PRIVACY POLICY Last updated: 11 October 2026 1. Who operates Will Searcher Will Searcher is operated by an individual sole trader trading as Will Searcher. The operator is the data controller for personal information processed through the service. For privacy questions or requests, contact help@willsearcher.com. 2. Information we collect When someone registers, we may collect their name, date of birth, email address, phone number, residential address, place of birth, solicitor or firm contact details, visibility choices, optional allowed-search email addresses, and registration timestamps. Optional fields are collected only when supplied. Registrants can upload a Will, funeral plan, life-insurance document, or other file. Documents may contain personal or sensitive information about the registrant or other people, and photos may contain location metadata. Upload only documents you are authorised to store and share. We do not remove image metadata from uploaded files. When a person searches, we process the name, date of birth, and email address or phone number entered to perform the requested lookup. Checkout search criteria are also sent to Stripe as Checkout Session metadata. We receive payment status, amount, currency, and Checkout Session identifiers from Stripe; card details are entered on Stripe-hosted Checkout and are not sent to Will Searcher servers. For security and service operation, API and WAF logs may record IP address, browser user-agent, route, request identifier, timestamp, response status, and latency. API access logs are retained for 30 days. WAF logs are retained for 30 days. We do not intentionally log registration or search request bodies, raw verification tokens, card numbers, or document contents in these logs. 3. How we use information We use information to create and maintain verified registrations, match paid searches, enforce registrant visibility and email restrictions, deliver email verification links and verified search results, provide document downloads, process payments, operate customer support, protect the service from abuse, and meet legal obligations. We do not sell personal information or use it for advertising profiles. 4. Search visibility and email verification A registrant chooses whether search results can show solicitor details, documents, or both. Registrants may optionally limit search access to up to 10 email addresses. Every paid search requires the searcher to verify an email address before matched results are released. If a registrant enabled an email allow-list, only a matching allowed address can receive the verification link. Search results are one-time and expire. Pending search data is marked to expire after approximately 10 minutes. Database expiry processing is asynchronous, so removal may not occur at the exact expiry time. Verification messages and result messages are sent to the address entered and validated by the searcher. Result emails can include uploaded documents as attachments. 5. Service providers and disclosures We use service providers to operate the service: - Amazon Web Services hosts the application and stores registration records, temporary search results, files, and operational logs. The primary application region is eu-west-1. CloudFront delivers the public website through a global edge network. - Amazon SES sends registration, verification, and result emails. - ImprovMX receives email sent to the Will Searcher domain and forwards it to the configured support inbox. - Stripe hosts payment checkout and processes payments. Stripe receives the Checkout Session data needed to create and reconcile the purchase and processes the payment details directly. - Cloudflare Turnstile checks registration submissions for automated abuse and may process browser, device, and network signals, including IP address. These providers process information to provide their services to Will Searcher and under their own privacy terms. Some providers may process limited operational information in other countries. Where data-transfer rules apply, the operator will use an appropriate transfer mechanism. We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect users or the service, or to establish or defend legal claims. We do not disclose a registrant's documents to a searcher unless the registrant's visibility settings allow it and the searcher's access has been verified. 6. Storage and security The registry and temporary search data are stored in Amazon DynamoDB. Uploaded documents are stored in a private S3 bucket with public access blocked and server-side encryption using AWS Key Management Service (KMS). Access is controlled through application permissions and short-lived signed upload/download capabilities. Payment card details are handled by Stripe-hosted Checkout, not stored by Will Searcher. No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Users should keep their email accounts secure and retain their own copies of important documents; Will Searcher is not a substitute for keeping an original Will or other source document safe. 7. Retention and deletion Verified registration details and linked documents do not currently have an automatic age-based deletion period. They are retained while the service is operating unless the operator receives and fulfils a deletion request, subject to applicable legal obligations and the need to resolve disputes or protect the service. The documents bucket has versioning enabled and does not currently have an automatic lifecycle rule for deleting old object versions. As a result, deleting or replacing a current document does not necessarily immediately remove previous stored versions. Contact help@willsearcher.com to request access, correction, or deletion; requests will be reviewed and handled manually. Temporary paid-search results are marked with a short expiry and are consumed after retrieval. API and WAF logs are retained for 30 days. Stripe retains payment records under its own retention practices and legal obligations. 8. Your rights Depending on your circumstances, UK data-protection law may give you rights to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, to restrict or object to certain processing, or to request data portability. To make a request, email help@willsearcher.com. We may need to verify your identity before acting. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/. 9. Cookies and similar technologies The site uses technologies required for security and payment flows, including Cloudflare Turnstile and Stripe-hosted Checkout. Those providers may use cookies or similar technologies under their own notices. Will Searcher does not currently use advertising cookies or third-party advertising analytics. 10. Changes and contact We may update this policy as the service changes. The latest version will be published at https://willsearcher.com/legal/privacy-policy.txt. For privacy questions or requests, email help@willsearcher.com.