Your information
Privacy notice
Last updated: 13 September 2026
Who controls your information
Cold Steel Ltd is the data controller for the PlanPlain service. It is registered in England and Wales under company number 07608789. Our registered office is Woodwards House, High Street, Needham Market, Suffolk, IP6 8DQ. Privacy enquiries can be sent to hello@planplain.com.
Information we collect
We collect your name, email address, property address, planning-application details, stated concerns, order and correspondence records, and any optional photographs you submit. Stripe processes payment information; we receive transaction details but not your full card number.
Why we use it
We use this information to assess whether the application is within scope, prepare and deliver the report, communicate with you, handle cancellations or complaints, prevent misuse, and maintain tax and accounting records.
Our principal lawful basis is performance of our contract with you. We also process information where necessary to comply with legal obligations and for legitimate interests such as protecting the service and resolving disputes. We do not use submitted property information or photographs for advertising or model training.
Photographs and information about others
Please avoid uploading identifiable people, vehicle registrations or unnecessary personal details. If a photograph incidentally contains another person's personal data, we will use it only insofar as necessary to provide the service and will delete it in line with the retention period below.
Who receives it
We use carefully selected service providers for website hosting and storage, payments and business email. These currently include OpenAI and its hosting infrastructure providers, Stripe and Microsoft. They process information subject to their own security and contractual safeguards. We do not sell your personal information.
International processing
Some service providers may process information outside the UK. Where this happens, we rely on recognised safeguards such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.
Our deletion schedule
We deliberately avoid building a long-term database of customers' homes. Our standard retention periods begin when your report is delivered:
The six-year record is limited to information such as your name, email address, order reference, payment and VAT amounts, transaction identifier, dates and evidence that the service terms and early-performance request were accepted. It does not include your photographs, property address, planning concerns or report. You may ask us to delete photographs sooner after delivery unless they are required for an unresolved complaint or legal issue.
Security
Uploads are stored in access-controlled cloud storage and are not made publicly available. Access is restricted to those who need the information to operate the service. Email is not always secure, so please use the upload form for photographs rather than sending them by ordinary email.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may ask for access to your personal information, correction, deletion, restriction or transfer, or object to particular processing. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Contact us first at hello@planplain.com and we will respond without undue delay.
Cookies and marketing
PlanPlain does not currently use non-essential advertising or analytics cookies and does not add customers to a marketing list merely because they purchase a report. If that changes, this notice and the site's choices will be updated first.