1. Who We Are

Tech Sauce Ltd ("we", "us", "our") operates the Tech Sauce platform at www.techsauce.net. We are the data controller for personal data collected through this website and platform.

For privacy enquiries, please contact us at privacy@techsauce.co.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Account data: first name, last name, work email address, organisation name, and job role — provided when you register.
• Profile data: subscription plan, trial status, and timestamps relating to account activity.
• Innovation project data: project names, PPV scores, stage-gate narratives, and form data you enter into the platform ("Customer Data"). This data belongs to you.
• Payment data: transaction references and subscription identifiers managed by Stripe. We do not store card numbers or full payment details on our systems.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, and usage logs collected automatically when you use the platform.
• Cookie data: session tokens and, where you consent, functional and analytics cookies. See section 8.

We do not collect special category data (such as health, biometric, or political data) and do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

• Create and manage your account and provide access to the platform;
• Process payments and manage your subscription via Stripe;
• Send transactional emails (account confirmation, password reset, subscription receipts);
• Respond to support requests and enquiries;
• Monitor and improve platform performance, security, and reliability;
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
• With your consent, send product updates or marketing communications (you may opt out at any time).

4. Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Contract: processing necessary to deliver the service you have subscribed to (account management, billing, platform access).
• Legitimate interests: platform security, fraud prevention, service improvement, and internal analytics — where these do not override your rights.
• Legal obligation: retaining financial records as required by UK tax and accounting law.
• Consent: optional analytics cookies and marketing communications, where you have explicitly opted in.

5. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with the following trusted third parties, and only to the extent necessary to deliver our service:

• Supabase Inc. — authentication and database hosting. Your account and project data is stored in Supabase-managed infrastructure within the EU/EEA.
• Stripe Inc. — payment processing. Stripe acts as an independent data controller for payment data. See stripe.com/gb/privacy.
• Vercel Inc. — platform hosting and serverless functions. Vercel processes request logs and technical data as part of serving the application.

All sub-processors are contractually bound to appropriate data protection obligations. We do not transfer personal data outside the UK or EEA without adequate safeguards in place.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as your account is active. After account termination:

• Account and project data is retained for 30 days to allow recovery, then permanently deleted.
• Financial transaction records are retained for 7 years in accordance with UK accounting law.
• Anonymised, aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely as it cannot identify you.

You may request early deletion of your account and data at any time by contacting privacy@techsauce.co.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your personal data ("right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention obligations.
• Restriction: ask us to restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Portability: receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@techsauce.co. We will respond within 30 days. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

8. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the platform and, with your consent, to improve it:

• Essential cookies: required for authentication (Supabase session token) and platform security. These cannot be disabled.
• Functional cookies: used by Stripe for fraud prevention during payment processing. Enabled only if you accept functional cookies.
• Analytics cookies: optional cookies to help us understand usage patterns and improve the platform. No personally identifiable data is shared with third parties.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie settings banner or by contacting us. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of prior processing.

9. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. These include TLS/HTTPS encryption in transit, access controls at the database level (row-level security via Supabase), and restricted access to production systems. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we will notify affected users and the ICO promptly in the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email or via an in-platform notification at least 14 days before taking effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

For any privacy-related questions, requests, or complaints:

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Tech Sauce platform ("Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions ("Terms"). If you do not agree, you must not use the Service. These Terms apply to all visitors, registered users, and paying subscribers. Tech Sauce Ltd ("we", "us", "our") reserves the right to update these Terms at any time; continued use after notice of changes constitutes acceptance.

2. Description of Service

Tech Sauce is a cloud-based innovation management platform that provides structured scoring frameworks (PPV), project tracking, stage-gate workflows, and collaboration tools for innovation teams. Access is provided on a subscription basis. Features vary by plan (Starter, Professional, Enterprise) as described on our Pricing page.

3. Account Registration

You must provide accurate, complete, and current information when creating an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify us immediately at legal@techsauce.co of any unauthorised use. Accounts may not be shared between individuals unless you hold an Enterprise plan that explicitly permits multiple seats.

4. Subscriptions, Billing & Trials

All plans are offered on a monthly or annual recurring basis and are billed in advance via Stripe. Prices are shown exclusive of VAT where applicable.

14-Day Trial. A 14-day trial is available for a one-off, non-refundable fee of £9.99. The trial provides access to the full platform with a limit of 1 active project. The trial fee is not credited against any subsequent subscription. At the end of the trial period, access reverts to read-only unless you subscribe to a paid plan. No automatic renewal occurs from the trial.

Renewals. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle unless cancelled. You may cancel at any time from your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period.

Refunds. We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee on first-time purchases. After this window, payments are non-refundable except where required by law. Partial-month refunds are not provided on cancellation.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable regulations;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or its underlying infrastructure;
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to extract source code;
• Upload or transmit malware, viruses, or any harmful code;
• Use automated bots, scrapers, or scripts to access the Service without prior written consent;
• Resell, sublicense, or otherwise commercialise access to the Service without an explicit reseller agreement;
• Post or transmit content that is defamatory, obscene, harassing, or infringes any third-party rights.

6. Intellectual Property

All content, trademarks, software, and materials forming part of the Service are the exclusive property of Tech Sauce Ltd or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms transfers any intellectual property rights to you.

Your Data. You retain ownership of all data, projects, and content you upload to the Service ("Customer Data"). You grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, process, and display Customer Data solely to provide the Service. You are responsible for ensuring that Customer Data does not infringe any third-party rights.

7. Data Protection & Privacy

We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. By using the Service you consent to such processing. We act as data controller for account information and data processor for Customer Data. Data is hosted within the European Economic Area (EEA) or UK unless otherwise agreed in writing.

8. Availability & Service Levels

We target 99.9% monthly uptime for the Service (excluding scheduled maintenance). We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. Scheduled maintenance windows will be communicated with at least 24 hours' notice where practicable. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature with reasonable notice.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We make no warranty that the Service will meet your specific requirements or that results obtained from use of the Service will be accurate or reliable.

10. No Commercial Advice; Innovation Outcomes

Tech Sauce is a productivity and decision-support tool designed to help innovation teams structure, score, and track ideas through a defined stage-gate process. It is not, and does not purport to be, a provider of business, commercial, financial, legal, or investment advice of any kind.

The PPV scoring framework, stage-gate guidance, advisory prompts, warnings, and any other outputs generated by the Service ("Platform Outputs") are provided for informational and organisational purposes only. They are produced algorithmically based on data entered by users and do not constitute professional advice appropriate to any specific commercial situation.

Tech Sauce Ltd makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee that:

• any idea, project, or innovation recorded in or managed through the Service will succeed commercially, financially, operationally, or otherwise;
• following the PPV scoring methodology, stage-gate process, or any Platform Output will lead to a profitable, viable, or successful outcome;
• any scoring result, advisory message, or recommendation within the Service is complete, accurate, or appropriate for your specific circumstances or organisation;
• stopping, continuing, pivoting, or escalating an idea based on Platform Outputs will produce any particular result.

Sole Responsibility. The success or failure — commercial, financial, reputational, or otherwise — of any idea, project, product, or business venture that originates from, is managed through, or is influenced by use of the Service is solely the responsibility of the user and their organisation. Tech Sauce Ltd expressly disclaims all liability for any such outcome, whether or not the outcome was foreseeable and whether or not the user followed or disregarded Platform Outputs.

You are strongly encouraged to obtain independent professional advice (legal, financial, technical, or otherwise) before making any significant business or investment decision, and to apply your own professional judgement to all Platform Outputs.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tech Sauce Ltd shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, business opportunities, or anticipated savings, arising out of or in connection with your use of or inability to use the Service.

Without prejudice to section 10, Tech Sauce Ltd shall have no liability whatsoever for the commercial, financial, or operational outcome of any idea or innovation project recorded in or managed through the Service, regardless of whether any Platform Output contributed to the decision to pursue, continue, pause, or abandon that project.

Our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising under or in connection with these Terms shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the total fees paid by you in the 12-month period immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or (b) £100.

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately if you breach these Terms or if we reasonably believe your use poses a security or legal risk. Upon termination, your right to access the Service ceases. We will retain Customer Data for 30 days post-termination, after which it may be permanently deleted. You may export your data at any time from the dashboard prior to termination.

13. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. If you are a consumer, you may also be entitled to bring proceedings in the courts of the country where you reside.

14. Contact

For any questions regarding these Terms, please contact: