Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Safe Haven Watch is operated by Ross & Sons Digital (info@rossandsonsdigital.co.uk). We provide neighbourhood safety information, community crime reporting tools, property alerts and local business advertising services to users in the United Kingdom.

For data protection purposes, Ross & Sons Digital is the data controller of the personal information you provide when using this website.

2. What information we collect

Account information: email address, name and authentication details when you sign up or sign in with Google.

Property and alert preferences: addresses, postcodes, saved properties and the notification settings you choose.

Incident reports: location, description, date/time, optional contact details and any reference number we generate. Reports can be submitted anonymously.

Advertising enquiries: company name, address, contact details, services, areas covered and any notes you provide.

Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information and cookies required to keep you signed in and to measure site usage.

3. How we use your information

To provide the service: displaying safety scores, maps, local activity and saved-property updates.

To send notifications: alerts about new incidents, property changes or local issues where you have opted in.

To process reports: forwarding contactable reports to relevant police forces or neighbourhood-watch contacts where you have chosen to share your details.

To manage advertising: reviewing business listings, creating banner placements and contacting advertisers.

To improve the site: analysing aggregated usage patterns and fixing errors.

4. Legal basis for processing

We process personal data on the basis of: your consent (for example when you opt in to alerts or submit an advertising enquiry); the performance of a contract with you (for example providing a premium subscription); compliance with a legal obligation; and our legitimate interests in operating a safe, secure community platform.

You can withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your notification settings or contacting us at info@rossandsonsdigital.co.uk.

5. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal information. We only share data with trusted service providers who help us run Safe Haven Watch, such as our hosting, database, email delivery, payment and analytics providers.

If you submit an incident report and choose to be contactable, your contact details may be shared with the relevant police force or neighbourhood-watch coordinator so they can follow up. Anonymous reports are not linked to any identifying information.

Advertiser and business-listing details are published only after review and only to the extent you have agreed.

6. Cookies and analytics

We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and maintain your session. We may also use analytics cookies to understand how visitors use the site.

You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings. Essential cookies cannot be disabled without affecting your ability to use the service.

7. How long we keep your data

We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. You can delete your account yourself at any time from the 'Your account' page — see section 8 below.

Incident reports are retained to support community safety trends and may be kept indefinitely in anonymised form. Contact details attached to a report are retained only as long as needed for any follow-up.

Advertising enquiries and business records are kept for up to six years to meet legal and tax requirements.

8. Deleting your account and your data

You can delete your account yourself at any time. Sign in, open 'Your account' from the menu (or go to /account), type DELETE to confirm and select 'Permanently delete my account'. No email or approval from us is needed.

Deleting your account immediately and permanently removes: your profile and sign-in details, your saved areas and properties and the notes on them, your notification and alert preferences, any valuation requests, and your subscription record. This cannot be undone.

Incident reports you submitted are kept as part of the community safety record, but they are fully anonymised — your name, email address, phone number and the link to your account are erased, so the report can no longer be traced back to you.

If you have a paid subscription, cancel it before deleting your account so you are not billed again. Payment records held by our payment provider are kept for as long as UK tax law requires.

Backups are overwritten on a rolling basis and any residual copies are removed within 30 days. If you would rather we deleted your account for you, or you can no longer sign in, email info@rossandsonsdigital.co.uk and we will action it within one month.

9. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to: access the personal data we hold about you; correct inaccurate information; erase your data in certain circumstances; restrict or object to processing; withdraw consent; and request a copy of your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email info@rossandsonsdigital.co.uk. We will respond within one month of receiving a verified request.

10. Security

We use industry-standard encryption, access controls and regular security reviews to protect your information. Payment details are handled by our payment provider and are never stored on our servers.

No system is completely secure. If you believe your account or data has been compromised, please contact us immediately.

11. Third-party websites

Safe Haven Watch links to external sites such as police.uk, mapping providers, advertisers and community groups. This privacy policy applies only to Safe Haven Watch. Please read the privacy policy of any third-party site before you submit personal information to it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The latest version will always be published on this page with the date it was last reviewed.

13. Contact us

For privacy questions, data requests or complaints, contact: info@rossandsonsdigital.co.uk.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).