Privacy policy
Last updated 14 November 2026
Hatful is run by Arthurs Lab Ltd (“we”). This page says what we collect when you use the Hatful app and this website, why, and what you can do about it.
In short: we collect only what the app needs to run a gift swap. No adverts, no tracking, and we never sell your information.
What we collect
| What | Why we need it |
|---|---|
| Your email address | To sign you in with a one-time code and to email you when names are drawn. There is no password. |
| Your name, as you type it | So the people in your groups know who you are. |
| Gift ideas and things to avoid (optional) | Shown to the person who draws you. |
| Birthday, day and month only (optional) | For birthday reminders in your groups, if you leave sharing switched on. |
| Groups you create or join | The group’s name, budget, dates and rules, who is in it, and who was drawn to buy for whom. |
| Messages between you and your match | The anonymous questions and answers you send in the app. |
| A notification token for your phone | To send notifications, if you allow them. |
| People you add by email | An organizer can add someone who doesn’t use the app by typing their name and email address. We use it only to email that person their match and messages from their group. |
We do not collect your location, your contacts, your postal address or payment details, and the app contains no advertising or analytics software.
Who can see what
- People in a group see each other’s names.
- Only you can see who you are buying for. The organizer cannot.
- The person who draws you sees your gift ideas.
- Anonymous questions show as coming from “your Secret Santa”, never with a name.
The legal basis
Under UK data protection law we rely on: performing our agreement with you (running your account and groups); our legitimate interest in emailing a person an organizer has added, so they can take part; and your consent for notifications and for the optional gift ideas and birthday, which you can remove at any time.
Companies that help us run Hatful
| Company | What it does for us |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Stores the app’s data and handles sign-in. Our database is in the European Union (Paris). |
| Sends our emails. | |
| Expo, Apple and Google | Deliver notifications to your phone. |
| Cloudflare | Hosts this website and passes on email sent to our support address. |
These companies act on our instructions. Some of them are based outside the UK; where your information leaves the UK it is protected by the safeguards the law requires, such as approved contract terms.
How long we keep it
- We keep your information while you have an account.
- When you delete your account, your profile, gift ideas, birthday, messages and sign-in details are deleted straight away. How to delete your account.
- Details of someone added by email are deleted when they are removed from the group or the group is deleted, or sooner if they ask us.
- Copies held in routine backups are overwritten within 30 days.
Your rights
You can ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, to delete it, or to stop or limit how we use it. Most of this you can do yourself in the app; for anything else email [email protected] and we will reply within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Children
Hatful accounts are for people aged 13 and over. A parent or guardian can add a younger child to a family group by name without the child having an account.
This website
This site sets no cookies of its own and has no tracking. Our host, Cloudflare, may keep short-lived technical logs to keep the site secure. Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant we will tell you in the app first.
Contact
Arthurs Lab Ltd
Email: [email protected]