Privacy Policy

1. Our Core Security Promise

Home Vault is built on a foundation of zero-knowledge architecture. Sensitive data added to your "Secure Vault" is encrypted on your device using AES-256 before being transmitted to our servers. We do not have the master key, meaning we cannot read, access, or decrypt your sensitive vault items.

2. Data Collection & App Tracking

To provide core app functionality, we collect the following minimum necessary data:

• Contact Information: Your name and email address for secure account authentication.
• Financial & Property Information: Utility bills, mortgages, rental income data, and property details used to populate your management dashboards.
• User Content: Photos, files, and documents you upload, as well as encrypted vault payloads.
• App Activity: We securely log your "last active" timestamp to facilitate automated welfare checks (the Continuity Trigger) if you become unreachable.
• Purchase History: We track subscription status to unlock premium limits. We do not process or store raw credit card data.

No Tracking: We do not sell your data to third parties, and we do not use your data for third-party tracking, profiling, or advertising networks.

3. Automated Document Processing (AI)

To assist in organizing your property data, Home Vault utilizes the Google Gemini API to automatically scan, categorize, and extract structured data (such as dates, amounts, and utility types) from documents and images you explicitly upload or forward to your Smart Inbox. These files are processed securely for functional purposes only and are strictly not used by Google to train public AI models.

4. Notifications & Legacy Handover

We utilize SendGrid to deliver essential service communications. If you activate the "Continuity Trigger" or "Handover" features, we will share your email address and the email addresses of your nominated contacts (e.g., Executors or Safety Contacts) with SendGrid for the sole purpose of delivering security alerts, welfare checks, and secure vault access invitations.

5. Data Residency & Sovereignty

Home Vault prioritizes your privacy. In accordance with our Data Residency Policy, all personal identifiable information (PII) and vault assets for our UK and European users are strictly stored and processed in the europe-west2 (London) or europe-west3 (Frankfurt) regions. Your secure vault data will not be transferred cross-border without your explicit consent.

6. Your Automated Rights (GDPR)

We believe your data belongs to you. You can exercise your rights directly within the Home Vault app settings:

• The Right to be Forgotten: You can permanently delete your account directly inside the app (Settings > Danger Zone). Our automated Account Purge tool will recursively and permanently delete your profile, your entire Vault, and all stored assets from our servers immediately.
• Data Portability: You can instantly export your entire Vault into an interoperable JSON file (Home Vault Schema v1.0) along with your original assets.

7. Contacting the DPO

For manual data requests, audits, or privacy concerns, please contact our Data Protection Officer at:
privacy@homevaulthub.com