Privacy Policy

1Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Hope Ikegwuru ("I", "me", "my") collects, uses and protects personal information when you use hopeikegwuru.com, send me a project brief or enquiry, or work with me as a client.

I am the data controller for this information. I am a sole trader based at Allia Future Business Centre, London Road, Peterborough, PE2 8AN (VAT registration number 487065655). I handle 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 (PECR).

2Data I Collect and How I Collect It

I may collect and process the following types of personal information:

Contact Information

Your name, company name, email address, phone number, and billing or postal address. This is collected when you send a project brief through my website, email me directly, or book a consultation.

Project Brief Details

The information you choose to give about your project in my website's brief form, such as your current website, platform, industry, budget, timescales and requirements.

Project and Technical Data

Repository handles (e.g., GitHub usernames), server or hosting login credentials, CMS credentials, and project-specific documentation you provide so that I can deliver development services.

Payment and Billing Data

Invoice and payment records. Card payments are processed by Stripe; I never see or store your full card details.

Website Technical Data

When you visit my website, my hosting provider (Netlify) automatically records technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested, to keep the site secure and running. My website does not use analytics, advertising or tracking tools.

3Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, I only process your personal data when I have a lawful basis to do so:

Contractual Necessity

To respond to your project brief and provide a quote at your request, deliver web development services, and manage your client account.

Legitimate Interests

To reply to your enquiries, keep my website secure and working properly, and tell you about my services where the law allows.

Legal Obligation

To keep proper financial and accounting records for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), including VAT records, and to comply with other legal requirements.

Consent

Where you have opted in to receiving marketing emails. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

4How I Use Your Information

I use the collected data strictly to:

• Review your project requirements and prepare accurate proposals.
• Communicate with you throughout the design and development process.
• Set up development environments, hosting and code repositories for your project, or access existing CMS platforms.
• Issue invoices, process payments, and manage financial records.
• Keep my website secure and running properly.

I do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling.

5Data Sharing and Third Parties

I do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. I only share your information with trusted third parties needed to run my business, including:

Website Hosting and Forms

Netlify, which hosts my website and receives the project briefs submitted through it.

Email

Namecheap Private Email, which hosts my business email, including notifications of new project briefs.

Website Fonts

Google Fonts. When my pages load, your browser requests fonts from Google's servers, which receive your IP address.

Technical Infrastructure

Version control platforms (e.g., GitHub), cloud storage used to manage project files, and the hosting providers chosen for your project.

Business Operations

Invoicing, accounting, and secure payment processing software (e.g., Stripe, Xero).

Legal Obligations

Professional advisers, tax authorities (HMRC), or law enforcement if legally required.

All third-party service providers are required to keep your personal data secure and to treat it in line with UK data protection law. Where they process data on my behalf, they may only act on my instructions.

6Data I Handle on Behalf of Clients

If I handle personal data about your customers or users while building or maintaining your website, I do so on your behalf as a data processor, under the data protection terms in my Terms of Business. You remain the controller of that data, and your own privacy policy applies to it.

7Cookies and Similar Technologies

My website does not set any cookies and does not use analytics, advertising or tracking tools.

Saved Form Drafts

The project brief form saves what you type in your own browser's local storage, so you can come back and finish it later. This information stays on your device and is not sent to me until you press Send. It is cleared once your brief is sent, and you can remove it at any time by clearing your browser's data for this site. It is used only to provide a feature you have chosen to use.

If I add analytics or any other non-essential cookies in future, I will update this policy and ask for your consent before they are used.

8International Data Transfers

Some of the services I use, including Netlify, Google and Stripe, may store or process data outside the UK, for example in the United States. When this happens, I rely on safeguards recognised under UK law, such as the UK-US Data Bridge (for organisations certified under it), the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

9Data Security and Retention

Security

I use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure, including encrypted connections and a secure password manager. Login credentials you share for a project are stored only in that password manager and are deleted once the project and any warranty period have ended.

Client Data

I keep client data and project files for as long as needed for the purposes they were collected for, including legal, accounting and HMRC record-keeping requirements (normally 6 years after the end of the relevant tax year).

Enquiries

Project briefs and enquiries that do not lead to a project are deleted after 6 months.

10Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have specific rights regarding your personal information:

Right of Access

You can request a copy of the personal data I hold about you.

Right to Rectification

You can ask me to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.

Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten")

You can ask me to delete your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions (such as tax record retention).

Right to Restrict or Object

You can object to, or ask me to restrict, my processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, and you can object to direct marketing at any time.

Right to Data Portability

You can ask me to transfer your data to another service provider in a structured, machine-readable format.

Right to Withdraw Consent

Where I rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact me using the details below. I will respond within one month, and there is normally no charge.

11Changes to This Policy

I may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on my website, with the date it was last updated.

12Contact Information and Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to make a request regarding your data, please contact me at:

Email

hi@hopeikegwuru.com

Address

Allia Future Business Centre, London Road, Peterborough, PE2 8AN

If you are unhappy with how I have handled your data, you have the right to complain to the UK's independent data protection authority:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint