KnockFirst
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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 17 July 2026

Who we are

Ryan Stephens, trading as KnockFirst, is the data controller for this service. KnockFirst is a sole-trader business based in Southport, England. Email: stephensr2002@gmail.com.

What this policy covers

This policy explains how we use personal data when you visit the KnockFirst website, buy a project pack, subscribe to weekly alerts, contact us, receive a business introduction from us, or appear in a public planning record used by the service.

Information we use

  • Customer and order details: your name, work email, postcode, travel radius, trade, order or subscription status, service history and messages with us.
  • Payment records: Stripe customer, checkout, payment and subscription references. Stripe handles your card details; KnockFirst does not receive or store your full card number.
  • Business-contact details: a contact's name, role, company, business email or public profile, the source of those details, correspondence and marketing preferences.
  • Public planning information: project descriptions, site addresses, decision details and the names and business roles of applicants or agents where councils publish them.
  • Technical and security information: routine server logs, such as request time, page requested and IP address, where our hosting provider records them to deliver and protect the service.

Why we use it

  • To take an order, deliver a pack or subscription, manage billing, provide support and honour cancellation requests. Our lawful basis is performance of a contract or taking steps at your request before a contract.
  • To keep transaction and tax records and respond to valid legal requests. Our lawful basis is compliance with legal obligations.
  • To compile useful business-planning intelligence from public records, secure the service, improve matching, prevent duplicate delivery and answer enquiries. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in operating and improving a proportionate B2B information service.
  • To introduce KnockFirst to relevant business contacts. We use legitimate interests only where electronic-marketing law permits it, and consent where consent is required. Every recipient can object or opt out at any time.

Information needed to provide the service

Your name, work email, postcode, radius and trade are needed to prepare and deliver the service, and payment details are needed for a paid order. If you do not provide them, we cannot fulfil the order. Receiving optional marketing is never a condition of buying.

Where information comes from

We receive customer details directly from customers. Project and business information comes from public council planning registers, Companies House, the Food Standards Agency register, business websites and other public business sources. Location matching may use Postcodes.io, and planning searches may use PlanIt as an index of council records. We link back to the underlying public record wherever practical.

How we handle public planning data

We use planning information in its project and business context. We do not intentionally add private contact details or market to private individuals merely because their name appears on a planning application. Our packs may identify an applicant or professional agent where that identity is relevant and present in the public record. You can ask us to correct, restrict or remove personal data associated with you; we will assess the request against the source record and our legal obligations.

Who receives information

Paying business customers receive the project information in their selected pack or digest. This can include an applicant or professional agent's name, business role and company where those details are relevant and published in the source record.

We use Render for hosting and storage, Stripe for checkout and billing, and Resend for service email delivery. These suppliers receive only the information needed for their role under their data-protection terms; Stripe may also act as an independent controller for some payment and fraud-prevention activity. We may disclose information to professional advisers, regulators, courts or public authorities where reasonably necessary or legally required. We do not sell customer or prospect contact details to third parties.

International processing

Some suppliers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, we require an appropriate safeguard recognised by UK data-protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections. Contact us if you would like more information about the safeguard used for a particular supplier.

How long we keep it

  • Service preferences and delivery history are normally kept while an account is active and for up to 12 months afterwards.
  • Order, payment and essential correspondence records may be kept for up to six years, or longer where needed for a tax enquiry or legal claim.
  • Unconverted business-prospect records are normally reviewed or deleted within 12 months of the last meaningful contact.
  • A minimal suppression record may be kept for as long as necessary to make sure we respect an opt-out.
  • Public project data is refreshed as the service updates. Copies already delivered to customers may remain in their records.

Cookies and analytics

KnockFirst does not currently set non-essential analytics or advertising cookies. Stripe and any external site you visit from a link may use their own cookies under their own privacy information.

Automated matching

Software rules help us filter and rank planning records by distance, trade and likely project relevance. This does not make a decision about a person that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, restrict or receive a copy of your personal data, and to object to its use. You have an absolute right to object to direct marketing. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. These rights can be subject to legal exceptions, including records we must retain.

To exercise a right, email stephensr2002@gmail.com. We may need to verify your identity. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Security and changes

We use proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect information, while recognising that no online service can guarantee absolute security. We will update this policy when the service or our legal obligations materially change and will post the new date at the top.

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