Privacy Policy

1 Who We Are

MutualExchange.uk ("we", "us", "our") is a mutual home exchange platform for UK social housing tenants. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data transparently.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at privacy@mutualexchange.uk.

2 What Data We Collect

We collect the following types of personal data:

Account information

• Name, email address, and phone number (optional)
• Password (stored securely using bcrypt hashing — we never store plain text passwords)
• Account preferences and notification settings

Property listing information

• Postcode and borough (your full address is never displayed publicly)
• Property details: type, bedrooms, features, parking, garden
• Photos you upload of your property
• Description text and swap preferences
• Council or housing association name

Usage data

• Pages visited and features used
• Search queries and filter preferences
• Messages sent and received on the platform
• Last active timestamp

Technical data

• IP address, browser type, and device information
• Cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy)

3 How We Use Your Data

We use your data to:

• Provide the service: Create and display your listing, match you with potential swappers, and enable messaging
• Improve the platform: Understand how people use the site so we can make it better
• Send notifications: Email alerts about new matches, messages, and account activity (you control these in your settings)
• Process payments: If you subscribe to Premium, we use Stripe to securely process payments. We never see or store your full card details
• Display advertising: Free accounts see contextually relevant adverts via Google AdSense. Premium accounts see no adverts
• Prevent abuse: Detect and prevent fraud, spam, and misuse of the platform

4 Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we process your data on the following bases:

• Contract: Processing necessary to provide you with the MutualExchange service
• Consent: Where you have given consent for analytics cookies and marketing communications
• Legitimate interest: Improving our service, preventing fraud, and communicating about your account

5 Who We Share Your Data With

We share your data only with:

• Other users: Your listing information is visible to other registered users. Your exact address is never shared publicly
• Service providers: Stripe (payments), Resend (email delivery), Google (analytics and advertising), Pusher (real-time messaging)

We never sell your personal data to third parties.

6 How Long We Keep Your Data

• Active accounts: Data retained while your account is active
• Account deletion: 30-day soft delete period (you can recover your account), then permanent deletion of all personal data
• Anonymised statistics: Swap completion records may be retained in anonymised form for platform statistics

7 Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate data
• Delete your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Withdraw consent at any time for analytics and marketing cookies
• Data portability — receive a copy of your data in a common format

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@mutualexchange.uk.

8 Data Security

We protect your data with:

• SSL/TLS encryption on all connections
• Bcrypt password hashing
• CSRF protection on all forms
• Regular security updates
• Encrypted backups

9 Cookies

We use cookies for essential site functionality, analytics (Google Analytics), and advertising (Google AdSense). You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie settings on our site. For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

10 Children

MutualExchange is not intended for use by anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

11 Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email or a notice on the site.

12 Contact Us

For any privacy-related queries:

• Email: privacy@mutualexchange.uk
• Post: MutualExchange.uk, United Kingdom

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).