Privacy Policy

I respect your privacy. As a local service visiting people in person and handling their personal devices, trust is everything. This policy explains what data I collect, why I need it, and how I keep it safe.

1. Who we are

Marple Tech Help is a trading name of Marple Tech Ltd. We are the "Data Controller" for any personal information you provide to us.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Our registration reference is ZC135626.

If you have any questions about your data, you can email me at martyn@marpletech.co.uk.

2. Information I collect

I only collect the information I need to do the job. This typically includes:

• Contact details: Your name, email address, and phone number so I can reply to your enquiries.
• Location data: Your home address if I am visiting you for a setup or repair.
• Technical details: Notes about your device (e.g., "Dell Laptop, Windows 11") to help me fix the problem.
• Passwords: Occasionally, I may need a password to log in to your device to fix it. I do not store these permanently unless you specifically ask me to (e.g., writing them down for you in a secure note).

3. How I use your information

I use your data for three simple reasons:

1. To communicate with you: Replying to your messages and arranging visits.
2. To do the work: Visiting you in person to fix issues. For existing clients, I may use remote access for follow-up tasks, but only with your express permission each time.
3. For business records: Sending invoices and keeping tax records (which is a legal requirement).

4. Access to your computer and files

This is the most important part. When I am fixing your computer, I may have access to your personal files (photos, documents, emails).

My promise to you:

• I only access files if strictly necessary to fix the problem (e.g., checking if data recovery worked).
• I never copy, share, or look through your personal files out of curiosity.
• I treat your device and data with total confidentiality.

5. Sharing your data

I do not sell your data. Ever.

I only share data with trusted third-party tools that help me run the business. Currently, this includes:

• Google (Gmail): To send and receive emails.
• Web Hosting: My website is hosted on a secure server.
• ipinfo.io (approximate location): When you visit the website, your IP address is sent to ipinfo.io, a company based in the United States, which returns an approximate town, region and country. This tells me roughly where my visitors are, which matters for a local business. Your IP address is never stored on my server, only a one-way hash of it and the approximate location. See section 8 if you would rather this did not happen.

If I need to use a specific tool for your repair (like a remote support tool), I will tell you what it is and ask for permission first.

6. How long I keep your data

I keep personal information only as long as needed for support, admin and basic record-keeping, then delete it.

• Enquiries: Emails are kept for up to 2 years for reference in case you contact me again.
• Invoices: Financial records are kept for 6 years (required by HMRC).
• Passwords: Any passwords written down during a job are destroyed or handed over to you once the job is finished.

7. Your rights

Under the UK GDPR, you have rights over your data, including:

• The right to access: You can ask what data I hold about you.
• The right to deletion: You can ask me to delete your data (unless I need to keep it for tax reasons).
• The right to correction: If your details change, let me know and I will update them.

To exercise any of these rights, just email martyn@marpletech.co.uk.

8. Cookies & Analytics

This website is designed to be privacy-friendly. We do not use third-party analytics (like Google Analytics), advertising trackers or marketing pixels. Instead, we use a self-hosted analytics system to understand how the site is used, so that it can be improved.

It sets no cookies. It does store two small items in your browser: a random visitor ID, which lets repeat visits be counted once rather than several times, and a short-lived session marker that lasts until you close the tab. The visitor ID is a random value with no meaning on its own, and it is replaced with a new one after 90 days, so it cannot be used to recognise you indefinitely. Neither item contains your name, email address or anything you have typed, and the information collected is used for site statistics only, never for advertising or profiling.

Your approximate location is worked out separately, on my server, by sending your IP address to ipinfo.io (see section 5). I only keep the town, region and country it returns, along with a one-way hash of the IP address so the same visitor is not looked up repeatedly. The IP address itself is never stored here.

UK rules (PECR, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025) allow this kind of first-party measurement without a consent banner, provided we tell you about it and give you a simple, free way to object. That is what the button below does. Opting out covers all of it: nothing is stored in your browser, no visits are recorded, and no location lookup is made.

• Cloudflare Turnstile (Security): We use a security tool called Turnstile to protect our contact forms from spam bots. This may store a small file (token) in your browser to prove you are a human. This is classified as "Strictly Necessary" for security purposes.
• Google Fonts (Typography): We use fonts provided by Google to make the site readable. These files are downloaded from Google's servers, which means Google may see your IP address to deliver the font file, but no cookies are set for this purpose.

9. Lawful Basis and Your Rights

My lawful basis for processing your data is primarily "performance of a contract" (doing the work you hired me for) and "legitimate interests" (running my business). You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how I have handled your data. You can find their contact details on the ICO website.

10. Contact Form Processor

The contact form on this website is processed by a custom PHP script running on my secure web server. When you submit the form, the data is sent directly to my Gmail account and is not stored on the website itself. This process is protected by standard encryption (SSL/TLS).