Privacy policy
Last updated 21 October 2026
The short version
- We only collect what we need to run the free check and the service you ask for.
- If you connect Google Search Console, we get read-only access. We can't change your site, your settings or your account.
- We never sell your data, never use it for advertising, and never use it to train AI models.
- You can disconnect at any time. We then delete your stored access straight away, and the rest of your data within 30 days.
Who we are
Namechecked (https://namechecked.co.uk) is a search and AI-recommendation service run by LW Mechanical Ltd, company number 16369412, 1 Derby Road, Eastwood, Nottingham, England, NG16 3PA. Namechecked is a trading name of LW Mechanical Ltd, company no. 16369412. In this policy "we" and "us" means Namechecked.
For questions about your data, or to use any of your rights, email hello@namechecked.co.uk.
For people who visit our website or ask for a free check, we are the data controller. For our clients, we handle the data in their accounts on their behalf, under a written agreement signed before any work starts. That agreement sits alongside this policy.
What we collect and why
| What | Why we use it | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Free check requests: business name, website, town and email address | To run the check you asked for and reply to you | Our legitimate interest in answering your request |
| Client contact details: names, email addresses, phone numbers | To run the service, ask for approvals and send reports | Our contract with you |
| Business information you give us: services, prices, areas, facts about your business | To check every change against your real details before you approve it | Our contract with you |
| Google Search Console data, if you connect it (see below) | To report which searches you appear for and find pages that need fixing | Our contract with you, and your permission when you connect |
| Messages you send us | To reply and keep a record of what was agreed | Our contract with you, or our legitimate interest in answering you |
We don't ask for passwords. You give us access in your own name, and you can take it away at any time.
Google user data
Clients can connect Google Search Console with a Connect Google button. This section explains exactly what that gives us and what we do with it.
What we can see
We ask Google for one permission only: "View Search Console data for your verified sites" (webmasters.readonly). With it we can read:
- the list of websites in your Search Console account, so you can pick yours;
- search performance for that website: the searches it appears for, pages, clicks, impressions and average position;
- indexing information: sitemaps, and whether Google has indexed a page.
The permission is read-only. We can't change your website, your Search Console settings, your other Google services or anything in your Google account. We don't ask for your Gmail, Drive, contacts or any other Google data.
How we use it
- To show which searches bring people to your site and how that changes week by week.
- To find pages that aren't indexed, are losing clicks, or need fixing.
- To write your weekly report and to suggest changes, which you approve before anything goes live.
We use it only to provide the service you've asked us for, and for nothing else.
What we never do with it
- We never sell it, rent it or share it with data brokers.
- We never use it for advertising, including retargeting or ads personalisation.
- We never use it to decide whether to lend money or for credit checks.
- We never use it to develop, improve or train general AI or machine learning models.
- We never mix it with another client's data or use it for another client.
Who can see it
The person running your account reviews your Search Console figures to prepare your reports and check suggested changes. That's part of the service you agree to when you connect. Nobody else reads it, unless you ask us to, it's needed to look into a security problem, or the law requires it.
Some of our work is done with software providers who process data for us under contract (for example the company that hosts our systems, and the AI provider that helps draft reports). They only get what they need for that task, only to provide the service to you, and are not allowed to use it for anything else.
Limited Use
Namechecked's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
How we store it
- The access Google gives us is stored encrypted, in a separate file for each client, outside our code. Only the account that runs the service can read it, and it is never written into logs or reports.
- The Search Console figures we export for you are kept in a private workspace for your business only. Other clients can't see it.
- Access to our systems is protected by strong passwords and two-step sign-in.
How to disconnect and delete it
- Press Disconnect Google on your Connect Google page, or email hello@namechecked.co.uk. We cancel the access at Google and delete our stored copy straight away.
- You can also remove our access yourself at any time from your Google account: myaccount.google.com/permissions.
- Search Console figures we've already exported are deleted within 30 days of you asking, or of your service ending, unless you ask us to hand them over first.
How we use AI
We use AI tools to help research and draft work. A person checks and you approve every change before it goes live. We check what AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity and Claude say about your business by asking them questions through their official services. We don't put your private data into those questions.
This website
This website doesn't use advertising or tracking cookies, and it doesn't run analytics. Our web host may keep short technical logs (such as IP addresses and the pages requested) to keep the site secure and working.
When you ask for a free check, the form is received by our web host, which passes your details to us by email. It keeps a copy only as long as we need it to reply, under the same rules as the rest of this policy.
How long we keep things
- Free check requests that don't lead to work: up to 12 months, then deleted.
- Client data: while you're a client, then deleted or handed back within 30 days of the service ending.
- Invoices and the records we must keep by law: as long as the law requires, usually six years.
Where your data is processed
Some of the companies we use are based outside the UK. When your data goes to them, we use the safeguards UK law requires for international transfers, such as UK adequacy regulations or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement.
Your rights
You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, to delete it, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to move it to someone else. Email hello@namechecked.co.uk. We reply within one month.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use your data, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change affects how we use Google data, we'll tell connected clients before it happens.