Your information stays yours.

This policy explains what personal information WotUGot collects, why it is needed, how it is used for marketplace features, Stories and moderation, how long it is kept and the choices you have. We use personal information to run and protect the service — not to sell member data or build unrelated marketing profiles.

Last updated: 6 October 2026.

1. Who controls your information

WotUGot operates WotUGot and is the data controller for personal information processed through this website. Privacy enquiries can be sent to admin@wotugot.co.uk or through the Contact Us page.

Deleting your account

You can request self-service account deletion from Settings. The public account is closed and identifying profile data is anonymised where practical; active listings are removed. Some transaction, fraud-prevention, dispute and moderation records may be retained where necessary for legal, accounting or community-safety purposes.

2. Information we collect

Account details: username, email address, first and last name, home address, phone number, date of birth, password hash, account role, VIP/subscription status, account status and membership dates. Date of birth is used to confirm that a member is at least 18. Legal/contact details are kept private from other members and moderators.
Profile details: username, avatar, biography, town or general location information, social links, friend relationships, ratings and feedback that you choose to add or generate through use of the service.
Marketplace content: Swap, Sale, Swap / Sale, Seek, Shift and Local Service posts, photographs and optional listing videos where supported, descriptions, values, sale prices, willing-to-pay amounts, service categories, public business/service location, offers, tracked-deal progress and completed-deal records.
Stories and reactions: uploaded short videos, captions, video duration and file information, approval/rejection status, moderation notes, views, likes, emoji reactions and share counts.
Communications: private messages, live-chat messages, reports and communications with moderators or administrators.
Payment and subscription records: subscription type or boost pack purchased, amount, payment status, Stripe customer/subscription identifiers where relevant, referral and reward records (including referral timing and whether a subscription-reward window is pending, completed or expired), transaction reference, refund information and dates needed to operate the purchase and keep proper business records.
Technical and security data: IP address, browser/device information, login and activity timestamps, session information and server/security logs where generated by the service.

3. What we use it for

We use personal information only where it is needed to operate, secure or administer WotUGot. This includes:

creating, authenticating and maintaining your account;
showing your public profile, listings, Local Service business/service location, Stories and feedback;
delivering private messages and the live community chat;
processing and tracking swap, sale, mixed and free Shift arrangements through the deal system;
reviewing Stories before publication, handling reports and recording moderation decisions;
providing one-off and rolling subscriptions, paid boost packs, recommendation rewards and monthly leaderboard rewards, including boost-usage activity used for the Top Booster board;
sending service messages such as account, security, payment, moderation or retention notices;
preventing spam, fraud, abuse and breaches of the Community rules;
investigating reports and applying moderation or account restrictions;
maintaining and troubleshooting the website; and
meeting legal, tax, accounting, regulatory or law-enforcement obligations where applicable.

We do not sell or rent member email addresses or other personal data to advertisers. We will not use your email address for unrelated marketing unless you have separately chosen to receive it.

Private identity and contact details may be disclosed where WotUGot is legally required or lawfully permitted to provide them to police, courts or other competent authorities.

4. Lawful bases

Depending on what we are doing, we may rely on:

Contract: where information is necessary to provide the account, subscription, boost purchase or other service you have requested.
Legitimate interests: where necessary to operate, secure and moderate the community, prevent misuse and protect users and the platform, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.
Legal obligation: where records must be kept or information must be used to comply with applicable law.
Consent: where consent is required, for example optional marketing or certain non-essential cookies.

Local Services and public business location

If you publish a Local Service post, the town/area and optional postcode area you enter for that service are public marketplace information. They are displayed so members can judge whether the provider operates locally. Do not enter a private street address in the public Local Service location fields.

Local Service post records may also include the service category, description, photos, price/quote information, expiry date and the account that published the service. We use this information to display, search, moderate and expire Local Service posts.

Local Service reviews may include the reviewer's username, star rating, written review, the service post reviewed and the date the review was created or updated. Reviews are public and are used to show service ratings, recommendation ordering and the Top Recommended Business highlight.

5. Payments, subscriptions and boost purchases

Paid subscriptions, monthly rolling subscriptions, boost purchases and direct-advertising payments are processed by Stripe. WotUGot does not store full payment-card numbers or card security codes on its own servers.

Stripe receives the payment and billing information needed to process one-off payments and recurring monthly subscriptions. WotUGot may keep the payment amount, date, status, purchased product, transaction reference and related account information so that we can provide the service, handle refunds or disputes and maintain legally required financial records.

For recurring subscriptions, WotUGot may store Stripe customer/subscription identifiers and the current paid-through date so that access can be renewed, cancelled and reconciled correctly. Stripe handles card details and recurring billing.

6. Advertising

Free accounts may see advertising. Subscribers, moderators, VIP members and administrators are intended to use the site without adverts.

WotUGot may display direct adverts sold by WotUGot and third-party adverts supplied through Google AdSense. Direct adverts do not receive member contact details from WotUGot. Google and its advertising partners may receive technical information such as IP address, browser/device information, page context and advertising identifiers where those are used.

Where consent is required for Google advertising, WotUGot uses Google's certified consent-management platform for UK, EEA and Swiss visitors. Google advertising consent is handled through that Google message. WotUGot's separate Cookie settings control in the footer applies to WotUGot's own optional analytics.

WotUGot does not sell member email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers or other account contact details to advertisers.

7. Public information

Usernames, avatars, profile biographies, social links, listings, approved Stories, ratings, feedback, completed swap/deal history, deal statistics and certain membership information are intended to be visible to other users or the public. Story likes/reactions and aggregate viewing/share statistics may also be displayed. Do not put private or sensitive information in public profile, listing, Story or caption fields.

8. Stories, moderation and public video

Story videos are uploaded to our server and held while they are pending moderation or live. Moderators and administrators can view pending Stories before they become public. If approved, the Story becomes publicly viewable through the site's Story galleries and may be liked, reacted to or shared by users. If a Story is rejected, the uploaded video file is deleted and the member is sent a private moderation message explaining the rejection; we may retain the moderation message and other non-video records where reasonably necessary for safety, abuse handling or legal obligations.

Listing videos appear with the public post; they are not held for Story pre-approval. Story moderation records may include the reviewing moderator, review time and review note. We may retain relevant material and moderation records where reasonably necessary to investigate abuse, respond to complaints, protect users, establish or defend legal claims, or comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

9. Private messages and live chat

Private messages are intended for the members taking part in the conversation. Authorised moderators or administrators may access relevant communications where reasonably necessary to investigate a report, enforce site rules, protect users or the platform, resolve a technical/security issue or comply with a lawful request.

Live-chat messages are visible to people in the room and are subject to moderation. Chat presence information is used to show who is currently active in the room.

10. How long we keep information

We do not keep identifiable personal information indefinitely “just in case”. The following is the retention policy for WotUGot unless a longer period is required for law, a dispute, fraud prevention, safety or an active investigation.

Open accountsWhile the account remains active

Core account and profile information is kept while you use the service.

Inactive accountsReview after 24 months

If an account has had no login or meaningful activity for 24 months, we may contact the registered email address. If the account remains inactive for a further 30 days, personal information may be deleted or anonymised where it is no longer required.

Closed accountsNormally within 30 days

When an account is closed, public profile and active listing information should be removed and personal data that is no longer required should be deleted or anonymised within 30 days.

BackupsUp to 90 days

Deleted information may remain in protected routine backups until those backups are overwritten, normally within 90 days. Manual full-site exports made by the administrator may be held separately and need secure deletion when no longer required.

Server/security logsNormally up to 12 months

Technical and security logs may be retained for up to 12 months where needed for security, fraud prevention, diagnostics or investigations.

Chat and private-message contentLogged for moderation and safety

Messages sent through public chat, private chat rooms and member-to-member messaging are recorded on the server, including the original text submitted. A message removed from the visible interface may remain in restricted moderation records where needed for safety, abuse investigation, disputes or legal obligations. Routine records should still be deleted or anonymised when they are no longer reasonably required.

Moderation recordsUp to 24 months after closure

Reports, strikes and enforcement records may be retained for up to 24 months after an account closes where reasonably needed to prevent repeat abuse or defend decisions.

Payment/accounting recordsUp to 6 years or longer if legally required

Transaction records connected with subscriptions, boost purchases, refunds and business accounting may need to be retained for tax and accounting purposes even after an account is closed.

Deletion does not override a legal duty to retain particular records. Where possible, information that must be retained after account closure should be reduced to what is necessary and kept separate from ordinary active-account use.

11. Who we share information with

We may share only the information reasonably necessary with providers that host, secure or support the site; Stripe for paid subscriptions, boost packs and direct-advertising payments; Google and participating advertising technology providers where AdSense is enabled and the required consent has been obtained; and professional advisers, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities where required or lawfully justified.

Where WotUGot is legally required to operate seller-reporting or tax-compliance procedures for activity arranged through the platform, relevant seller identity and transaction information may be collected, verified and supplied to HMRC or another competent tax authority as required by law.

We do not sell personal data to advertisers or data brokers.

11A. International processing

Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where UK data-protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we expect the relevant provider or transfer arrangement to use an applicable adequacy decision, contractual safeguard or other lawful transfer mechanism. Provider terms and processing locations can change, so these arrangements are reviewed when services are added or materially changed.

12. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information, including password hashing, access controls and restricted administrative access. No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Members are responsible for keeping their password and devices secure.

13. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis, UK data-protection law may give you rights to ask for access to your personal information, correction of inaccurate information, deletion, restriction, objection, and in some cases portability. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw that consent.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully.

14. Cookies and advertising storage

See the Cookie notice for essential session and security storage, WotUGot optional analytics and Google AdSense advertising storage. WotUGot does not start its own optional analytics before the WotUGot Cookie settings choice allows it; Google advertising consent is handled separately through Google's certified consent-management platform where required.

15. Changes to this policy

We will review this policy when the service changes, including when payments, advertising providers or live chat are connected. If personal information will be used for a materially different purpose, we will update the privacy information before that processing begins where required.

Privacy is a service rule, not a marketing claim.

The retention periods and data-use promises on this page need to be followed in practice. If the site's systems or providers change, this policy should be updated to match what actually happens.