Privacy Policy

How we collect, use, and protect your personal data.

Last updated: January 2026

Who we are

Reputable Sitters is a directory service for verified experienced housesitters, operated by Reputablesitters Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”).

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller.

Contact for data queries:
Email: privacy@reputablesitters.com

What data we collect

For sitters who apply to join

  • Account information: Name, email address, password (encrypted)
  • Profile information: Bio, photo, location, rates, availability, services offered, pet preferences
  • Location data: Your home base (“Roots”) and current travel status (“On the Road”), updated by you
  • Verification documents: GDPR data exports from platforms like TrustedHousesitters or Nomador
  • Payment information: Processed securely via Stripe — we do not store your card details

For homeowners

Homeowners do not need to create an account to use our directory. When you contact a sitter:

  • Enquiry details: Your email address (required for the sitter to reply), your name (optional), and the content of your message
  • Sit information: Location, dates, pet details, and property information you provide in the contact form

Important: We send your enquiry directly to the sitter's email. We do not store your message content, sit details, or personal information on our servers. The sitter replies directly to your email address — we are not part of that conversation.

For everyone

  • Technical data: We use privacy-respecting analytics that do not track individual users or use cookies for tracking
  • Rate limiting data: To prevent spam, we temporarily log email addresses and IP addresses when enquiries are sent (see “Spam prevention” below)

Location services (sitters)

Sitters can update their location to help homeowners find them. We offer two ways to do this:

  • Manual entry: You select your country and region from a list
  • GPS check-in: You can use your device's location to update quickly

If you use GPS check-in:

  • Your device's coordinates are captured once to determine your general region
  • We immediately convert this to a county/region level (e.g., “Devon, UK”) and discard the precise coordinates
  • We never store your exact location
  • You can see exactly what location will be displayed before confirming

You control whether your location is visible on your profile and can disable location display at any time in your dashboard settings.

Enquiries from homeowners

When a homeowner submits an enquiry through our contact form:

  • We generate and send an email directly to the sitter
  • The homeowner's email address is included as the reply-to address
  • The sitter replies directly to the homeowner — we do not see or store the conversation
  • We do not store the message content, sit details, pet information, or property details on our servers

What we retain: We keep aggregate analytics only (e.g., number of enquiries sent, popular regions). This data does not identify individual homeowners or include message content.

Spam prevention

To prevent abuse of our contact system, we temporarily log:

  • Email addresses used to send enquiries
  • IP addresses of enquiry submissions

This data is used solely to enforce sending limits (maximum 5 enquiries per day per email address) and is automatically deleted after 24 hours. We do not use this data for any other purpose.

Automated communications

For sitters: We may send you periodic emails to:

  • Remind you to update your location when your stated travel dates approach
  • Confirm when enquiries have been sent to you (if enabled)
  • Notify you of important account or service updates

You can adjust notification preferences in your dashboard settings. Some communications (e.g., security alerts, terms updates) cannot be disabled.

For homeowners: We do not send marketing emails. The only email you receive is confirmation that your enquiry was sent.

Partner widgets (external display)

Sitters can opt in to have their profile summary displayed on third-party websites through our embeddable widget. This helps homeowners discover sitters on sites they already use (housesitting blogs, expat forums, etc.).

If you opt in, the following may be displayed externally:

  • Your display name (first name + initial, e.g., “Sarah M.”)
  • Profile photo (thumbnail)
  • Verified review count
  • Rate range
  • General location and travel trajectory

Not displayed externally: Your full name, contact details, email address, detailed bio, or exact location.

Widget visibility is off by default. You can enable or disable it at any time in your dashboard. If you disable it, your profile will be removed from partner widgets within 24 hours (cached data may take longer to clear).

Why we collect your data

We only collect data necessary to provide our service:

  • To provide the service: Creating your account, displaying your profile, verifying your credentials, processing your membership
  • To facilitate contact: Sending enquiries from homeowners to sitters
  • To help homeowners find sitters: Displaying your location and availability information
  • To maintain quality: Preventing spam, investigating concerns about members when necessary
  • To improve the service: Understanding how people use the site (aggregated, anonymous data only)

Legal basis for processing

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

  • Contract: Processing necessary to provide the membership service you've signed up for
  • Legitimate interest: Preventing fraud and spam, maintaining directory quality, improving the service
  • Consent: For widget display on partner sites, and for any marketing communications (you can withdraw consent at any time)

Who we share your data with

We share your data only with:

  • Stripe: For secure payment processing
  • Resend: For sending emails (enquiries, notifications)
  • Hosting providers: Vercel (website hosting), Supabase (database)
  • Homeowners: When they contact you, they see your public profile information
  • Partner websites (with your consent): If you opt in to widget visibility, your profile summary may appear on third-party sites

We do not sell your data to third parties. We do not share your data with advertisers. We do not share your verification documents with anyone.

How long we keep your data

  • Active members: For the duration of your membership
  • Lapsed members: We retain your data for 12 months after your membership ends, then delete it unless you request earlier deletion
  • GDPR export files: Deleted after verification is complete (typically within 30 days of approval)
  • Spam prevention data: Email addresses and IP addresses used for rate limiting are deleted after 24 hours
  • Aggregate analytics: Retained indefinitely (this data does not identify individuals)
  • Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by UK tax law

Note: We do not store homeowner enquiry content, sit details, or personal information. This data exists only in the email sent to the sitter and is not retained on our servers.

International data transfers

Some of our service providers are based outside the UK (Stripe, Vercel, Supabase, Resend are US-based). When your data is transferred outside the UK, it is protected by appropriate safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the ICO.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate data
  • Deletion: Ask us to delete your data (“right to be forgotten”)
  • Restrict processing: Ask us to limit how we use your data
  • Data portability: Receive your data in a usable format
  • Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interest
  • Withdraw consent: Where we process based on consent (e.g., widget visibility), withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@reputablesitters.com. We will respond within 30 days.

How we protect your data

  • All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest
  • Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text
  • Access to personal data is limited to those who need it
  • We use reputable, security-focused service providers
  • Enquiry content is not stored on our servers — it passes through transiently via email

Cookies

We use only essential cookies required for the site to function (such as keeping you logged in). We do not use tracking cookies or advertising cookies.

Our analytics are privacy-respecting and do not use cookies to track individual users.

Local storage: When homeowners use our contact form, their browser may save form details locally to make contacting multiple sitters easier. This data is stored only in their browser, not on our servers, and can be cleared by the homeowner at any time.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify members by email. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.

Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your data, please contact us first at privacy@reputablesitters.com.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe we have not handled your data appropriately: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint