This Privacy Policy explains how SearchGain collects, uses and protects your personal data when you visit searchgain.ai or contact us. We process personal data in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Portuguese data-protection law (Lei n.º 58/2019).
1. Who we are (data controller)
The controller responsible for your personal data is:
- Paula Mendes C. Silva, trading as SearchGain (sole trader / empresária em nome individual)
- NIF: PT282594884
- Rua do Agro 316, 4E, 4400-003 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
- Email: hello@searchgain.ai
2. What data we collect
We collect only what we need to answer you and run the website:
- Contact details you give us: when you use the contact form or email us: your email address, your website (optional) and the content of your message. If you choose to include your name or other details in the message, we process those too.
- AI Visibility Report requests: when you request a free report, we also collect the business details you provide: your website, company type, main goal, budget range, timeline, competitors and your notes, so we can prepare it.
- Server logs: our hosting provider (Hostinger) records technical data such as your IP address and the time of the request, in order to keep the site secure and running.
- Analytics data (only with your consent): if you accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics 4 collects aggregated, pseudonymised data about your visit (pages viewed, approximate region, device and browser type), with IP addresses anonymised. You can decline, and change your choice at any time.
With your consent, we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how the site is used; it does not run unless you accept analytics cookies (listed in our Cookie Policy). We do not knowingly collect special categories of data, and the site is not directed at children.
3. Why we use it, and our legal basis
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|
| Replying to your enquiry and providing the free report | Steps taken at your request before entering a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Providing our services to clients | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Keeping the website secure and operational | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Meeting legal and accounting obligations | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
| Analytics, to understand and improve the site | Your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
4. Who we share your data with
We never sell your data. We share it only with the service providers (“processors”) who help us run the business, under appropriate data-processing terms:
- Hostinger: website hosting and email. Data is stored on servers located within the European Union.
- Web3Forms: delivers your form submissions (contact messages and report requests) to our inbox. Your message is transmitted over an encrypted connection and is not stored by Web3Forms after it is delivered. Web3Forms operates from the United States.
- Google (Google Analytics 4): website analytics, loaded only after you accept analytics cookies. Google may process data in the United States.
We may also disclose data where required by law, or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
5. International data transfers
Our website hosting and email are kept within the European Union (Hostinger). When you submit any of our forms (contact or report request), it is processed by Web3Forms in the United States; that transfer is covered by the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, so your data continues to receive an equivalent level of protection. If you accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics 4 may also process data in the United States, under the same EU–US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses. We host our fonts on our own server and load no analytics until you consent, so nothing leaves the EU when you browse without accepting.
6. How long we keep your data
- Enquiry and report-request data: kept while we are in contact and for up to 24 months afterwards, then deleted.
- Client records and invoices: kept for as long as required by Portuguese tax and accounting law (generally 10 years).
- Server logs: kept only for a short period by our host for security and troubleshooting.
- Analytics data: retained for the period configured in Google Analytics, then deleted or anonymised; your consent choice is stored on your device.
7. Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the following rights over your personal data:
- Access: ask for a copy of the data we hold about you.
- Rectification: have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
- Erasure: ask us to delete your data where there is no overriding reason to keep it.
- Restriction: ask us to pause processing while a concern is resolved.
- Portability: receive your data in a common, machine-readable format.
- Objection: object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent: where we rely on your consent, withdraw it at any time, without affecting processing already carried out.
To exercise any of these, email hello@searchgain.ai. We respond within one month and never charge for a reasonable request.
8. How we keep your data safe
- Data is hosted with Hostinger on servers located within the European Union.
- The website is served over an encrypted connection (HTTPS).
- Access to personal data is limited to the founder, who runs the business personally.
- We keep data only as long as needed and then delete or anonymise it.
9. Data breaches
If a personal-data breach occurs that is likely to put your rights at risk, we will notify the Portuguese supervisory authority (CNPD) within 72 hours where required, and inform you without undue delay where the risk to you is high.
10. Right to lodge a complaint
If you believe we have not handled your data properly, you can complain to the Portuguese supervisory authority:
- Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD)
- Website: www.cnpd.pt
You may also complain to the supervisory authority in your own EU country of residence.
11. Cookies
We use analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4) only after you accept them via our cookie banner; we set no advertising cookies. You can accept, decline or change your choice at any time. For full details, see our Cookie Policy.
12. Changes to this policy & contact
We may update this policy from time to time; the “last updated” date above shows the latest version. For any question about your data, email hello@searchgain.ai.