Privacy policy

Who we are

Scout is a marketplace that connects horse owners with equine professionals such as grooms, farriers, physiotherapists and equine dentists. We are the marketplace, not the service provider: the contract for the work itself is between the horse owner and the professional. This policy explains what we do with the personal information you give us when you use the site, and Scout is responsible for that information.

What we collect

We only collect what the site needs to work:

• Account details - your email address and password, or your Google account if you sign in with Google.
• Profile - your first and last name.
• Horses and addresses - the horses you add, and the yard or visit address where work takes place.
• Bookings and messages - the details of bookings you make or accept, and the messages owners and professionals send each other about them.
• Reviews and problem reports - what you write after a booking, and anything you report to us about one.
• Business listings - if you list a business: its name, the services you offer, your prices, the area you cover, and your photos. Listings are public.
• Images - the photos you upload.

What we use it for

To run the marketplace: showing owners the professionals who cover their area, letting the two sides arrange, accept and complete a booking, and carrying the messages between them. We use your email address, and your mobile number if you choose to receive texts, to send you notifications about your bookings and messages.

We also use reviews and problem reports to keep the marketplace honest. Reviews are screened automatically before they appear, and anything the screening flags is checked by a person - see the review guidelines for how that works. Reporting a problem creates a record on the booking and pauses payment until the dispute is resolved.

Reviews are published without reviewer names, and dates shown to the month only. The business you reviewed can usually tell which booking a review came from; not showing names protects you from other users, not from them. Neither side can see the other's review until both are in or the review window closes.

Who we share it with

• The other side of your booking - a professional sees the booking details they need to do the job, and the visit address is revealed to them when they accept the booking.
• Stripe - processes payments and pays professionals through Stripe Connect. Scout never sees or stores your full card details.
• Google Cloud - runs the service and stores the images you upload.
• Mapbox - when you search for a location, your search text is sent to Mapbox to turn it into a place.
• Ideal Postcodes - when you enter an address, the postcode you type is sent from your browser to Ideal Postcodes to look up the addresses at it.
• Twilio - delivers the text messages you opt in to; they receive your mobile number and the message text.

We never sell your personal data. Scout sets no cookies and runs no analytics or tracking - see the cookie policy.

Where your data lives

Scout is hosted on Google Cloud in the EU (the europe-west1 region), and uploaded images are stored on Google Cloud Storage. Your sign-in session is kept in your own browser's localStorage. The other companies listed above handle the data they receive under their own privacy policies.

How long we keep it

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. Ask us to delete your account and we will delete it and the data we hold about you. If you want that, email us at the address below.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, ask for it in a portable form, or object to how we are using it. Email us and we will deal with it.

If you are not happy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk. This policy is governed by the law of England and Wales.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or a request about your data? Email help@scoutequine.com. See also our terms of service and cookie policy.