Privacy

What we collect

Your account details (name and email), what you list, save and message, and the location you choose to browse from. Private sellers' item postcodes are kept private and only an approximate area is shown.

Collection addresses you share for a sale are stored separately, shown only to that buyer while the deal is active, and erased 30 days after it ends.

Signing in with Google

If you choose to continue with Google, Google tells us your email address (only if Google has verified it), your name and an identifier for your Google account. We use these only to sign you in. If you already have a townsyville account with the same email, it's linked to that account.

We don't receive your Google password, and we don't ask Google for anything else, such as your contacts, files, calendar, location or profile photo. We don't keep Google's access tokens. Google's own privacy policy covers what Google does when you sign in with it. You can always sign in with an email code instead.

Signing in with Facebook

If you choose to continue with Facebook, Facebook tells us your email address, your name and an identifier for your Facebook account. We use these only to sign you in. Facebook doesn't confirm to us that it has verified your email, so if you already have a townsyville account with the same email, sign in with your email code instead.

We don't receive your Facebook password, and we don't ask Facebook for anything else, such as your friends, posts, photos, Marketplace activity or profile photo. We don't keep Facebook's access tokens and we never post to Facebook. Meta's own privacy policy covers what Facebook does when you sign in with it.

To remove your information, close your account in Settings: that deletes your account and its Facebook connection. You can also remove townsyville in your Facebook settings under Apps and websites.

Hearing when you can explore near you

If you ask us to let you know when you can start exploring what's available near you, we keep your email address and your town or postcode district (if you type a full postcode, we keep only the district, for example "BT39"). You don't need an account.

We use them to email you when you can start exploring near you, and to count how much interest there is in each town so we know where to focus. We only look at totals by town and never publish anyone's details. You can ask us to stop at any time.

Contacting a business that hasn't joined yet

Some storefronts are set up by townsyville from public information before the business joins. You can't message it yet. If you press “Let them know you're interested”, we record that you'd like to get in touch (no message) and may email the business to say someone would like to contact it, so it can claim its storefront.

We never tell the business who you are or share your details with it. We keep the record for 12 months after your last attempt, or until you close your account.

Getting help

If you contact us from Help, we keep your name, email address, message and the help page you wrote from, so we can reply by email. If you're signed in, we link it to your account and include it when you download your data. We delete it 12 months after you send it. If you close your account, it's no longer linked to you.

When you search Help, we keep the words you searched for and which answers we found, so we can see what people can't find and write better answers. We don't record who searched, and we don't keep searches that look like contact details.

Cookies and analytics

Essential cookies make townsyville work, so they're always on: keeping you signed in (__Secure-tv.session_token), remembering the area you browse near (tv_loc), and letting you finish securing a business name (tv.secure_resume).

Analytics cookies are optional and only set if you choose "Accept analytics". They let Google Analytics, provided by Google, tell us how people use townsyville, such as which pages are visited and how people move between them, so we can improve it. We don't send Google the search terms or filters in page addresses, or private pages such as your messages, deals or claim links, and advertising features, Google signals and ad personalisation are switched off.

Google Analytics sets _ga and _ga_<ID> (they distinguish visits; they last up to 2 years unless you withdraw). We remember your choice in tv_analytics for 6 months, then ask again.

You can change your mind at any time with Cookie settings at the bottom of every page. Choosing "No thanks" stops Google Analytics and deletes the analytics cookies we can remove. Essential features work the same whichever you choose.

What we don't do

We don't sell your data, and we don't use advertising trackers. We don't put addresses or message content in emails or notifications.

Your choices

You can download your data or close your account from Settings, and change your analytics choice at any time with Cookie settings.