Privacy policy

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information Sketchief collects, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it. We've written it in plain language so it's actually readable.

Sketchief helps businesses plan and prepare cold email campaigns. Because of what the product does, this policy covers two different groups of people, and we explain both clearly below.

1. Who we are

Sketchief is operated by Oliwer Rudek, trading as Sketchief, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom.

For anything to do with your privacy or this policy, contact us at:

- Email: info@sketchief.com

- Postal address: 10 Adam Close, LN6 3PT, Lincoln

We are the "data controller" for the personal information described in this policy, except where we act as a "data processor" on behalf of our customers (see Section 2).

We are registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Our registration number is [[ICO registration number]].

2. Who this policy applies to

There are two groups of people whose information may be involved when Sketchief is used:

a) Customers — the people who sign up and use Sketchief.

When you create an account and use the product, we are the data controller for your information. This is most of this policy.

b) Prospects (leads) — the people our customers want to email.

Sketchief customers upload lists of business contacts ("leads") and use the product to research those contacts and draft emails to them. For that lead information, our customer is the data controller — they decide whose details to upload and why. We act as a data processor, handling that information on the customer's instructions to provide the service.

If you are a prospect and want to know why you were contacted or ask for your details to be removed, see Section 11.

Important for customers: because you decide who goes on your lists, you are responsible for having a lawful reason to hold and email those contacts, and for following the relevant laws (such as UK GDPR and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations). This is also set out in our Terms of Service.

3. The information we collect

Account information

- Your full name and email address

- Your password (this is stored securely by our authentication provider in a "hashed" form — we never see or store your actual password)

- An optional profile picture, if you upload one

Security and login information

- Device verification: when you log in from a new device, we email you a one-time code. Once verified, we set a secure "trusted device" cookie so you don't have to repeat this every time.

- We do not log your IP address, and we do not use any analytics or tracking tools.

Your API keys (bring-your-own-key)

Sketchief works by connecting to AI services using your own API keys (for example Anthropic, OpenAI, Perplexity, Google Gemini, or Apify). When you add a key:

- The key itself is stored encrypted in a secure vault. We only keep a short "hint" (the last few characters) so you can recognise which key is which.

- Your keys are only ever used for your own account and are never shared with other users.

Your project and planning information

- The business, target-customer, offer, and strategy details you provide while planning a campaign

- Your chat conversations with the planning assistant inside the product

Lead information you upload

When you import a list of leads, we store the details in your file, which typically includes:

- First and last name, email address, company name, job title, LinkedIn URL

- Any other columns you include in your upload

Research we generate about leads

To help you personalise your emails, the product researches each lead using public sources and the AI services connected to your account. This can include:

- Business and role context, and signals we identify

- Personal details drawn from publicly available sources such as LinkedIn (for example, a person's headline, posts, or comments)

Email copy we generate

- The draft emails and follow-ups the product writes for each lead

Billing information

- Your subscription plan, billing status, and how many leads you've used in a billing period

- A customer and subscription reference from our payment provider, Stripe

- We never see or store your card details — these are handled directly by Stripe

Feedback

- If you fill in our feedback form, we store your ratings and any comments

Activity and technical logs

- A log of key actions on your account (for example, a campaign starting or completing)

- Short-lived technical logs from the research and copy process, used for troubleshooting

- If a member of our team accesses an account for support reasons, that action is recorded in an internal audit log

4. How we use your information, and our legal grounds

Under UK data protection law we must have a "lawful basis" for using your information. Here's how that maps to what we do:

You can turn off non-essential notification emails at any time in your account settings.

5. Cookies

We only use strictly necessary cookies — the kind the product needs to work. We do not use any advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies, which is why you won't see a cookie consent banner.

6. Who we share your information with

We do not sell your information. We share it only with the service providers ("sub-processors") that help us run Sketchief, and only as needed to provide the service.

Infrastructure and platform providers (we are the controller):

AI providers (you direct this, using your own keys):

When the product runs research or writes copy, it sends the relevant information (such as lead details and prompts) to the AI services connected to your account, using your own API keys. Depending on what you've set up, these may include:

Because you provide the keys and choose the leads, you direct this processing. Each AI provider handles that information under its own terms and privacy policy.

We may also disclose information if we're legally required to, or to protect our rights, users, or the public.

7. Sending information outside the UK

Some of our providers are based in the United States or other countries outside the UK. When information is transferred internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards recognised under UK law — such as UK "adequacy" decisions or the International Data Transfer Agreement / Standard Contractual Clauses — so your information stays protected.

8. How long we keep information

- Account, project, lead, research, and copy information: for as long as your account is active. If you close your account or ask us to delete your data, we'll remove it, except where we need to keep limited records for legal or accounting reasons.

- Technical/debug logs: kept only for a short period for troubleshooting.

- Billing records: retained as long as the law requires (for example, for tax).

9. How we keep information secure

- Every account's data is isolated so users can only ever access their own information (enforced at the database level).

- API keys are stored encrypted in a secure vault, never in plain text.

- Passwords are hashed by our authentication provider.

- Trusted-device cookies are cryptographically signed so they can't be forged.

No system is ever completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

10. Your rights

If you're in the UK, EU, or a region with similar laws, you have the right to:

- Access the personal information we hold about you

- Correct information that's wrong or incomplete

- Delete your information ("right to be forgotten")

- Restrict or object to how we use it

- Port** your information to another service

- Withdraw consent where we rely on it (for example, marketing emails)

To exercise any of these, email us at info@sketchief.com. We'll respond within the time the law allows (usually one month).

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you're unhappy with how we've handled your information.

11. If you're a prospect (someone a customer wants to email)

If you received an email prepared using Sketchief, or believe your details are on a customer's list, please note:

- The customer who built the list decides whose details to include and why — they are the controller of that information, and we process it on their behalf.

- You can contact us at info@sketchief.com and we'll help route your request (for example, to access or delete your details) to the relevant customer, and remove your information from our systems where appropriate.

12. Children

Sketchief is a business tool and is not intended for anyone under 18. We don't knowingly collect information from children.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date at the top, and for significant changes we'll let you know.

14. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information?

- Email: info@sketchief.com

- Post: 10 Adam Close, LN6 3PT, Lincoln