Privacy Policy
How Transport-Wise collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information.
Summary: Transport-Wise acts as the data controller for information you provide when using our platform. We collect only what is necessary to operate the marketplace, fulfil our contract with you, and comply with the law. We do not sell your personal data. You have full rights to access, correct, or delete your information at any time.
01 Who We Are
Transport-Wise operates an online freight marketplace that connects customers who need goods transported with verified transport carriers. The platform is available at transport-wise.com.
For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR, Transport-Wise is the data controller of personal data collected through this platform.
- Data Controller: Transport-Wise
- Email: privacy@transport-wise.com
- Contact form: transport-wise.com/contact
If you have questions about how your personal data is handled, you may contact us directly using the details above or via Section 12 of this policy.
02 Data We Collect
We collect personal data in the following ways:
Data you provide directly
- Account registration: name, email address, password (hashed), account type (customer or carrier)
- Profile information: business name, company registration number, VAT/tax number, address, phone number, profile photo
- Carrier verification: vehicle details, operator licence number, insurance documents, driver information
- Job listings: collection and delivery addresses, goods description, weight, dimensions, photographs of goods
- Bids and offers: bid amounts, vehicle suitability notes, bid messages
- Payments: billing address; payment card details are processed directly by Stripe and are not stored on our servers
- Communications: messages sent via the platform between customers and carriers, support requests
- Reviews and feedback: ratings and written reviews submitted after a job
Data collected automatically
- Usage data: pages visited, features used, search queries, click events, session duration
- Device and technical data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, screen resolution
- Location data: approximate location derived from IP address; precise GPS location only if you grant permission for nearby-job search features
- Cookies and similar technologies: see our Cookie Policy for full details
Data from third parties
- Payment processors: Stripe provides us with payment status, transaction references, and fraud signals
- Identity verification: where applicable, results from document verification services
03 How We Use Your Data
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
| Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|
| Platform operation | Creating and managing your account; displaying your job listings and bids to relevant parties; facilitating communication between customers and carriers |
| Contract fulfilment | Processing payments; issuing receipts; managing deposit and withdrawal flows; handling disputes |
| Safety and verification | Verifying carrier licences and insurance; detecting and preventing fraud, spam, and abuse; identity checks |
| Customer support | Responding to enquiries and support tickets; investigating complaints |
| Platform improvement | Analysing usage patterns to improve features; A/B testing; performance monitoring |
| Communications | Sending transactional emails (bid notifications, job updates, payment receipts); where consented, sending marketing or promotional messages |
| Legal compliance | Maintaining records required by tax, financial, or regulatory obligations; responding to lawful requests from authorities |
04 Legal Basis for Processing
Under the GDPR and UK GDPR, we must have a valid legal basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following bases:
Contract (Article 6(1)(b))
Processing that is necessary to provide the services you have signed up for — including account management, displaying your listings, facilitating bids, and processing payments.
Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f))
Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, where those interests are not overridden by your rights. This includes fraud prevention, platform security, improving our services, and sending non-marketing service-related communications. You may object to this processing — see Section 8.
Legal Obligation (Article 6(1)(c))
Processing required to comply with applicable law — for example, retaining transaction records for tax purposes or responding to lawful requests from regulators or law enforcement.
Consent (Article 6(1)(a))
Where we rely on your consent — for example, to send marketing emails or to use optional analytics and advertising cookies — you may withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. To withdraw consent, contact us at privacy@transport-wise.com or use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email.
Special category data: We do not intentionally collect special category data (such as health, biometric, or religious data). If you include such information in messages or documents, you do so voluntarily. Please avoid sharing such data unless strictly necessary.
05 Sharing Your Data
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We share it only in the following circumstances:
Between platform users
When a carrier places a bid on a job, certain profile information (business name, verified status, ratings) is visible to the customer who posted the job. Likewise, when a customer awards a job, their name and collection/delivery addresses are shared with the awarded carrier. We share only the minimum information necessary to facilitate the transport transaction.
Service providers (data processors)
We use trusted third-party companies to help operate the platform. They act as data processors under our instruction and are contractually required to protect your data:
- Stripe — payment processing
- Cloud hosting provider — infrastructure and storage
- Email delivery service — transactional and notification emails
- Analytics providers — aggregate usage analysis (e.g. Google Analytics)
- Customer support software — support ticket management
Legal and regulatory disclosure
We may disclose personal data where required by law, court order, or at the request of a competent authority (such as a police force or regulatory body), provided the request is lawful.
Business transfers
If Transport-Wise is acquired, merges with another entity, or sells substantially all of its assets, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you in advance and you will retain your rights under this policy.
06 International Transfers
Transport-Wise operates primarily within the UK and EEA. Some of our service providers may process data in countries outside the EEA, including the United States and Australia.
Where data is transferred outside the EEA or UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission or UK ICO
- Adequacy decisions where the destination country has been recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection
You may request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us at privacy@transport-wise.com.
07 Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, and in accordance with our legal obligations.
| Data Category | Retention Period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Account and profile data | Duration of account + 2 years after closure | Dispute resolution and legal claims |
| Transaction records (jobs, bids, payments) | 7 years | Tax and financial regulatory compliance |
| Platform messages | 3 years from job completion | Dispute resolution |
| Support correspondence | 3 years | Service improvement and legal claims |
| Usage and analytics data | 26 months | Platform improvement (anonymised after 13 months) |
| Marketing consent records | Until withdrawal + 1 year | Demonstrating lawful basis |
When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it. If you close your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or regulatory reasons.
08 Your Rights
Under the GDPR and UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
Right of Access (Article 15)
You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how it is processed. We will respond within one month of receiving a valid request.
Right to Rectification (Article 16)
You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data at any time. You can update most information directly from your account profile page.
Right to Erasure (Article 17)
You may request that we delete your personal data where it is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected, where you withdraw consent, or where you object to processing. This right is subject to our legal retention obligations — we cannot delete data we are required by law to keep.
Right to Restriction of Processing (Article 18)
You may ask us to restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances — for example, while we investigate a query about accuracy.
Right to Data Portability (Article 20)
Where processing is based on your consent or on a contract, you may request your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format (such as JSON or CSV) so that you can transfer it to another service.
Right to Object (Article 21)
You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests at any time. You also have an absolute right to object to processing for direct marketing purposes, which we will honour immediately.
Rights related to automated decision-making (Article 22)
We do not make solely automated decisions about you that have a legal or similarly significant effect. Where any automated logic is used (such as bid ranking or fraud screening), a human review is available upon request.
How to exercise your rights: Email privacy@transport-wise.com with the subject line "Data Subject Request" and describe what you would like us to do. We will verify your identity and respond within one month. Requests are free of charge unless manifestly unfounded or excessive.
09 Security
We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures, including:
- Encryption of data in transit (TLS/HTTPS) and at rest
- Hashed and salted storage of passwords (never stored in plaintext)
- Role-based access controls — staff can only access data necessary for their role
- Regular security audits and vulnerability testing
- Incident response procedures with defined notification timelines
In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours and inform affected individuals without undue delay, as required by Article 33 and 34 of the GDPR.
No system is completely secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately at privacy@transport-wise.com.
10 Children
Transport-Wise is a professional B2B and B2C freight marketplace. The platform is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.
11 Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will:
- Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
- Display a notice on the platform for a reasonable period
- Where required, notify you by email
We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes your acknowledgement of the updated policy.
12 Contact & Complaints
For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:
- Email: privacy@transport-wise.com
- Contact form: transport-wise.com/contact
- Response time: We aim to respond to all data-related enquiries within 5 business days and all formal data subject requests within one calendar month.
Right to Lodge a Complaint
If you are not satisfied with how we have handled your personal data or a data subject request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority:
- UK: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
- EU: The supervisory authority in your EU member state of habitual residence, place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement — see the EDPB member list
We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you contact a supervisory authority, and encourage you to reach out to us first.
This Privacy Policy is governed by the UK GDPR and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). Transport-Wise · privacy@transport-wise.com