you visit asksme.co.uk, such as your IP address, browser type, and pages visited. This is used only to understand how the site is used and to keep it running smoothly.

3. How we use your data

We use the information we collect to:

• Add you to the Ask(S)Me waitlist and contact you when the product is ready
• Send you updates about Ask(S)Me, including launch announcements and product news
• Understand what small business owners need, so we can build the right product
• Analyse waitlist survey responses in aggregate to prioritise features
• Maintain and improve our website

We will never use your data to send unrelated marketing, and we will never sell it.

4. Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases:

• Consent — you provide your name and email address voluntarily when you sign up. You can withdraw this consent and ask us to delete your data at any time by emailing admin.asksme@gmail.com.
• Legitimate interests — we use aggregated, anonymised survey responses to understand market needs and improve the product. No individual is identifiable in this analysis.

5. How we share your data

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it only in the following limited circumstances:

Netlify

Our website is hosted on Netlify (netlify.com), which also handles form submissions. When you submit the waitlist form, your data is processed and stored by Netlify on our behalf before we access it. Netlify acts as a data processor and does not use your data for any other purpose. You can review their privacy policy at netlify.com/privacy.

Email providers

When we contact you about Ask(S)Me, your email address will be processed by our email provider. We use standard, reputable providers and will update this policy if that changes.

Legal requirements

We may disclose your data if required to do so by law or in response to a valid request from a public authority (e.g. the police or a regulator).

6. Data retention

We will keep your personal data for as long as you remain on the waitlist or have an active relationship with Ask(S)Me. Specifically:

• Waitlist data (name, email, survey responses): retained until you ask us to delete it, or for up to 2 years after the last time you engaged with us, whichever comes first.
• Usage and analytics data: retained in aggregated, anonymised form indefinitely. No individual is identifiable in this data.

You can ask us to delete your data at any time. See section 8 for how to do this.

7. Data security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal data. Form submissions are transmitted over HTTPS. Access to waitlist data is restricted to the Ask(S)Me team.

No online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. If you become aware of any security concern related to your data, please contact us immediately at admin.asksme@gmail.com.

8. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Delete your data (the "right to be forgotten")
• Restrict or object to how we process it
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal
• Data portability: receive a copy of your data in a commonly used format

To exercise any of these rights, email us at admin.asksme@gmail.com. We will respond within one calendar month.

9. Cookies

We may use essential cookies to keep the website functioning correctly. We do not currently use advertising or tracking cookies. If this changes, we will update this policy and give you a clear choice.

You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time.

10. International data transfers

Your data may be processed or stored outside the UK (for example, by Web3Forms or our email provider). Where this happens, we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including reliance on UK-approved Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions where applicable.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will let waitlist members know by email. The date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version.

12. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator:

We would always prefer to resolve any concerns directly first, so please do contact us before escalating to the ICO if possible.

13. Contact us

For any privacy or data protection queries: