Privacy Policy.

Last updated: 20.11.2025

1. Introduction

GeekRunner is a platform that connects customers with vetted freelancers for one-on-one support with their devices. We are committed to protecting your privacy and keeping your personal data safe. This Policy sets out how we collect, use, share, store and protect personal data when you use our service, and your rights under UK data protection law (in particular the UK General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR") and the Data Protection Act 2018). (UK GDPR)

Your use of our service signifies your acceptance of this Policy and our Terms of Service.

2. Data Controller and Contact

Geekrunner Co FZCO (License No: 66532) with registered address DSO-IFZA, IFZA Properties, Dubai Silicon Oasis, acts as the data controller for the purposes of this Policy.

If you have any questions about this policy, or wish to exercise your rights, you may contact us at: compliance@geekrunner.co.

3. What Personal Data We Collect

We collect different types of personal data depending on whether you are a "Customer" (seeking help) or an "Expert" (providing help).

(a) Customers

• Name, email address, postal address, telephone/mobile number.
• Device/problem details you submit when booking (e.g., type of device, issue description, software/hardware details).
• Payment information (via Stripe) – we do not store full credit-card numbers ourselves, but we may on occasions collect credit-card details via our support agents when the customer cannot book via the app.
• Booking history, service usage data, date/time/location of services.
• Communication history (e-mail/chat/phone) between you and us/Experts.
• If you choose to upload a photo or video of your device or problem, we process that too.

(b) Experts

• Name, email, postal address, telephone/mobile number.
• Curriculum vitae, work history, references, vetting information (including background check if applicable).
• Service history, ratings, reviews, performance metrics (if used).
• Banking or payment details (for payments to Experts).
• Availability schedules, and any profile/portfolio you publish.

(c) Technical & Usage Data

We may collect technical and usage data such as IP address, device type, operating system, browser type, version, time of access, pages viewed, search terms, location (if you enable location services) and anonymised analytics of how you use the service.

This may come from cookies or similar tracking technologies.

4. How and Why We Use Your Personal Data (Lawful Bases)

Under UK data-protection law we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:

• Performance of a contract: to enable you to book and receive services from the Experts, process your payments, fulfil our obligations under our Terms.
• Legitimate interests: to improve our service, monitor usage and performance, detect fraud and abuse, provide a smooth user experience, vet Experts, provide customer support, send service-related communications.
• Consent (in limited cases): where we send marketing communications (you will have the right to opt-out).
• Legal obligation: where required by law (e.g., fraud prevention, regulatory reporting).

We will use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To register users (Customers and Experts), verify identity where required.
• To enable booking of service, matching of Customer to Expert, scheduling, payment and invoicing.
• To process payments via Stripe or via agent collection of credit-card details.
• To provide the service: e.g., enabling the Expert to access information about device/problem, communicate with you, carry out the work.
• To send you service-related communications (booking confirmations, reminders, follow-up, support).
• To collect ratings/reviews and enable ratings for Experts (subject to your consent where required).
• To carry out background checks, vetting of Experts for fraud/quality control.
• To monitor and improve our platform (analytics, aggregated use statistics, identifying and preventing misuse/fraud).
• To send you marketing communications (only if you consent, and you can opt-out).
• To comply with legal/regulatory requirements and protect our rights (e.g., prevention of fraud, defence of claims).

We will not process your personal data for purposes incompatible with the purposes listed above. We keep the use of data limited to what is necessary. (UK GDPR)

5. Sharing Your Personal Data

We may share your personal data with:

• The Expert you are matched to (so that they can perform the service).
• Our payment processor (Stripe) and any agent we use who collects payment on our behalf.
• Service providers/contractors who help us run our platform (hosting providers, analytics, communications, background-check providers, customer-support, etc) – under appropriate contracts and confidentiality obligations.
• Law enforcement/regulators where required by law.
• Prospective buyers/investors or business-transferees in the event of a merger/acquisition, provided they commit to use the data in accordance with this Policy.
• Courts/arbitrators/insurers in connection with claims/disputes.

We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6. Cross-border Transfers

Your personal data may be transferred outside the UK or the European Economic Area. Wherever transfers occur we will ensure they are subject to appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent) or rely on a lawful basis permitted under UK law.

7. Retention of Data

We will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or for as long as required by law. After that, we will delete or anonymise it. The retention period depends on the type of data and the reason we hold it (for example, payment records may need to be retained for tax/accounting purposes).

8. Your Rights

Under UK data-protection law you have the following rights (subject to certain conditions):

• Right to be informed: you have the right to know how we process your personal data. UK ICO
• Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. UK-Right to access
• Right to rectification: you may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure ('right to be forgotten'): in certain circumstances you can ask us to delete your personal data.
• Right to restrict processing: you may ask us to suspend what we do with your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: you can ask for your data in a structured, commonly-used, machine-readable format (where applicable).
• Right to object: you may object to our processing of your personal data (for example in relation to direct marketing or processing based on our legitimate interests).
• Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent as a lawful basis, you may withdraw it at any time.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the address above. If you remain dissatisfied you may complain to the ICO.

9. Cookies, Tracking & Automated Decision-making

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our app/website to collect usage information to improve our service. You will be provided with cookie information and consent where required.

We may use automated decision-making and profiling (for example, matching Customers to Experts, scoring or vetting Experts). If we do, you will be notified and you will have the right to request human intervention, express your point of view, and obtain an explanation of the decision.

10. Payment & Credit-Card Policy

When you book through the app, payment is processed via Stripe; we do not store your full credit-card number. In the event you cannot book via the app and you book via an agent, you may be asked to provide your credit-card details over the phone or through an agent portal. In such cases:

• We will collect only the minimum card-details necessary to process the payment.
• The card-details will be handled only for the payment transaction and any refund/charge-back, and will not be used for any other purpose.
• We comply with the UK regulatory framework (including payment-card industry security standards and any applicable FCA or PCI-DSS guidelines).
• You must keep your card details safe and ensure you do not share them with anyone who should not have them.
• We will store only a token, or the last 4 digits of the card plus expiry month/year, as permitted by Stripe, unless you explicitly consent to further storage (e.g., for future billing).
• We reserve the right to cancel a booking if payment cannot be processed or the card is declined.
• Your rights in relation to refunds, cancellations, charge-backs etc are set out in our Terms of Service.

11. Limitation of Liability & Indemnity

You acknowledge that the service provided by Experts via our platform involves work performed on or around your devices, home/office premises, network/internet. While we vet Experts, we cannot guarantee that every service will be error-free, or that there will be no damage, interruption, data loss, or injury (physical or to property or person). Accordingly:

• Our liability (and that of the Expert) for any claim (whether in contract, tort including negligence, statutory duty, or otherwise) is strictly limited to an amount equal to the fee paid by you for the service (exclusive of any taxes).
• We and the Expert exclude liability to the fullest extent permitted by law for any indirect or consequential loss (including loss of data, business interruption, loss of profit, loss of income, or loss of reputation).
• The Expert is an independent service-provider and not our employee or agent (unless otherwise stated). We act only as a matching platform, and the contract for the service is between you and the Expert; we disclaim liability for the Expert's negligent acts or omissions except to the extent required by law.
• You hereby indemnify GeekRunner, our officers, employees, agents, successors and assigns against any loss, liability or claim arising out of your use of the service (including damage/injury to property or persons) except to the extent caused by our or the Expert's proven gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
• If you have concerns or special requirements (e.g., high-value devices, sensitive data, unusual network setups) you must notify us in writing in advance, and it is your responsibility to arrange any separate insurance if you deem necessary.
• Nothing in this policy limits or excludes liability which cannot be limited under applicable law.

12. Security

We use industry standard technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage. Access to personal data is restricted to staff, agents or service-providers who need to know the information to perform their role. We conduct periodic security reviews and audit our third-party service-providers.

However, given the nature of the internet no transmission of data can be guaranteed to be 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted via our platform.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time (for example, when legislation changes, or our services change). We will publish the updated version on our website/app and indicate the date of last revision. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of our service after the effective date means you accept the updated policy.

14. Additional Provisions Specific to UK

We process personal data in accordance with the data-protection principles set out in Article 5 of UK GDPR: lawfulness, fairness & transparency; purpose limitation; data-minimisation; accuracy; storage limitation; integrity and confidentiality; accountability. (UK GDPR)

Where required by law, we will make a "data protection impact assessment" (DPIA) when we use new technologies that pose high risk to individuals' rights.

We comply with the rights of data subjects under UK law (see section 8).

If we transfer data outside the UK, we ensure adequate safeguards or rely on an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses.

If you are located outside the UK and use our services, we may transfer data to/from the UK under appropriate safeguard arrangements.

15. How to Contact Us / Data Protection Officer

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or how we process your personal data, please contact our Data Protection Lead at:

Geekrunner Co FZCO
DSO-IFZA, IFZA Properties, Silicon Oasis, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Email: compliance@geekrunner.co

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO (www.ico.org.uk) if you believe we have mishandled your personal data.