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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 22 May 2026

Who we are

House Hound is operated as a sole trader business, based in the United Kingdom.

What data we collect

When you use the search preview:

• Search criteria you enter (postcode, budget, bedrooms, preferences)
• No account is required to use the preview

When you sign up for alerts:

• Email address
• Search preferences (postcode, budget, bedrooms, tags)

When you subscribe (paid plan):

• Payment card details are collected and processed entirely by Stripe. We never see, store, or have access to your full card number.
• Stripe provides us with your Stripe customer ID and subscription status so we can manage your access.
• Your subscription includes a 5-day free trial. You will not be charged until the trial ends.

Automatically collected:

• IP address and basic server logs (rolling 30-day deletion)
• Anonymous usage analytics

How we use your data

• To search for property listings matching your criteria
• To score and analyse listings using AI
• To send you property alerts
• To process and manage your subscription via Stripe
• To improve the service

AI processing

Your search criteria and property listing data are sent to Anthropic (Claude AI) for scoring and analysis. This includes property addresses, prices, descriptions, and features from publicly listed properties. Your personal data (phone number, payment info) is never sent to AI services.

Property data

Property listings displayed in House Hound are sourced from publicly available property portals. We do not claim ownership of this data. Listing data is cached temporarily to provide analysis features and is refreshed regularly.

Lawful basis for processing

• Contract: Processing your search, sending alerts, managing your subscription
• Consent: Marketing communications (if any)
• Legitimate interest: Anonymous analytics, service improvement, fraud prevention

Data sharing

We share data only with the following processors, strictly for service delivery:

• Anthropic (US) - AI analysis of property listings
• Stripe (US) - Payment processing. Stripe acts as an independent data controller for payment data. See Stripe's privacy policy.
• Render (US) - Hosting and database

International transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (UK Addendum) or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

We will never sell your data to third parties.

Data retention

• Email and search criteria: Retained while your subscription is active. Deleted within 30 days of cancellation upon request.
• Stripe data: Payment records are retained by Stripe in accordance with their retention policy. We retain your Stripe customer ID and subscription status while your account exists.
• Property listing cache: Refreshed regularly, older data purged automatically
• Server logs: 30-day rolling deletion
• Analytics: 12 months, anonymised
• Payment records: Retained as required by law (typically 6 years for tax purposes)

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Restrict or object to processing
• Data portability
• Withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details at the bottom of this page. We will respond within one month.

Cookies

We use only essential cookies required for the service to function. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via WhatsApp or email.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your data, please contact us first at hello@househound.app.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
ico.org.uk | 0303 123 1113
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Contact

hello@househound.app