Privacy Policy

Last updated 31 July 2026

Who we are

RivalScout (“we”) provides competitive intelligence briefings to businesses. For UK GDPR purposes we are the data controller for the personal data described here. Contact us at info@jamesplester.co.uk.

What we collect

• Account data: your name, email address and a securely hashed password.
• Business data you give us: your business name, industry, location, the competitors you choose to monitor, and the goals and priorities you enter.
• Billing data: handled entirely by Stripe. We never see or store your card details — only a customer reference and subscription status.
• Usage data: standard server logs (IP address, timestamps, pages requested) used for security and diagnostics.

What we monitor

We collect and analyse information that competitors publish publicly — their websites, public job listings, news coverage and public feeds. We do not access private, restricted or login-protected content, and we do not monitor individuals.

How we use it

To generate and send your briefings, run your account, take payment and provide support. Our lawful basis is performance of our contract with you, and our legitimate interest in operating and securing the service.

Who we share it with

Only the processors we need to run the service: Google Cloud (hosting, database and AI analysis via Vertex AI, in the EU), Stripe (payments), Resend (email delivery), Firecrawl (page retrieval) and — only if you accept analytics cookies — Google Analytics (usage statistics). We do not sell your data or share it for advertising. Content sent to our AI provider is not used to train their models.

Where we store it

Your data is stored in Google Cloud's europe-west1 (Belgium) region. Some processors may handle data outside the UK/EEA under appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

How long we keep it

Account and business data for as long as your account is open, then up to 30 days after closure. Monitoring snapshots are pruned automatically after about 90 days. Billing records are kept for six years as UK law requires.

Your rights

You may access, correct, export or delete your data, object to or restrict processing, and withdraw consent at any time. Email info@jamesplester.co.uk and we'll respond within one month. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

Cookies & analytics

We use one essential cookie to keep you signed in — it can't be switched off because the service doesn't work without it.

If you accept our cookie banner, we also use Google Analytics to understand how people use the site (pages visited, roughly where visitors come from, with IP addresses anonymised). These cookies are optional: nothing is set unless you choose “Accept”, declining changes nothing about how the site works, and you can clear your browser's site data at any time to be asked again. We use no advertising cookies and never sell or share your data for advertising.