HireDronePilot (“we”, “our”) respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, and the rights you have under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Who we are
HireDronePilot is operated by Peter Leslie, trading in the United Kingdom. Contact: the contact page.
2. Information we collect
- Contact information you provide on enquiry forms (name, email, phone, project brief).
- Pilot application data for operators joining the network (contact details, base postcode, travel radius, qualifications, insurance information, experience, equipment, profile copy, links and uploaded images).
- Technical data your browser sends automatically (IP address, browser type, pages visited) via standard server logs.
- Analytics data about site visits and lead form submissions, using Plausible Analytics and Google Analytics where you have accepted analytics cookies.
- Cookies we use a minimal set of functional cookies. We do not use Google Analytics cookies without your consent.
We do not collect or process payment card data, bank account details or any other financial information. HireDronePilot is an introduction platform; payment for any job is arranged and settled directly between the client and the pilot, outside our systems.
3. How we use your data
- To review your enquiry and, where relevant, introduce independent pilots who may be able to quote.
- To check the qualifications and insurance supplied for a pilot profile before marking it verified.
- To send service-related communications (e.g. a follow-up on your project brief).
- To maintain and improve the website.
4. Legal basis
We rely on legitimate interest for responding to enquiries you initiate and contract performance for fulfilling jobs. Where required, we seek explicit consent (e.g. marketing emails).
5. Sharing your data
A general project brief first goes to the HireDronePilot review team. We then share it only with independent pilots we consider relevant so they can decide whether to respond. If you use the contact form on a named pilot profile, the enquiry goes directly to that pilot and HireDronePilot receives a private copy for routing and support.
Pilot applications are reviewed internally. If a profile is approved, the agreed public profile details and selected images are published; the base postcode, operator ID, email address and stated travel radius are used for review and routing and are not displayed as the pilot's public address.
The pilot application can save a draft in your browser's local storage. That draft remains on your device and is not sent to HireDronePilot until you submit the form. File selections are not stored in the draft, and you can clear it from the application page.
Once you engage a pilot, your further correspondence and any commercial or payment information is exchanged directly between you and that pilot — it does not pass through HireDronePilot. We do not sell your data to third parties. Infrastructure providers (email, hosting and analytics, including Google Analytics where enabled) process data on our behalf.
6. How long we keep data
Enquiries are retained for up to 24 months after the last contact. Pilot application records are retained while the pilot is active in the network plus 6 years thereafter for insurance audit purposes.
7. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Access a copy of the data we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate data.
- Request erasure (“right to be forgotten”).
- Object to processing or request restriction.
- Data portability in a machine-readable format.
- Withdraw consent at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us via the contact page. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).
8. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. Material changes will be highlighted on this page with a revised “last updated” date.