Privacy policy

Last updated

We look after our clients' homes with care, and we treat personal information the same way. This page explains in plain words what we collect, why, who we share it with and what your rights are under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Portuguese law (Lei n.º 58/2019).

Who we are

Home Harmony Portugal is run by Kamila Józefowicz and Katarzyna (Kasia) Potgieter. We decide how your personal data is used, which makes us its controller.

As a small business we don't have a data protection officer. Just write to us with any question about your data.

What we collect

When you get in touch

When you write to us by email or WhatsApp, call us, or use the form on our website (it opens your own email app, so your message reaches us as an ordinary email), we receive what you choose to share. Usually that's your name, email or phone number, where your property is, the services you're interested in, your preferred language and your message.

When you become a client

To look after your property we also need:

  • your contact details, and those of anyone you ask us to deal with on your behalf;
  • the address of your property and practical details such as keys, alarm codes, access instructions, utility providers and the contractors you work with;
  • the photos and videos we take during visits for your reports;
  • our messages and reports;
  • billing details, such as your tax number (NIF) and billing address, and a record of your payments.

Our photos and videos are of your property. We avoid capturing people, and we use them only for your reports unless you agree otherwise.

When you visit our website

Our website doesn't use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, processes technical data such as your IP address and browser type to deliver the pages and protect the site from attacks, and may set a strictly necessary security cookie for that.

Some blog articles include YouTube videos, embedded in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode. When you play one, YouTube (Google) may store information on your device under its own privacy policy.

Why we use your data

  • To answer your questions and prepare a quote: steps you ask us to take before a contract (GDPR article 6(1)(b)).
  • To provide our services, such as visits, reports, key holding and coordinating contractors: performing our contract with you (article 6(1)(b)).
  • To issue invoices and keep our accounts, as Portuguese tax law requires: a legal obligation (article 6(1)(c)).
  • To keep our website and accounts secure: our legitimate interest (article 6(1)(f)).
  • To defend our rights if there is ever a dispute: our legitimate interest (article 6(1)(f)).

We don't send marketing newsletters. If we ever want to, we'll ask for your consent first. We don't make automated decisions about you or build profiles.

Who we share it with

We never sell your data. We share it only when we need to:

  • The tools we use: Google (Gmail, for email), WhatsApp (for messages and calls) and Cloudflare (website hosting).
  • Our certified accountant, for invoices and tax returns.
  • Contractors and service providers you ask us to coordinate, such as plumbers, cleaners or gardeners. They get only what they need for the job, such as the address and how to get in.
  • Public authorities, such as the Portuguese Tax Authority, when the law requires it.

Transfers outside Europe

Google, WhatsApp and Cloudflare may process data in the United States. Those transfers are covered by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and by the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.

How long we keep it

  • Enquiries that don't lead to working together: up to 12 months after our last contact.
  • Client information: while we work for you, and afterwards only as long as needed to answer questions or deal with possible claims.
  • Invoices and accounting records: 10 years, as Portuguese tax law requires.
  • Photos and videos from visits: while we work for you. We delete them within 12 months after our service ends, unless you ask us to keep them.
  • Keys and access codes: when our service ends, we return your keys and delete the codes.

How we protect it

We keep keys in a safe place and share access details only with people who need them for a job you've asked for. Our phones, computers and accounts are protected with passwords.

Your rights

You can ask us at any time to:

  • show you the data we hold about you and give you a copy;
  • correct anything that's wrong;
  • delete your data when we no longer need it or have no legal reason to keep it;
  • limit how we use it, or stop using it where we rely on our legitimate interest;
  • give you the data you provided in a common format, or send it to someone else;
  • stop using data you consented to, if you withdraw that consent (this doesn't affect what we did before).

Just write to homeharmonypt@gmail.com. We'll reply within one month, free of charge. We may first ask you to confirm who you are.

Complaints

If you think we haven't handled your data properly, please tell us first and we'll do our best to put it right. You can also complain to the Portuguese data protection authority:

or to the data protection authority of the EU country where you live or work.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we use your data, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change affects you significantly, we'll let you know directly.