Privacy Policy

1. Who we are#

Wattly is a UK marketplace for electric vehicle (EV) charging. Drivers book a neighbour's home charger by the hour, hosts list their charger and earn, and everyone can search a map of public charge points. This policy covers the website at wattly.co.uk and the Wattly app for iPhone and Android (together, “Wattly”).

The controller of your personal data is Wattly Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. In this policy “Wattly”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Wattly Ltd.

For anything about your personal data, email privacy@wattly.co.uk.

2. What we collect and where from#

When you register on the website

• Your first name, surname, email address and password. We only store the password as a one-way hash, so we can't read it.
• Whether you're signing up as a driver or a host.
• Optional details you choose to add: your car's make and model, your home charger's make, model and power, and your energy supplier and tariff. We use these to set up your account in the app and to understand what equipment our members have.

When you use the app

• Account: name, email, phone number (if you add it), profile photo (if you add one), sign-in details, and settings such as distance units and theme. If you sign in with Google or Microsoft we receive your name, email address and profile picture from them.
• Precise location: only if you allow it in your device settings. The app uses it while you're using it (including through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto) to show chargers near you, centre the map and plan routes. The app doesn't ask for or use background location. You can turn it off at any time in your device settings and search by place or postcode instead.
• Vehicles: make, model, battery size, connector type and similar details you add to your garage.
• Chargers (hosts): your charger's address and location, make, model, power, connector, photos, availability, prices, access instructions and house rules.
• Bookings and charging sessions: who booked which charger and when, the booking status, start and end times, energy delivered (kWh), cost, cancellations, any dispute and the evidence you send with it (such as photos), and reviews.
• Camera and photos: only if you allow it. The camera is used to scan booking QR codes and to take listing photos. We only receive photos you choose to upload.
• Face ID / fingerprint: if you turn on biometric sign-in, your device checks your face or fingerprint. We never receive your biometric data.

Payments (drivers)

Payments are processed by Stripe. When you add a card, the details go straight to Stripe and we never see or store your full card number. We receive limited information from Stripe, such as the card brand, last four digits, expiry date, payment status and amounts, so we can show receipts and handle refunds.

Payouts and identity checks (hosts)

Hosts are paid through Stripe Connect. To pay you, Stripe collects your identity and bank details and carries out “know your customer” (KYC) checks as the law requires of it. This can include your name, date of birth, address, ID document and bank account. Stripe holds this data. We receive your Stripe account status, whether verification is complete, and payout amounts and dates. We also keep a record of your earnings.

Smart chargers and vehicles (via Enode)

If you choose to link a smart charger or a connected car, you sign in to the manufacturer's account on pages run by our partner Enode. We then receive data from that device through Enode, such as make, model, battery size, state of charge, whether it's plugged in or charging, and charging session readings. We use it to start, stop and measure bookings. We don't receive your manufacturer password. You can unlink at any time.

Notifications

If you allow notifications, the app registers a push token with Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (which uses Apple's push service on iPhone). We store the token with your device platform so we can send you booking and charging updates. Signing out removes it.

Support and communications

When you contact support, report a bug, raise a dispute or email us, we keep what you send us and our replies. Bug reports can include your device model and app version if you leave that option on.

Device, usage and log data

• Server logs: when you use the website or app, our servers record your IP address, the date and time, the pages or features requested, and your browser or device type. We use this for security, rate-limiting and fixing faults.
• App analytics and crash reports: the app uses Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics. They collect information such as screens viewed, in-app events (for example “booking started”), app version, device model, operating system, an app-instance identifier, your Wattly user ID and, if the app crashes, a crash report.
• Website: the website has no analytics or advertising trackers. See our Cookie Policy.
• Maps and search: when you view the map or search for a place, your device asks our map and search providers for map images and results, which means they receive your IP address and the area or text you searched for (see section 4).

From other people

A host or driver may tell us about you, for example in a review or a dispute. Stripe may tell us about payment problems or suspected fraud.

3. How we use it and our lawful basis#

The law says we need a lawful basis for each way we use your data. These are ours:

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have balanced them against your rights. You can ask us for details, and you can object (see section 7). We don't make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects. Stripe may use automated checks to prevent fraud on payments, and its own privacy policy explains how.

We don't ask for sensitive (“special category”) data such as health information. Please don't include it in messages or reviews.

4. Who we share it with#

We never sell your personal data. We share it only with:

• The other side of a booking. A host sees the driver's first name, vehicle and booking details. A driver sees the charger's address, access instructions and the host's first name. Reviews are visible to other members.
• Stripe (Stripe Payments UK Ltd and its group) for payments, refunds, host payouts, identity checks and fraud prevention. For identity checks and fraud prevention Stripe also acts as an independent controller. See stripe.com/gb/privacy.
• Enode to link smart chargers and connected cars, if you choose to. See enode.com/privacy.
• Google Firebase (Google LLC / Google Ireland Ltd) for push notifications, app analytics and crash reports. On iPhone, notifications are delivered through Apple's push notification service.
• Our hosting provider, which runs the servers that host our website, app back end and database.
• Our email service provider, which delivers account, booking and (if you opt in) marketing emails.
• Map and search providers. Map images come from CARTO, and from the OpenStreetMap Foundation in the app. Place search uses Photon, run by Komoot, and in the app also OpenStreetMap's Nominatim and your phone's built-in geocoding service (Apple or Google). When your device loads map images or runs a search, these providers receive your IP address and the map area or search text. In the app, reverse look-ups also send the coordinates being looked up.
• Google or Microsoft, if you choose to sign in with them.
• Apple and Google app stores, which handle app downloads under their own privacy policies.
• Professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants and insurers, where needed.
• Authorities such as HMRC, the police or regulators, where the law requires it or to protect someone's safety.
• A buyer or investor if Wattly is sold, merged or restructured. They would have to protect your data in line with this policy.

Our service providers may only use your data to provide their services to us, under contracts that require them to keep it secure.

5. International transfers#

Some of our providers, including Stripe, Google and CARTO, may process your data outside the UK, for example in the European Economic Area or the United States. When that happens we make sure it is protected, using one or more of:

• UK “adequacy regulations” for the country (for example, the EEA, or the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for certified US companies)
• the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses
• other safeguards the law allows

Email us if you'd like more detail about a particular transfer.

6. How long we keep it#

We keep personal data only for as long as we need it. Our current retention policy is:

We may keep data for longer if we need it for a legal claim, an unresolved dispute or to prevent fraud. Stripe keeps its own records under its own retention rules.

7. Your rights#

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• Access your personal data and get a copy of it.
• Correct data that is wrong or incomplete. You can edit most of it yourself in the app.
• Erase your data (“the right to be forgotten”) in some situations. See section 8.
• Restrict how we use your data in some situations, for example while we check a complaint.
• Object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests. You can always object to direct marketing, and we will stop.
• Data portability: get the data you gave us in a machine-readable format, or have it sent to another organisation. In the app, go to Settings → Privacy & data settings → Export my data.
• Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on it, for example by switching off location or notifications in your device settings, changing cookie settings, or unsubscribing from marketing. This doesn't affect anything we did before you withdrew.
• Not be subject to solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you, and to ask for a person to review such a decision.

To use any of these rights, email privacy@wattly.co.uk from the email address on your account, or use the in-app options. It's free. We may need to confirm your identity. We will reply within one month, or within three months if your request is complex, and if so we will tell you why.

8. Deleting your account#

You can delete your account in the app under Settings → Privacy & data settings → Delete my account, or by emailing privacy@wattly.co.uk. This is what happens:

1. Your account is disabled straight away, so you can't sign in and it no longer appears to other members.
2. We email you to confirm. If you deleted by mistake, reply within 30 days and we can restore it.
3. Within 30 days we delete or anonymise your personal data.
4. We keep only what the law requires or what we need for an open booking, dispute, refund or fraud check, such as booking and payment records for HMRC (see section 6). Stripe keeps its own records.

Deleting the app from your phone doesn't delete your account. Hosts should finish or cancel any upcoming bookings first. Earnings due to you will still be paid through Stripe.

9. Complaints#

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first at privacy@wattly.co.uk so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.

10. Children#

Wattly is for adults. You must be 18 or over to create an account. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you think a child has given us their data, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Security#

We protect your data with measures suited to the risk. These include encryption in transit (HTTPS), hashed passwords, encrypted storage of sign-in tokens on your device, access controls, rate-limiting and keeping card data out of our systems altogether. No system is completely secure. If a breach is likely to put you at high risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.

Help us by using a strong, unique password and never sharing your sign-in details.

12. Changes to this policy#

We will update this policy when our service or the law changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed. If a change materially affects you, we will tell you in advance by email or in the app.

13. Contact us#

Wattly Ltd
Data protection: privacy@wattly.co.uk
General enquiries: hello@wattly.co.uk

See also our Terms, Cookie Policy and Marketing Policy.