Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

StockBud Ltd ("we", "our", "us") is a company registered in England and Wales (Companies House number 16703766). We are the data controller responsible for your personal data when you use the StockBud mobile application and the website at stock-bud.com (together, the "Service").

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, contact us at support@stock-bud.com.

2. Scope

This policy applies to personal data we process about users of the Service. It does not apply to third-party services we link to (such as app stores or your brokerage), which have their own privacy policies. By using the Service, you acknowledge the practices described here.

3. Information we collect

3.1 Account information

• Display name and username
• Email address
• Password (stored only as a secure, salted hash — we never see your plain-text password)
• Profile picture (if you choose to upload one)

3.2 Portfolio & investing data

• Securities you follow or add to your portfolio
• Competition entries, picks, and leaderboard activity
• Read-only portfolio data when you link a brokerage account (see Section 8)

3.3 Social & community data

• Posts, comments, and reactions on the social feed
• Messages sent in Rooms
• Accounts you follow and your follower list

3.4 Device & usage data

• Device type, operating system, and app version
• Usage patterns, interactions, and feature engagement
• Crash reports and performance diagnostics
• IP address and approximate location (used for security and fraud prevention)

3.5 Communications

If you contact us (e.g. by email or support request), we keep a record of that correspondence.

4. Cookies & analytics technologies

We and our service providers use cookies, software development kits (SDKs), device identifiers, and similar technologies to operate the Service, remember your preferences, keep you signed in, measure traffic and engagement, diagnose problems, and improve the Service. This includes privacy-conscious website analytics (provided via Accelerate ME / ameportal.com) and in-app analytics and crash reporting.

Strictly necessary technologies are required for the Service to function. For non-essential analytics, we rely on your consent or our legitimate interests as described in Section 6, and you can control device-level permissions (such as advertising identifiers) through your device settings.

5. How we use your data

• Provide, operate, secure, and improve the Service
• Create and manage your account and authenticate you
• Display your portfolio, performance, and analytics
• Enable social features (feed, Rooms, profiles, following)
• Run competitions and leaderboards and distribute any prizes
• Send service messages (e.g. verification, password resets, important notices)
• Send push notifications you have opted into, and (where permitted) updates about features and competitions
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Understand usage to develop new features and improve performance
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations and enforce our terms

6. Legal bases for processing

Under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018), we rely on the following legal bases:

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have assessed that these are not overridden by your rights. You can ask us for more detail about this assessment.

7. Data sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share it with:

• Other users: your display name, username, profile picture, posts, follower information, and competition rankings are visible to other users. Room messages are visible to members of that Room. Please only share what you are comfortable being public.
• Service providers (processors): trusted vendors that help us run the Service — including cloud hosting and database infrastructure, authentication, analytics, crash reporting, push notifications, and email delivery. They process data only on our instructions and under contract.
• Brokerages: when you link a brokerage account, data is exchanged via their official API under their own terms (see Section 8).
• Legal & safety: where required by law, regulation, or legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of StockBud, our users, or others.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

8. Third-party brokerage account linking (e.g. Trading 212)

8.1 What this feature does

You may optionally link a third-party brokerage account (currently Trading 212) so your holdings and values can be displayed in the app. This connection is entirely optional and initiated only by you.

8.2 Data we receive

We receive read-only data via the brokerage's official API, which may include portfolio holdings and positions, historical transactions, account value, and cash balance.

8.3 Data we do NOT receive or store

• Your brokerage login credentials — authentication is handled entirely by the brokerage's own secure flow
• Your bank account or payment card details
• Any ability to place, modify, or cancel trades or to move funds

8.4 How we use brokerage data

Solely to display your portfolio, calculate performance and analytics, and enable competitions where linked portfolio data may be used. We do not sell, licence, or share brokerage data for marketing or any unrelated purpose.

8.5 Disconnecting

You may disconnect a linked brokerage at any time in the app settings. We delete cached brokerage data from our active systems within 30 days of disconnection.

8.6 Accuracy & third-party terms

Brokerage data may be delayed, inaccurate, or incomplete and is governed by the brokerage's own terms and privacy policy. We are not responsible for the brokerage's handling of your data or the accuracy of data provided via its API; verify holdings directly with your brokerage.

9. International data transfers

Some of our service providers may process data outside the United Kingdom. Where personal data is transferred internationally, we ensure an appropriate safeguard is in place — such as a UK adequacy decision, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses — so that your data receives an equivalent level of protection. You can contact us for more information about these safeguards.

10. Aggregated & anonymised data

We may create aggregated, de-identified, or anonymised data from activity on the Service (for example, market-sentiment trends, feature-usage statistics, and behavioural insights) that does not identify you. This data is no longer personal data, and we may use, retain, and share it for any lawful purpose, including analytics, research, product development, and reporting.

11. Automated processing, leaderboards & profiling

Leaderboards, rankings, and certain feed and recommendation features rank or sort information automatically based on activity and performance data. We do not make decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects about you based solely on automated processing without human involvement. If we introduce any such processing in future, we will tell you and explain your rights.

12. Marketing communications

We may send you marketing about features, competitions, and updates where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by law. You can opt out at any time using the unsubscribe link in our emails, your in-app notification settings, or by contacting us. Opting out of marketing does not stop essential service messages (such as security or account notices).

13. Data storage & security

Your data is stored on secure, access-controlled servers. We use industry-standard measures including encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest, secure password hashing, network controls, and least-privilege access. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a personal data breach is likely to result in a risk to your rights, we will notify the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and, where required, you, in accordance with our legal obligations.

14. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this policy:

• Account data: for the life of your account, then deleted or anonymised within 30 days of account deletion;
• Cached brokerage data: deleted within 30 days of disconnection or account deletion;
• Usage, analytics, and crash data: retained for a limited period for security and product improvement, often in aggregated form;
• Records required by law (e.g. tax, fraud, or dispute records): retained for the period required by applicable law.

15. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request erasure of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Object to, or request restriction of, certain processing
• Request portability of data you provided to us
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent

To exercise any right, email support@stock-bud.com. We will respond within the timeframes required by law. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority, at ico.org.uk — though we'd appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.

16. Children's privacy

StockBud is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from under-18s. If we learn that we have collected personal data from someone under 18, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with data, contact support@stock-bud.com.

17. Third-party links

The Service may link to third-party websites or services (e.g. app stores, brokerages, market-data providers). We are not responsible for their privacy practices and encourage you to read their policies.

18. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here and, where changes are material, notify you in the app or by email. Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

19. Contact us

• StockBud Ltd (Companies House no. 16703766)
• Email: support@stock-bud.com