1. Who we are
Hive is a trading name of Hive Technology Solutions Ltd (company no. 17555870), 82a James Carter Road, Bury St Edmunds IP28 7DE. We're the controller of the personal data described here. Questions or requests: [email protected].
2. What we collect
- Enquiries: what you enter in our enquiry form: your name, email, business name, website and message.
- Chat: the questions you type into our chat assistant (see section 5). If you press "Send to the team", we also receive your name, email, business details and the conversation.
- Emails: anything you send us by email, and our replies.
- Clients: contact and billing details for businesses we work with, and the information needed to do the work.
- Website data: basic technical information that any website receives, such as your IP address and browser type, handled by our hosting provider for security and to deliver pages. If you accept cookies, we also collect advertising and analytics data (see section 6).
3. Why we use it, and our legal basis
| What we do | Legal basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Reply to your enquiry or chat, and send you the free concept or information you asked for | Steps you asked us to take before a contract, and our legitimate interest in answering enquiries |
| Deliver work we've agreed, invoice you, and keep business records | Contract, and legal obligation (for tax and accounting records) |
| Contact businesses that might benefit from our services (see section 4) | Legitimate interests |
| Measure our advertising and understand how the website is used | Your consent, given through the cookie banner |
| Keep the website and our systems secure | Legitimate interests |
We don't sell your data, and we don't use it to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
4. Contacting businesses
We sometimes email businesses that we think our services could help. We only use details a business has published itself: its name, website and the business email address shown on its own site, plus its public Companies House record. We keep a record of who we've contacted and any reply. If you ask us not to contact you again, we'll stop and keep a note so it doesn't happen again. Every email we send tells you how to opt out.
5. The chat assistant
The "Ask Hive" chat on our website is an AI assistant. Your messages are sent to an AI model run by Cloudflare to generate replies. We don't save conversations unless you press "Send to the team", in which case the conversation is emailed to us with your details. Please don't share sensitive information, such as health details, in the chat. Answers from the assistant may contain mistakes, so we'll always confirm prices and details by email.
6. Cookies
Our website doesn't set any cookies unless you agree. If you click "Accept" on our cookie banner, we load Google's advertising and analytics tags. They set cookies that help us see which adverts led to an enquiry and how the site is used. If you click "Reject", or ignore the banner, these tags aren't loaded.
We also store your cookie choice in your browser, so we don't ask every time. You can change your mind whenever you like using the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of every page.
7. Who we share it with
We use a small number of trusted providers to run our business. They only process data on our instructions.
| Provider | What for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Website hosting, security and the AI chat assistant | Global network, including the UK, EU and US |
| FormSubmit | Delivering enquiry form and chat submissions to our inbox | United States |
| Zoho | Our business email | UK data centre |
| Google (only if you accept cookies) | Advertising measurement and analytics | United States and elsewhere |
Where data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on the safeguards UK law requires, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or the UK–US data bridge, where they apply. We'll also share information if the law requires it, or with professional advisers such as our accountant.
8. How long we keep it
- Enquiries and chat conversations that don't lead to work: up to 2 years, then deleted.
- Client records: 6 years after the work ends, as required for tax and accounting.
- "Don't contact me" requests: kept indefinitely, so we never contact you again.
- Cookie data: as set by Google, and only if you accept. You can delete cookies in your browser at any time.
9. Your rights
You have the right to ask for a copy of your data, and to have it corrected or deleted. You can also object to how we use it, or ask us to limit its use, and ask for your data to be transferred. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Email [email protected] and we'll respond within one month.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
10. Our clients' customers
When we build a website or AI receptionist for a business, enquiries from that business's customers are handled for that business. In that case, the business is the controller, and its own privacy policy applies. We act as its processor under a data processing agreement.
11. Changes to this policy
We'll update this page if anything changes, and show the date below.
Last updated: 8 November 2026.