Privacy Policy

At a glance

Who we are and how to contact us

Dom Huga Ltd is the controller for the personal data covered by this policy. Domain Hunter Gatherer is our website and Windows domain-research software, together with its member area, support, blog, guides and related services.

This policy applies when we decide why and how personal data is used. References to UK data-protection law include the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, as amended, together with applicable electronic-communications rules. A third-party website or service linked from DHG normally has its own controller and privacy notice.

Personal data we collect

The information we hold depends on how you interact with DHG. It may include:

• Account and identity information: your name, email address, username, account status and information entered in registration or account forms;
• Order and subscription information: product, plan, order reference, dates, amount, currency, payment status, renewal or cancellation status and limited billing details supplied to us by the checkout provider;
• Premium-domain enquiries: the domain requested, your name, email address, message, submission time, privacy acknowledgement and a pseudonymous network value used to limit form abuse;
• Support and communications: messages, ticket history, attachments, troubleshooting details, feedback and records of our response;
• Technical and security information: IP address, date and time, requested pages, referrer, browser, device or operating-system information, server events, login attempts and similar diagnostic records;
• Software and licence information: licence status, version and technical information needed to activate, maintain, secure or troubleshoot the software; and
• Optional communications: your email address, sign-up evidence and preferences if you choose to receive a newsletter or other optional marketing.

Support files can contain information you choose to send. Please remove unrelated personal data, passwords, API keys and confidential third-party material before attaching a file unless support specifically needs it and has given you a safe way to provide it.

We do not intentionally ask for special-category data, such as health, biometric, political or religious information, through the ordinary DHG service. Please do not send it unless it is genuinely necessary for a specific request.

Where the data comes from

Most personal data comes directly from you when you register, place an order, send a premium-domain enquiry, change account details, contact support or make a communication choice. Our systems also generate technical records when a browser or the software connects to a service.

The checkout provider sends us the order, customer and transaction status needed to create or maintain your entitlement, handle an enquiry, account for the sale and address fraud or disputes. We may also receive information from a person acting for an organisation, from a referral link or from a service provider helping us operate the platform.

Domain-research results may contain public or third-party information about organisations, websites or domain contacts. That research data is distinct from the account data we use to serve you, but privacy and other legal rules can still apply to how you use it.

Why we use personal data

UK data-protection law requires a lawful basis for each use. The basis depends on the context; the table shows the principal uses rather than every exceptional situation.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the purpose, necessity and likely effect on people. You may object to this processing in appropriate circumstances. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time; withdrawal does not make earlier lawful processing unlawful.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small data files stored by a browser. The main site, member area, blog and guides may use cookies or comparable storage to keep a session working, remember a preference, protect forms, support sign-in, maintain account security and understand whether pages operate correctly.

Strictly necessary technologies support a service you request or protect the site and may not work if blocked. Analytics, advertising or other non-essential technologies are used only where we have an appropriate legal basis and, where required, your consent. The options shown by a consent tool apply to the technologies it describes.

You can remove or block cookies through browser settings. Blocking necessary cookies may prevent sign-in, saved preferences or other requested functions from working. Browser controls do not necessarily control storage used within a separate desktop application.

Payments and external services

Payments are currently processed through PayPro Global. Payment methods shown at checkout can include cards, PayPal or bank transfer depending on the customer, location and order. You enter payment credentials into the checkout environment, not into the ordinary DHG website forms. The provider processes those details under its own privacy information and sends us the order and customer information needed to fulfil and administer the purchase.

We do not receive the full card number or card security code from the checkout provider. We may receive limited payment information, such as method category, transaction reference, status and the details needed for invoices, tax, fraud handling, support, refunds or disputes.

The premium-domain enquiry form does not collect card or payment credentials. Submitting that form sends the enquiry to Dom Huga Ltd; it does not by itself send your message to Afternic. If a domain purchase proceeds through Afternic, you will enter the information needed for that transaction in Afternic's environment and its own privacy notice and terms will apply.

DHG also depends on hosting, email delivery, security, support, account-management and technical infrastructure. Our blog and guides use WordPress-based systems, and account services use member-management software. We do not list a provider merely because it appeared in an old template: a provider's own notice and the interface where you use it are the best source for its current identity and practices.

Links to social networks, registrars, auction services, metrics providers or other external sites do not send those services your DHG account details merely because the link is displayed. If you follow a link, activate an embed or separately connect an external service, that provider may collect data under its own terms.

When personal data is shared

We share personal data only where there is a relevant reason and an appropriate legal basis. Recipients may include:

• service providers acting for us, such as hosting, account, support, email, security, backup and technical-infrastructure providers;
• the checkout, marketplace and payment organisations involved when an order or domain transaction proceeds, including related refunds, disputes or fraud checks;
• professional advisers, auditors, insurers or prospective transaction advisers under appropriate confidentiality duties;
• courts, regulators, law-enforcement bodies or other authorities where disclosure is legally required or reasonably necessary to protect legal rights and safety; and
• a buyer or successor in a genuine sale, merger, restructuring or transfer of the relevant business, subject to appropriate safeguards.

Processors may use personal data only on documented instructions for the contracted service, except where the law requires otherwise. They are required to protect it and not use it for unrelated purposes. We do not publish private support material as a testimonial or case study without specific permission.

International data transfers

Some providers or their infrastructure may be located outside the United Kingdom. When UK personal data is transferred internationally, we use a lawful transfer mechanism where required, such as UK adequacy regulations, approved contractual safeguards or another exception available under data-protection law.

The appropriate mechanism depends on the destination, recipient and circumstances. You may contact us for more information about safeguards relevant to your data, although commercial or security-sensitive parts of an agreement may need to be withheld.

How long data is kept

We keep personal data only for as long as reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected, and for legal, accounting, security, support and dispute-resolution requirements. Different records therefore have different retention periods.

In deciding how long to keep a record, we consider the active account or subscription, the nature and sensitivity of the data, support and security needs, limitation periods, tax and company-record obligations, and whether information can be aggregated or anonymised instead.

Premium-domain enquiries are normally reviewed for deletion within 24 months of the last meaningful contact unless a sale, dispute, legal obligation or continuing conversation gives us a reason to retain them for longer. Anti-spam records may be kept for a shorter period where practical.

Closing an account does not always mean every record is deleted immediately. For example, transaction records may need to remain for accounting or legal reasons, while live credentials and information no longer needed for those purposes can be removed or restricted. Backup copies may persist for a limited cycle before being overwritten.

How data is protected

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the data and risk. These can include access controls, authentication, transport encryption, software maintenance, backups, logging, provider review and procedures for responding to suspected incidents.

No website, email, software update, internet transmission or storage system is completely secure. Keep your account password and connected API credentials private, use a unique password, maintain your device and tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised account activity.

If a personal-data breach creates a legal duty to notify affected people or the regulator, we will make the required notification and provide the information available at that stage.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on your location and the circumstances, you may have rights to:

• be informed about how personal data is used and obtain access to your personal data;
• correct inaccurate information and complete information that is incomplete;
• ask for deletion or restriction of processing where the legal conditions apply;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests and object at any time to direct marketing;
• receive certain data you provided in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format and ask for it to be transferred where technically feasible;
• withdraw consent for future processing where consent is the basis; and
• receive safeguards around solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects.

These rights are not absolute. For example, we may need to retain information required by law, protect another person's rights or establish or defend a legal claim. We will explain if an exemption affects a request.

To make a request, email support@domainhuntergatherer.com or use the helpdesk. Describe the account and request clearly. We may ask for proportionate evidence of identity or authority before disclosing or changing data. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

Optional marketing communications

If you choose to subscribe to a newsletter or other optional marketing, we use the supplied address and sign-up record to send the selected communication. We may use a confirmation step to verify that the address owner requested it.

You can unsubscribe through the link in a marketing email or by contacting support. We may retain a minimal suppression record so that an address which opted out is not accidentally re-added. Service messages about an account, order, security issue or important product operation are not marketing and may still be sent where necessary.

Children and automated decisions

DHG is a domain-research tool and is not directed at children under 13. A young person should use the service only with the permission required by the Terms of Use. If you believe a child has provided personal data without appropriate permission, contact us so we can review and take suitable action.

At the effective date of this policy, we do not use DHG account data to make solely automated decisions about a person that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Software filters and domain-scoring tools help users organise research; they do not make eligibility, credit, employment or comparable decisions about the account holder. If this position changes, we will provide the information and safeguards required by law.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the service, providers or law changes, or when clearer detail would help. The current version and effective date will be published on this page. For a material change affecting existing users, we will provide additional notice through the website, member area or account email where appropriate.

Questions about this policy or a particular use of personal data are welcome. Contact support@domainhuntergatherer.com or send a ticket through the member-area helpdesk.

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