Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

DWELLA GROUP UK LTD, trading as dwella (“dwella”, “we”, “us” or “our”), operates the UK online rental marketplace available at dwellauk.com. dwella helps people find rooms and whole homes to rent and find other people to share a home with.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, DWELLA GROUP UK LTD is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

Company number: 17457319

Registered office: Office 7577, 58 Peregrine Road, Hainault, Ilford, Essex, IG6 3SZ

DWELLA GROUP UK LTD is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). ICO registration number: C2032973

For privacy questions or to exercise your data protection rights, contact dwellauk@outlook.com or use our contact page.

2. Information we collect

The information we process depends on how you use Dwella.

Account and profile information

We may process:

• Your email address and account information;
• Your display name, handle, bio and occupation;
• The area you are searching in;
• Your age and whether you choose to display it;
• Your profile visibility settings; and
• Private details you choose to provide, such as your legal first and last name, date of birth, phone number and contact email.

Private account details are held separately from your public profile and are not automatically displayed to other members.

Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and are not stored by Dwella in readable form.

Listings

If you advertise a property or room, we process information you provide about it, including its rent, deposit, availability, bills, amenities, household details, photographs and address.

Housing and compatibility information

We process information you provide to help you find potentially suitable properties and people to live with.

This may include your budget, preferred locations, move-in dates and answers about matters such as tidiness, sleep routine, noise, guests, working from home, smoking, pets and social habits.

Photos and video

We process profile photographs, optional introductory videos and photographs associated with property listings.

Messages and activity

We process information generated when you use Dwella, including messages, connection requests, Group activity, enquiries, viewing requests, saved listings and saved profiles.

Reports and support

We process information you provide when you report a member or listing or contact us for support.

Verification information

If you choose to verify your identity, we process the identity photographs and selfie you submit for staff review. More information about this is provided below.

Acceptance records

When you accept our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy or another agreement, we may record your account reference, the version you accepted and the date and time of acceptance.

3. Information collected automatically

We record a limited number of product events on our own servers to understand whether important parts of Dwella are operating correctly.

For example, we may record that an account was created, a search was confirmed, a connection was requested or an enquiry was sent, together with the account and relevant item involved.

We do not include the content of private messages in these product-event records.

Our hosting and backend providers also process standard technical information required to deliver and secure the service, such as IP addresses, browser information and request logs.

We do not currently use advertising networks, advertising tracking pixels or third-party analytics services such as Google Analytics.

Our Cookie Policy explains our use of cookies and similar technologies.

4. How we use your information

We use personal information where necessary to:

• Create, secure and operate your account;
• Provide profiles, listings and search features;
• Provide matching and compatibility features;
• Deliver messages, connections, enquiries and viewing requests;
• Provide notifications relating to the service;
• Provide location, map and nearby transport features;
• Facilitate property viewings;
• Provide optional identity verification;
• Investigate reports and moderate users, listings and content;
• Prevent fraud, abuse and misuse;
• Respond to support requests;
• Understand basic use and performance of Dwella and improve the service;
• Comply with legal obligations; and
• Establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

5. Our lawful bases

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Contract

We rely on contract where processing is necessary to provide the Dwella service you request under our Terms of Use.

This includes operating your account and providing features such as profiles, listings, searches, matching, messaging, connections, enquiries and viewing functionality.

Legitimate interests

We rely on legitimate interests where processing is necessary to operate, protect or improve Dwella and those interests are not overridden by your rights.

Our legitimate interests include:

• Protecting Dwella and its members from fraud, abuse and misuse;
• Securing the platform;
• Moderating users, listings and content;
• Investigating reports and enforcing our Terms;
• Maintaining appropriate safety and dispute records;
• Understanding basic product usage and performance; and
• Improving the service.

Consent

Where a particular activity requires your consent, we will ask you for it.

You can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before you withdrew it.

Legal obligations

We process information where necessary to comply with legal obligations that apply to us.

Other lawful bases may apply in particular circumstances, including where processing is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

6. Matching and compatibility

Dwella uses information you provide to help you discover potentially suitable homes and people to live with.

Information such as your housing preferences, budget, preferred locations, move-in dates and compatibility answers may be used to calculate compatibility and rank, filter or explain results.

These features are recommendations designed to help you make your own decisions. A compatibility score or ranking does not guarantee that another member or property will be suitable.

Dwella's compatibility features do not make the final decision about whether you can rent a property, enter into a tenancy or live with another member.

7. Sensitive information

UK data protection law gives additional protection to certain types of personal information, known as special category data. This can include information about health, religion, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, trade union membership, genetic or biometric identification data, sex life or sexual orientation.

Dwella does not require you to include this type of information in your general profile, compatibility answers or messages unless we expressly tell you otherwise.

Information you voluntarily write or upload may nevertheless sometimes reveal sensitive information about you.

Where Dwella intentionally processes special category information as part of a feature, we will use an appropriate lawful basis and an additional condition required by UK data protection law. Where explicit consent is required, we will ask you for it expressly.

Please remember that information you choose to publish may be seen by the audience permitted by your visibility settings.

8. Identity verification

Identity verification is optional and is carried out by authorised Dwella staff rather than an automated identity-verification provider.

If you choose to verify, you upload the identity photographs we request together with a selfie.

The files are held in private, access-controlled storage. Other members cannot access them. Authorised Dwella staff access them only where necessary to conduct the verification review.

Staff record an approval, rejection or request for further information.

Once a completed verification decision has been made, the uploaded verification photographs are automatically deleted.

If you begin verification but do not complete it, uploaded verification files are deleted after 7 days.

After the images are deleted, we retain a record of the verification outcome, its date and who made the decision. We do not retain the identity-document images as part of that record.

Verification is intended to help confirm a person's identity, that they are aged 18 or over and their eligibility for the Dwella community.

Verification does not guarantee anyone's honesty, behaviour, safety, compatibility, financial position or the legitimacy of a property.

9. Property locations

Advertisers provide address and location information for properties they advertise.

Published adverts show approximate location information, such as the area, an approximate map position and nearby transport.

The full property address, detailed postcode information and any private access information are not displayed publicly as part of the advert.

Private address information may be accessible to:

• The advertiser;
• Authorised Dwella staff where necessary for moderation or support; and
• People attending a confirmed viewing where the information is needed to attend.

If you create a viewing share link, anyone you send that link to may access the viewing information you chose to share until the link expires or you revoke it.

10. Google Maps and location services

We use Google Maps Platform to provide location features.

This includes Google Places for address search and lookup, Google Routes for walking times to nearby stops and stations, and Google Maps functionality for displaying maps.

When you use these features, information necessary to provide them is sent to Google.

For example, address or place text entered during an address search and a property's map position may be sent to Google so that it can return results.

When Google map content loads in your browser, Google also receives technical information normally transmitted when online content is requested, such as your IP address and browser information.

Google acts as a separate provider in relation to its services and its own privacy information applies.

We do not send Google your Dwella messages, compatibility answers or identity-verification material as part of these map requests.

Our Cookie Policy contains more information about third-party content and similar technologies.

11. Emails

Account and service emails, such as email confirmation and password-reset messages, are sent from Dwella's sending domain, notify.dwellauk.com, through our email infrastructure provider.

Your email address is processed so these messages can be delivered.

The sending address used for automated emails is not monitored. For assistance, contact dwellauk@outlook.com.

We do not currently send marketing emails.

If we introduce marketing communications in the future, we will provide the controls required by applicable law.

12. Service providers and storage

Dwella uses specialist service providers to operate the platform.

Our database, authentication and file storage are provided by Supabase.

Photographs, introductory videos, listing images and verification uploads are held in access-controlled storage. Private files are made available only to people entitled to access them, using appropriate access controls including short-lived links where applicable.

The Dwella website is hosted using Lovable's infrastructure and associated cloud infrastructure used to deliver the website and its server-side functionality.

We also use Google Maps Platform for location services and an email infrastructure provider for service emails.

Where a provider processes personal information on our behalf, it is required to process that information for the relevant service and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

13. International transfers

Some service providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where UK data protection law requires protection for an international transfer, we use an applicable UK adequacy regulation or appropriate safeguards, such as an approved UK international data-transfer mechanism, as applicable.

You can contact dwellauk@outlook.com for further information about safeguards applying to a particular transfer.

14. When we share information

We do not sell your personal information or share it with third parties for their own advertising purposes.

We may share information:

• With other members where you publish information or communicate with them;
• With people attending a confirmed viewing, where necessary for the viewing;
• With people to whom you choose to send a viewing share link;
• With service providers that help us operate Dwella;
• With authorised Dwella staff for support, moderation, security and verification;
• With authorities, regulators, courts or other parties where required by law or where permitted and necessary to protect rights or safety, prevent serious misuse or deal with legal claims; and
• With relevant parties if the Dwella business is sold, transferred or reorganised, subject to appropriate protections.

Your private email address, phone number, legal name, date of birth and exact property address are not automatically displayed to other members.

15. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including applicable legal, security, fraud-prevention and dispute-handling purposes.

While your account is open, we generally retain the information needed to operate it.

When you close your account, your profile and active listings are removed and associated personal information is deleted or anonymised unless we have a lawful reason to retain particular records for longer.

For example, we may retain limited information relating to reports, suspensions, fraud, safety incidents, disputes, legal claims or acceptance of our Terms where reasonably necessary.

Verification photographs are deleted when a completed verification decision has been made. Incomplete verification uploads are deleted after 7 days.

Messages you have sent may remain visible to other participants because they form part of those participants' conversation history.

Where we do not specify a fixed retention period, we determine it by considering the purpose of the information, its nature and sensitivity, applicable legal requirements, security and fraud risks, and whether the purpose can be achieved using less information.

16. Security

We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information.

Access is controlled so members can access only records they are entitled to see. Traffic between your browser and our service is encrypted in transit, and private photographs, videos and verification uploads are held in access-controlled storage.

Staff access to moderation, support and verification functions is restricted and logged where applicable.

No online service can guarantee absolute security. Please use a strong, unique password and contact us promptly if you believe somebody has gained unauthorised access to your account.

17. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law may give you the right to:

• Access personal information we hold about you;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Request deletion of your information;
• Restrict certain processing;
• Object to certain processing;
• Receive certain information in a portable format; and
• Withdraw consent where we rely on it.

These rights are not absolute and do not apply in every circumstance.

Your right to object

Where we process personal information on the basis of our legitimate interests, you have the right to object.

If you object, we will consider your circumstances and stop the relevant processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue or the information is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Exercising your rights

To exercise a right, contact dwellauk@outlook.com or use our contact page.

We will normally respond within one month. We may need to request information reasonably necessary to confirm your identity before acting on a request.

You will not normally have to pay a fee to exercise your rights.

18. Complaints and the ICO

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us so we can investigate.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.

Information about making a complaint is available at ico.org.uk.

19. Age requirement

Dwella is for adults.

You must be 18 or over to create an account.

If we become aware that an account belongs to someone under 18, we may close the account and take appropriate steps in relation to its information.

20. Cookies

Dwella uses cookies and similar browser technologies as explained in our Cookie Policy.

Where a cookie or similar technology requires consent under applicable law, we will obtain that consent before using it.

21. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Dwella develops, our practices change or legal requirements change.

The date at the top shows when the latest version took effect.

Where we make a material change, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected members.

22. Contact us

For questions about privacy, requests concerning your personal information or questions about this policy, contact:

DWELLA GROUP UK LTD, trading as dwella

Company number: 17457319

Registered office: Office 7577, 58 Peregrine Road, Hainault, Ilford, Essex, IG6 3SZ

DWELLA GROUP UK LTD is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). ICO registration number: C2032973

Email: dwellauk@outlook.com

You can also contact us through the contact page on Dwella.