Privacy policy
Last updated 17 September 2026.
Who we are
The Software Engine is a software product studio registered in Nevada, United States, with a team based in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. For any question about this policy, or to exercise any right in it, write to hello@thesoftwareengine.com.
The short version
If you contact us we keep what you send so we can reply. We measure how the site is used, and we advertise on Google - both of those use cookies, and neither runs until you agree to it. We do not sell your data, we do not add you to a mailing list, and we do not send you anything you did not ask for.
Information you give us
If you use the contact form or email us, we collect what you choose to send: your name, email address, and anything else you include such as company, phone number, country, what you are interested in, your timeline and your description of the problem.
We use it to reply to you and to discuss possible work. The lawful basis is legitimate interest - you contacted a business expecting a response - and, once we are working together, performance of a contract. We do not use it for marketing unless you separately ask us to.
Cookies and similar technologies
A cookie is a small file a website stores on your device. Some are needed for a site to function; others exist to measure behaviour or support advertising. The second kind requires your consent under UK and EU law, and we treat that seriously rather than as a box to tick.
Nothing that sets a non-essential cookie runs on this site until you choose to allow it. When you first arrive, analytics and advertising storage are both switched off. We use Google Consent Mode v2, which means Google's own tags are told the state before they load and behave accordingly, rather than setting cookies and being asked to forget afterwards.
You can accept everything, reject everything, or choose per category. Rejecting is exactly as easy as accepting - one click, same prominence. You can change your mind whenever you like using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer, and your choice is remembered on your device rather than in a cookie that tracks you.
A full list of what each cookie does is in our cookie policy.
Measurement that does not need consent
We use Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights, which run regardless of your choice. They set no cookies, store nothing on your device, and do not follow you to other sites. They record aggregate page views, referring site, country, browser, device type and page load speed. No individual is identified and we cannot single you out in that data. This is why declining everything else costs you nothing and costs us very little - we still know which pages are useful and which are slow.
Analytics, if you allow it
Google Analytics 4, which tells us which pages are read, what people searched to find us, and where they give up. It sets cookies and assigns your browser an identifier. We have IP anonymisation on and we do not send Google any information that directly identifies you.
Advertising, if you allow it
We advertise on Google. With your consent, Google Ads cookies let us see which adverts lead to real enquiries rather than just clicks, which is how we avoid paying for advertising that does not work. This may involve Google building an advertising profile associated with your browser. If you decline, we still receive a rough, modelled count of conversions with no cookie and no identifier attached.
Who processes your data
Enquiries are held in our own customer management system and in our email. Analytics and advertising data is processed by Google. Website hosting and cookieless analytics are provided by Vercel.
Some of these providers are in the United States. Transfers out of the UK and EEA rely on the UK International Data Transfer Addendum and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, together with the EU-US and UK-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider participates.
How long we keep it
Enquiries that do not lead to work are deleted within twenty-four months. Records relating to actual client work are kept while the relationship continues, then for the period required by legal, tax and accounting obligations - normally six years in the UK. Analytics data is retained on Google's shortest available setting, currently fourteen months. Your cookie preference is kept for twelve months, after which we ask again.
Client data during projects
Where a project gives us access to your systems or your customers' personal data, that is governed by the agreement we sign with you rather than by this policy, and we are your processor rather than the controller. In practice we work with the minimum data required, use anonymised or sample data in development wherever possible, and keep production access limited and logged.
Your rights
If you are in the UK or EEA you have the right to ask what personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, to restrict or object to how we use it, to withdraw consent at any time, and to receive a copy in a portable format. Withdrawing consent is as simple as giving it - use the footer link.
If you are in California or another US state with comparable legislation, you have broadly equivalent rights, including the right to opt out of any sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information.
Write to hello@thesoftwareengine.com and we will respond within one month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled it and you are in the UK, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. In the EEA, to your national supervisory authority.
Children
This site is aimed at businesses and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe we have, tell us and we will delete it.
Changes
If this policy changes materially we will update the date at the top, and where the change affects data we already hold about you, contact you directly. Where a change affects what you consented to, we will ask again rather than assume.