Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Firewall Buddy Ltd ("we", "us", "our") operates firewall-buddy.co.uk. We are an authorised reseller of Netgate products based in the United Kingdom. Our contact email for privacy matters is hello@firewall-buddy.co.uk.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller. We take your privacy seriously and are committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. What data we collect

2.1 Data you give us directly

• Account and order data: Name, email address, phone number, delivery address, company name, VAT number when you place an order or create an account.
• Payment data: We do not store card details. Payments are processed by our payment gateway providers (Stripe / PayPal / Opayo). We receive only a transaction reference and the last four digits of your card.
• Communications: Any messages you send via our support form, email, or other channels.
• MSP partner applications: Business name, contact details, company number, turnover information you provide in the partner application form.

2.2 Data we collect automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring URL — collected via server logs.
• Usage data: Pages visited, products viewed, time spent on site — collected via analytics cookies (only if you consent).
• Essential cookies: Session data necessary for your basket and checkout to function. These cannot be switched off.

3. How we use your data

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases:

• Contract performance: To process your order, arrange delivery, generate your VAT invoice, and provide post-sale support.
• Legal obligation: To keep financial records as required by HMRC and UK company law.
• Legitimate interests: To detect and prevent fraud, improve our website, and manage our business operations.
• Consent: To send you marketing emails or set non-essential analytics cookies — only if you explicitly agree.

4. Who we share your data with

We share your data only where necessary:

• Payment processors: Stripe, PayPal, or Opayo — to process your payment securely.
• Shipping partners: DHL, UPS, or Royal Mail — your name and delivery address to fulfil your order.
• Accounting software: Wave (waveapps.com) — to generate and store VAT invoices. Wave is GDPR-compliant.
• Netgate: Where required to register products or process warranty claims on your behalf.
• Email service: Our transactional email provider — to send order confirmations and dispatch notifications.

We never sell your personal data to third parties. We never share your data with advertisers.

5. International transfers

Some of our service providers (such as Wave) are based in the United States. Where data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the ICO.

6. How long we keep your data

• Order and invoice records: 7 years — required by HMRC.
• Account data: For the duration of your account, plus 2 years after closure.
• Support communications: 3 years.
• Analytics data: 26 months (anonymised after 14 months).

7. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: Ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Right to erasure: Ask us to delete your data (subject to legal retention obligations).
• Right to restriction: Ask us to limit how we process your data.
• Right to portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, or to direct marketing.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@firewall-buddy.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

8. Security

We use industry-standard security measures including HTTPS/TLS encryption, access controls, and regular security reviews. We do not store payment card details. In the event of a data breach that affects your rights, we will notify you and the ICO as required by law.

9. Cookies

For full details of the cookies we use, please see our Cookie Policy.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by email (if you have an account) or by displaying a notice on our website. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.

11. Contact

For any privacy-related queries: hello@firewall-buddy.co.uk — we aim to respond within 5 working days.