Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Pet Lodger UK (“Pet Lodger”, “we”, “us”) is the data controller for the personal information you provide when using our website. This policy explains what we collect, why, and your rights under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

Pet Lodger is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller. Our ICO registration reference is C242162. You can verify our registration on the ICO public register.

2. Information We Collect

• Account details: name, email address, telephone number, and a hashed password.
• Client booking details: full address, pet information, dates, arrival/departure times, and any special instructions.
• Sitter details: profile information, photos, areas covered, DBS status, insurance status and bank account details for payouts.
• Compliance documents: when you register as a Sitter, you may upload your DBS certificate and pet insurance document. These are stored securely on our servers and are never made publicly accessible. They are shared with a Client only when you grant explicit, documented consent for that specific Client and document. Every grant, revocation and view is recorded in an audit log that you can see in your profile.
• Payment information: transaction references and amounts. Full card details are handled by our payment provider, SumUp, and are never stored by Pet Lodger.
• Contact form enquiries: when you submit our contact form, your name, email address, telephone number and message are processed to respond to your enquiry and may be shared with our third-party customer relationship management provider to manage and track your enquiry.
• Messages & reviews: content you submit through the messaging system or as a review.
• Technical data: IP address and browser information collected via standard server logs.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account.
• To facilitate bookings, ad listings and introductions between Clients and Sitters.
• To process payments and sitter payouts.
• To verify Sitters (DBS and insurance checks).
• To send service-related notifications about your bookings and messages.
• To maintain site security and prevent fraud or off-platform contact.
• To comply with legal obligations.

4. Data Protection & Name Masking

To protect both Clients and Sitters, and to discourage off-platform contact, surnames are masked to an initial on all public-facing pages (profiles, listings, ads, reviews, map popups and SEO metadata). Full names remain visible only where the parties already have legitimate access to each other's details — for example, once a booking has been confirmed through Pet Lodger, or to the platform administrator.

Bank account details for payouts are visible only to the Sitter who owns them and to the platform administrator for the purpose of making payments.

5. Legal Basis

We process your personal data on the basis of: performance of a contract (managing your account and bookings), compliance with legal obligations (financial records and identity verification), our legitimate interests (site security and preventing disintermediation), and your consent (where you provide optional information such as reviews, or where you, as a Sitter, grant explicit permission for a compliance document to be shared with a specific Client).

6. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your data. We share information only as necessary to operate the platform:

• SumUp — our payment provider, to process card payments.
• Customer relationship management provider — to manage and track contact form enquiries and provide you with a response. Your name, email, phone number and message may be shared for this purpose.
• Between parties — when a booking is confirmed through Pet Lodger, relevant contact details are revealed to both parties so the sit can be arranged.
• Compliance documents — a Sitter's DBS certificate or insurance document is shared with a specific Client only when the Sitter has granted explicit, documented consent for that Client. The Sitter may revoke consent at any time, and every access is logged.
• Authorities — where required by law or to prevent fraud.

7. Data Retention

We keep your data for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards where required for records, dispute resolution or legal compliance. You may request deletion of your data at any time, subject to any records we are legally required to retain.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request erasure of your data (“right to be forgotten”).
• Object to or restrict certain processing.
• Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent).
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

9. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including hashed passwords, session-based authentication and restricted access to sensitive information such as bank details. Payment card data is handled entirely by SumUp and never touches our servers. Compliance documents (DBS certificates and insurance documents) are stored securely and are accessible only through authenticated server-side checks — they are never exposed via a public URL, and client access is gated behind the Sitter's explicit, recorded consent.

10. Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your login session. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

11. Contact

To exercise any of your rights or ask a question about your data, email info@petlodger.co.uk.