Privacy Policy

We collect only what we need to run the platform safely and well:

• Account data — your name, email address, and profile photo when you sign up.
• Contact details — your mobile number and location (province, district, street address), used to coordinate pickups and deliveries.
• Identity documents — if you list items as a supplier, we may request a government-issued ID or business registration document for verification. These are handled by Lately administrators only and are never shared publicly.
• Booking data — the items you rented, dates, payment references, and any notes exchanged during a booking.
• Messages — the text of messages you send to the other party in a booking, who sent each one and when, and when you last opened a conversation. Messaging is only available inside a booking; Lately has no general inbox or open messaging between users.
• Reviews — any review text and ratings you submit. These are displayed publicly on the platform.
• Usage data — standard server logs including IP address, browser type, and pages visited. Used for security and performance monitoring only.

Each piece of data serves a specific purpose:

• To run the platform — bookings, payments, and coordination between renters and suppliers require contact and identity information.
• To build trust — verifying supplier identities protects renters. Two-way reviews protect both sides.
• To prevent fraud — identity verification and booking records help us investigate disputes and protect the community.
• To communicate with you — we send transactional emails (booking confirmations, payment references, reviews, and a notice when someone messages you about a booking) and occasionally platform updates. Message notification emails tell you a message arrived and link to the booking; they never contain the message itself. You can opt out of non-essential emails at any time.
• To protect your contact details — until a booking is confirmed, we automatically hide phone numbers and email addresses inside messages and booking notes, so neither party gets the other’s contact details before the booking is agreed. This is a pattern check on the text; it hides what it finds when displaying a message and never alters what you wrote.
• To personalize what you see — your district and past bookings shape the rails on your home page. This never leaves Lately.

We do not sell your data. We do not use it for advertising. We do not profile you for third parties.

• All data is stored on secured cloud infrastructure with encryption at rest and in transit (HTTPS/TLS).
• Identity documents are stored in a private, access-controlled storage bucket. Only authorised Lately administrators can access them, and only for verification purposes.
• Passwords are never stored — authentication is handled via secure sign-in providers (Google OAuth) or email magic links.
• We conduct periodic security reviews and apply patches promptly.

Access to your personal data is strictly limited:

• Other users — only your name, profile photo, and public reviews are visible to other platform users. Your contact details are shared only with the other party in a confirmed booking (so a renter can arrange pickup, for example). Messages are visible only to the two people in that booking.
• Lately administrators — can access all account and booking data, including the full text of messages, for the purposes of support, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution. Administrators see messages in full, including any contact details hidden from the other party, because messages are the record we rely on to settle a dispute fairly. An administrator who joins a conversation is always labelled “Lately Support” — we never post as you or as the other party.
• Third-party processors — we use trusted services for email delivery and cloud infrastructure. These processors act under strict data processing agreements and access only the minimum data necessary. We do not name specific vendors here as these may change — contact us if you need details.
• Legal authorities — we will disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our users.

• Your account data is retained for as long as your account is active.
• Booking records are retained for a minimum of 3 years for dispute resolution and legal compliance.
• Messages are kept for as long as the booking they belong to is kept, and are deleted when that booking record is deleted. Messages are not deleted when you close your account. A conversation has two sides, and erasing one person’s messages would destroy the other person’s only record of what was agreed. When an account is closed we cut the link between the messages and that account, and the sender is shown to everyone thereafter as “Deleted user”.
• Identity documents are retained until your supplier account is closed, after which they are deleted within 90 days.
• You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data at any time (see Section 6).

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct — update incorrect information via your account settings, or contact us for records you can't edit yourself.
• Delete — request deletion of your account and personal data. Note that booking records required for legal or dispute purposes may be retained in anonymised form, and that messages you sent are retained as described in Section 5: they stay attached to the booking, but are no longer linked to you.
• Object — opt out of non-essential communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email we send.
• Portability — request your data in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@lately.cc. We will respond within 30 days.

We use minimal cookies:

• Session cookies — to keep you signed in. These are essential and cannot be disabled while using the platform.
• Preference cookies — to remember settings like your cart contents. These are cleared when you sign out.

We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking pixels.

Lately is not intended for users under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

We may update this policy as the platform evolves. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email and display a notice on the platform. Continued use of Lately after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Questions about this policy or your data? Reach us at: