Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

PARATEC UNIP LDA, trading as Pools Portugal (“we”, “our”, “us”), operates the website poolsportugal.com (the “Platform”). We are an online intermediary platform connecting pool owners with independent service providers for pool-related services.

For questions about this policy or to exercise your rights, contact us at admin@poolsportugal.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide

• Account data: name, email address, phone number when you create an account via Clerk (our authentication provider).
• Lead/quote requests: email, name, phone, pool details, service preferences, and location when you use our quote request form.
• Pool profiles: address, pool type, dimensions, and other details you provide about your pool.
• Contractor profiles: bio, service areas, skills, languages, and experience for service providers.
• Communications: messages you send to us via email or the platform.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Analytics data: we use Google Analytics to collect anonymised usage data including pages visited, time on site, referral source, device type, and approximate location. This data is processed by Google LLC under their own privacy policy. Analytics cookies are only placed after you give consent.
• Cookies: see Section 6 below.
• Log data: IP address, browser type, and user agent when you interact with the Platform.
• UTM parameters: campaign tracking data (source, medium, campaign) from links that brought you to the Platform.

3. How We Use Your Information

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

• Service delivery: to connect you with pool service providers, process quote requests, and manage bookings.
• Account management: to create and manage your account, authenticate you, and provide customer support.
• Communications: to send you quote responses, booking updates, and service notifications. We will not send marketing emails without your consent.
• Analytics: to understand how the Platform is used and improve our services (legal basis: consent for analytics cookies, legitimate interest for basic server logs).
• Legal compliance: to comply with Portuguese and EU legal obligations.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process your data based on:

• Consent: for analytics cookies (Google Analytics) and any marketing communications. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Contract performance: for account creation, quote requests, and service delivery.
• Legitimate interest: for platform security, fraud prevention, and basic server logs.
• Legal obligation: where required by Portuguese or EU law.

5. Data Sharing

We share your data with the following categories of recipients:

• Service providers (subcontractors): when you request a quote or booking, relevant details are shared with the assigned service provider.
• Technology providers:
  • Clerk (authentication) — processes your account data.
  • Supabase (database) — stores your data.
  • Google Analytics — processes anonymised analytics data (only with your consent). Google may transfer data outside the EU under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
  • Resend (email) — processes email addresses for transactional emails.
  • Stripe (payments) — processes payment data when applicable.
  • Vercel (hosting) — processes request data for serving the Platform.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

6. Cookies

We use the following categories of cookies:

6.1 Strictly necessary cookies

These are required for the Platform to function. They include authentication session cookies (Clerk) and locale preferences. No consent is needed for these.

6.2 Analytics cookies (consent required)

Google Analytics sets cookies (including _ga, _ga_*) to measure how you use the Platform. These cookies are only placed after you give consent via our cookie banner. You can withdraw consent at any time by clicking “Cookie Settings” in the footer.

6.3 How to manage cookies

You can manage your cookie preferences through our consent banner or by configuring your browser settings. Note that blocking strictly necessary cookies may impair Platform functionality.

7. Your Rights

Under the GDPR and Portuguese data protection law (Lei n.º 58/2019), you have the right to:

• Access your personal data and obtain a copy.
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”), subject to legal retention requirements.
• Restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
• Withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise these rights, email us at admin@poolsportugal.com. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Portuguese Data Protection Authority (CNPD) at www.cnpd.pt.

8. Data Retention

• Account data: retained while your account is active, deleted within 30 days of account deletion.
• Lead/quote data: retained for 24 months after last activity, then anonymised or deleted.
• Analytics data: Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months.
• Legal records: retained as required by Portuguese tax and commercial law.

9. International Data Transfers

Some of our technology providers process data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

• EU-US Data Privacy Framework adequacy decisions.
• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission.

10. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including encryption in transit (TLS), access controls, and regular security reviews of our technology providers.

11. Children

The Platform is not intended for individuals under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be notified via the Platform or email. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

13. Contact

PARATEC UNIP LDA (trading as Pools Portugal)
R Covas Cima 159 B, Guimarães, 4810-107 Guimarães, Portugal
Email: admin@poolsportugal.com