The controller responsible for personal information processed through HatchFinder is:

References in this policy to “HatchFinder”, “we”, “us” or “our” mean the controller identified above.

Account information

• Your name, username and email address
• Your login credentials in a secured or hashed form
• Your account preferences and account activity
• The date your account was created and last accessed

Breeder-profile information

• Your breeder or business name
• Your profile photograph or logo, where provided
• Your description and information about your birds
• Bird types kept and breeding activities
• Collection, delivery or postage options
• Your town, postcode area or other supplied location

Advert information

• Advert titles, descriptions, categories and photographs
• Breed, quantity, price and availability information
• Egg freshness and fertility information
• Collection, postage and delivery options
• The location connected to an advert

Communications

• Private messages sent through HatchFinder
• Reports, complaints and moderation correspondence
• Emails or support requests sent to us
• Notification preferences and email-delivery records

Technical information

• IP address and approximate network location
• Browser, device and operating-system information
• Login, security and server-log information
• Pages viewed and actions taken on the website
• Cookie identifiers and similar technical information

We collect information:

• Directly from you when you register or edit your account
• When you create a breeder profile or submit an advert
• When you send messages, reports or support requests
• Automatically when you use the website
• Through security, hosting and email-delivery systems
• Through location services such as Google Maps
• From another user where they report an advert or message

Providing the HatchFinder service

We use account, profile, advert and message information to create and manage accounts, publish adverts, provide search and location tools, enable private messaging and send service notifications.

Our lawful basis is generally that processing is necessary to provide the service you have requested and to perform our agreement with you.

Moderation, safety and fraud prevention

We use information to review adverts, investigate complaints, detect spam or fraud, enforce our rules, protect users and keep the website secure.

We generally rely on our legitimate interests in operating a safe, reliable and properly moderated classifieds platform.

Legal and regulatory requirements

We may process information to comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests and establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Service communications

We use your email address to send account confirmations, password resets, new-message alerts, advert updates, moderation decisions and other important service information.

These are operational messages rather than advertising emails.

Consent

Where consent is legally required—for example for certain non-essential cookies or optional marketing—we will ask for it. You may withdraw consent at any time.

Information you add to a public breeder profile or advert may be visible to anyone visiting HatchFinder and may be indexed by search engines.

Public information may include:

• Your breeder or business name
• Your profile image and breeder description
• Birds kept and services offered
• Your approximate town, city, county or region
• Your active adverts and advert photographs
• Reviews, ratings or public responses, where enabled

Do not publish your full home address, private telephone number, personal email address or payment details in your profile or advert.

Messages are visible to the sender and recipient. Authorised HatchFinder administrators may also access messages where reasonably necessary to:

• Investigate reports, complaints or suspected fraud
• Enforce the Listing Rules and platform terms
• Respond to safety, welfare or legal concerns
• Diagnose technical problems
• Protect HatchFinder, its users or other people

Administrators do not routinely read every conversation. Monitoring access should be limited to legitimate moderation, security, support and legal purposes.

A recipient may receive an email alert when a new message is sent. The notification may identify the sender and include part or all of the message text.

HatchFinder uses Google Maps Platform services to provide address suggestions, maps, regional information and distance-based searching.

When you enter or search for a location, information including the search text, selected location, IP address and technical request details may be sent to Google.

Google processes this information under its own terms and privacy policy. You can read Google’s privacy policy at:

Google Privacy Policy

Breeders should use a town, postcode area or suitably approximate location rather than publishing a full home address.

Cookies are small files or identifiers stored on or accessed from your device.

HatchFinder may use cookies to:

• Keep users signed in
• Protect accounts and prevent fraudulent activity
• Remember preferences and form information
• Operate listings, favourites and private messages
• Provide maps and location-search features
• Measure and improve website performance where permitted

Some cookies are strictly necessary for the requested service and cannot be disabled through our website. Where consent is required for non-essential cookies, we will request that consent before using them.

You can also control cookies through your browser settings, although blocking essential cookies may prevent parts of HatchFinder from working.

We may share information with:

• Other HatchFinder users, where you publish profile or advert information or send them a message
• Hostinger and related hosting or email providers used to host the website and deliver email
• Google, where Google Maps and location features are used
• Technical service providers that maintain, secure, back up or support the website
• Professional advisers, insurers or contractors where reasonably necessary
• Police, regulators, courts or public authorities where required or permitted by law
• A purchaser or successor if HatchFinder or its assets are sold, reorganised or transferred

Service providers are expected to use personal information only for the services they provide and to protect it appropriately.

Some technology providers may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where UK data-protection law requires additional protection for an international transfer, we rely on an applicable adequacy regulation, recognised transfer mechanism or contractual safeguard provided by the relevant supplier.

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including safety, moderation, legal and accounting requirements.

Private messages

Private messages are normally retained for up to 365 days.

A message or conversation may be kept for longer where it is connected to an unresolved complaint, suspected fraud, safety concern, legal obligation or legal claim.

Adverts

Adverts are normally published for up to 30 days. Once expired, they may remain available to the account holder in an unpublished state for an additional period before deletion or removal.

Accounts and profiles

Account and profile information is normally retained while the account remains active. Dormant, closed or deleted accounts are reviewed and information is removed or anonymised when it is no longer reasonably required.

Reports and moderation records

Reports, complaints, enforcement decisions and related evidence may be retained for as long as needed to protect users, identify repeated breaches, respond to complaints or establish and defend legal claims.

Technical logs and backups

Security logs and backups may remain for limited periods under our hosting and backup arrangements. When information is deleted from the live website, copies may remain temporarily in rotating backups before being overwritten.

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, loss or disclosure.

These measures may include:

• Encrypted HTTPS connections
• Restricted administrator access
• Account authentication and password protection
• Website, plugin and server updates
• Security monitoring, logging and backups
• Moderation and access controls

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Users are responsible for choosing a strong password and keeping their account credentials private.

Depending on the circumstances and lawful basis involved, you may have the following rights:

To exercise a right, email support@hatchfinder.co.uk .

We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. Some rights are not absolute, and we may retain information where there is a lawful reason to do so.

HatchFinder is not designed or directed primarily at children. Children should not create accounts, publish adverts or arrange transactions without the involvement and permission of a parent or legal guardian.

If you believe a child has supplied personal information inappropriately, contact us so that we can review and, where appropriate, remove it.

HatchFinder does not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

Automated tools may assist with spam detection, security or website operation, but important moderation decisions may be reviewed by an administrator.

Please contact HatchFinder first if you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled. Explain what happened and what you would like us to do.

Email: support@hatchfinder.co.uk

If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

Make a complaint to the ICO

We may update this policy when HatchFinder changes its services, technology, suppliers or legal obligations.

The latest version will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Where a change is significant, we may also notify registered users by email or through their account.