Privacy Policy

Discover Unique ("we", "us", "our") is a UK-based platform that helps people discover SEND, neurodivergent and additional needs support, services, opportunities and community connections.

This Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information when you visit our website, create an account, list a service, or contact a provider through Discover Unique. It applies to everyone who uses the platform, including people looking for support, their families and carers, professionals, and the providers who list their services.

We are committed to being transparent about how your information is used and to keeping it safe. We follow the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Discover Unique is the data controller responsible for your personal information. That means we decide how and why your information is used.

If you have any questions about this policy or how your information is handled, you can contact us at privacy@discoverunique.co.uk.

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in how we work or to meet legal requirements. When we make meaningful changes, we will make the updated policy available on this page.

We only collect information that is necessary to run the platform and connect people with support. The type of information depends on how you use Discover Unique.

For people looking for support:

• Contact details you choose to share when making an enquiry to a provider.
• Search queries used to help improve how results are shown.
• Basic account information if you create an account.

For support providers:

• Business name, description, service type and the support needs you offer.
• Age groups supported, delivery methods and service coverage areas.
• Contact details and contact preferences you choose.
• Location and postcode information used for local search.
• Verification documents such as DBS certificates, insurance and professional registrations.

Technical information:

• Basic device and browser information needed to keep the site secure and working.
• Sign-in activity, including the IP address, date and time, sign-in method and whether the attempt succeeded or failed.

We use your information to:

• Connect people with relevant support, services and opportunities.
• Show search results based on support need, type, location and Verified™ status.
• Process and review provider applications.
• Carry out Discover Unique Verified™ checks where a provider chooses to take part.
• Send important account and application updates, including confirmation and review emails.
• Keep the platform safe, secure and free from misleading or harmful listings.
• Respond to your questions and requests.
• Improve the platform and how it works for the whole community.

We do not sell your personal information. We only share it where described in this policy or where required by law.

We are careful about what appears publicly and what stays private. This is especially important for a community that includes children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Public listing information may include:

• Business or organisation name, description and service type.
• The support needs and age groups a provider supports.
• Service coverage areas and whether support is in person, online or both.
• Contact details the provider has chosen to share, based on their contact preferences.

Private information we do not publish:

• Telephone numbers and email addresses a provider has not chosen to make public.
• Home or personal addresses.
• Enquiry messages between users and providers, beyond what is needed to deliver them.
• Any information marked as private during registration or in the dashboard.

Providers can review and change their contact preferences at any time from their dashboard. Only contact methods a provider has actively approved will appear on a public listing.

Discover Unique Verified™ is a trust signal. When a provider chooses to take part, we may review documents such as:

• DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificates.
• Professional and public liability insurance.
• Professional registrations and memberships.
• Safeguarding policies relevant to the service offered.

Verification documents are used only to confirm that specified checks have been completed at the time of review. They are not published or shared publicly. The Verified™ badge confirms that these checks were carried out — it is not an endorsement, recommendation or guarantee of any service.

We retain verification records only for as long as needed to maintain an accurate audit trail and to support future re-verification.

Membership payments. Discover Unique Verified™ membership is paid for by card through Stripe, our payment provider. Card details are entered directly with Stripe and are never seen or stored by Discover Unique. Stripe processes your payment on our instruction and holds the payment record as required by law. From Stripe we receive only what we need to run your membership: a customer and subscription reference, the plan you chose, whether payments are up to date, your renewal date, and any refund we have issued. This is necessary for the performance of our contract with you, and we keep it for as long as the law requires financial records to be kept.

We take the security of your information seriously. We use a range of measures to protect it, including:

• Secure, access-controlled storage for personal information.
• Row-level access controls so that providers can only manage their own listings and documents.
• Restricted access to verification documents and admin tools.
• Regular review of who can access sensitive data.

Sign-in activity monitoring:

We keep a record of sign-in activity on the platform so that we can protect accounts and spot attempts to break into them. Each record includes the date and time, the email address used, whether the sign-in succeeded or failed, the sign-in method (for example password or authenticator code) and the IP address the attempt came from. IP addresses may therefore be recorded, including for attempts that fail.

Our lawful basis for this is legitimate interests — keeping the platform secure, preventing fraud and misuse, and protecting the accounts of the people who use it. Sign-in activity is retained for 12 months and then removed automatically. Access is restricted to authorised Discover Unique reviewers and administrators; the records are written by the platform and cannot be edited or deleted by anyone using the site. We do not use sign-in activity for marketing, profiling or tracking your browsing.

No platform can be completely secure, but we work hard to protect your information and to respond quickly if any issue is identified. If a data breach occurs that requires us to tell you, we will do so as required by law.

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected. In practice:

• Provider listing information is kept while a listing is active and for a reasonable period after it is removed.
• Verification documents are retained to support the Verified™ audit trail and re-verification.
• Application records are kept to provide an accurate history of how listings were approved.
• Enquiry messages are retained for a reasonable period so that both parties have a record of contact.
• Account information is kept while your account is active and removed or anonymised when it is closed.
• Sign-in activity records, including IP addresses, are kept for 12 months and then removed automatically.

If you would like your information removed earlier, you can contact us at privacy@discoverunique.co.uk and we will consider your request.

Under UK data protection law you have several rights over your personal information, including:

• The right to access the information we hold about you.
• The right to ask us to correct information that is inaccurate.
• The right to ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances.
• The right to object to or restrict how we use your information.
• The right to receive your information in a portable format.
• The right to withdraw consent where we rely on it.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@discoverunique.co.uk. We will respond promptly and within the time limits set by law.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

This policy is governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes relating to this policy will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, we would like to hear from you.

Email: privacy@discoverunique.co.uk

We are committed to handling your information with care and to keeping Discover Unique a trusted, safe space for the whole SEND, neurodivergent and additional needs community.