CONNECTEA · LEGAL

Privacy Policy

Adult Social Care Marketplace Ltd (trading as Connectea) · Company No. 15270298 · ICO No. ZB718736 · Version 1.0 · June 2026

Who we are

Connectea is a companionship platform that connects older people and other vulnerable adults with companions — real people who provide consistent, human social connection. Connectea is operated by Adult Social Care Marketplace Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales.

Connectea employs companions directly on zero-hours contracts. Connectea is not a care provider, does not deliver regulated care activity, and is not registered with the Care Quality Commission.

This privacy policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and what your rights are under UK GDPR.

What data we collect

From families browsing the platform

When you visit connectea.co.uk, we collect:

• Anonymous session data — a randomly generated identifier so we can understand how the service is being used
• Postcode — entered when you search for companions near you. We use this to surface relevant profiles. We do not store your full postcode beyond your active session unless you create an account.
• Event logs — actions such as viewing a companion profile or submitting an expression of interest, used to improve the service

From families who submit an expression of interest

When you express interest in a companion, we collect:

• Your name (first name only)
• Your email address
• Your phone number (optional)
• A note describing who you are looking for

This information is used solely to facilitate the introduction between your family and the companion you have expressed interest in. It is not shared with third parties.

From families who sign up to stay informed

If you submit your email address to be notified when Connectea is available in your area, we store your email address for that purpose only. You can ask us to remove it at any time.

From companion applicants

When you apply to become a Connectea companion, we collect the following categories of data:

Public profile data (displayed on your profile once activated):

• First name
• Age
• Display area (e.g. Richmond, London)
• Profile photograph
• Personal statement
• Interests and hobbies
• Languages spoken
• Gender
• Availability slots and preferences

Application data (reviewed by Connectea, never displayed publicly):

• Written answers to three application questions
• Why you want to be a companion
• A personal example of making a difference to someone
• Any background, language, faith, or experience relevant to the role

Verification and employment data (held securely, never displayed publicly):

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• National Insurance number
• Right to work documentation (document type and uploaded file)
• Emergency contact name, relationship, and phone number
• Enhanced DBS certificate number and check date
• Code of Conduct sign-off timestamp

Visit and conduct records:

• Visit logs submitted by you after each visit (date, duration, brief note, any concerns)
• Concern reports submitted through the platform
• Interview notes and admin notes held by Connectea's Designated Safeguarding Lead

How your data is stored

All data is stored securely on Lovable Cloud, hosted in the EU West (Ireland) region. Connections to our service are encrypted in transit. Stored data is encrypted at rest.

Right to work documents and profile photographs are stored in a private Supabase storage bucket. These files are not publicly accessible and are only accessible to Connectea's authorised personnel.

Sensitive companion data — including National Insurance numbers, right to work documents, and DBS certificate details — is accessible only to Connectea's Designated Safeguarding Lead and is never displayed on the platform.

What we do not collect

• We do not send marketing emails. Ever.
• We do not collect or share data with third-party advertisers.
• We do not use tracking cookies for advertising purposes.
• We do not share companion personal data — including NI numbers, DBS details, or right to work documents — with families or any third party, except where legally required.
• We do not share family contact details with companions. Companions are never given a family's email address, phone number, or home address through the Connectea platform.

Use of Plausible Analytics

We use Plausible Analytics to understand which pages are visited and how people move through the service. Plausible does not use cookies, does not collect personal data, and does not track users across other websites. No personally identifiable information is sent to Plausible.

Safeguarding and legal disclosures

Connectea is committed to the safety of the vulnerable adults who use our platform. In certain circumstances, we are legally required — or have a legitimate safeguarding reason — to share data with third parties. These circumstances include:

• Referring a concern to the relevant local authority adult safeguarding team
• Sharing information with the police where there is risk to life or a criminal matter
• Referring a companion to the Disclosure and Barring Service where legally required
• Complying with a court order or other legal obligation

In all such cases, only the data necessary to fulfil the legal or safeguarding obligation will be shared. We will inform the person concerned where it is safe and lawful to do so.

Retention periods

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary:

• Family expressions of interest — retained for 12 months from submission, then deleted
• Waitlist email addresses — retained until you ask to be removed, or until Connectea launches in your area
• Companion application data (rejected applicants) — retained for 12 months from the date of rejection, then deleted. DBS referral records are retained for as long as legally required.
• Companion employment data (active companions) — retained for the duration of employment plus 6 years, in line with standard employment record retention practice
• Visit logs and concern reports — retained for 6 years from the date of the visit or report
• Safeguarding incident records — retained for as long as required by applicable safeguarding guidance

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

• Be informed about what data we hold about you
• Access a copy of your personal data
• Have inaccurate data corrected
• Have your data deleted (subject to legal and safeguarding retention obligations)
• Restrict or object to how we process your data
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@connectea.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

How to request data deletion

Email hello@connectea.co.uk with the subject line "Data deletion request" and we will delete your account and any associated personal data within 30 days, subject to any legal or safeguarding retention obligations that require us to retain certain records.

For companion employment records, some data may need to be retained beyond your request in line with employment law and safeguarding guidance. We will tell you clearly what we are retaining and why.

Cookies

Connectea uses only the cookies necessary to make the service work — specifically, a session cookie to keep you signed in to your companion account. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking cookies, or any cookie that shares your data with third parties.

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when our practices change. If we make a material change — particularly one that affects how we use companion employment data — we will notify active companions by email before the change takes effect.

Data controller

Connectea is operated by:

Adult Social Care Marketplace Ltd
Trading as: Connectea
Company No. 15270298
ICO registration No. ZB718736
Registered address: 93 Greencroft Gardens, London, England, NW6 3PG
Contact: hello@connectea.co.uk

An important note

Connectea is not a care provider and is not registered with the Care Quality Commission. We are a companionship platform and employer of companions. We do not arrange or refer regulated care activity.

This policy was last reviewed June 2026. For questions contact hello@connectea.co.uk

To exercise your data rights email hello@connectea.co.uk with the subject line "Data request"