Privacy Policy

Version v1.0 · Last updated: 3 September 2026

1. Who we are

Asku helps people find local businesses through WhatsApp. We are the data controller for personal data used to operate the Asku platform.

Contact: info@asku.co.uk

2. What information we collect

From customers, we may hold:

  • your WhatsApp number
  • the messages you send Asku, as needed to understand the request
  • a short summary of what you need
  • service category and urgency classification
  • location information you give us (usually a postcode area or town, not a full home address in the standard flow)
  • consent records (time and version)
  • technical logs needed for delivery and security

From businesses, we may hold:

  • WhatsApp number, business name, services, coverage areas
  • Asku Balance / payment records
  • messages needed for alerts and onboarding

We do not ask customers for a full home address in the standard flow.

3. How we receive information through WhatsApp

Asku is WhatsApp-first. When you message Asku, WhatsApp delivers that message to us. We then store what we need to run the conversation and, if you agree, to create an enquiry.

Your number is therefore known to Asku from that conversation. We do not show it to local businesses until you confirm and a matching business unlocks the enquiry.

4. How we use information

We use personal data to:

  • understand and confirm your request
  • match relevant local businesses
  • notify matching businesses about the enquiry
  • share your contact details with businesses that unlock the enquiry
  • send service messages on WhatsApp
  • process business top-ups and unlocks
  • prevent abuse and keep the service secure
  • meet legal obligations

We do not sell personal data.

5. Automated and AI-assisted processing

We may use automated tools, including AI-assisted systems, to interpret what you write — for example the type of help, the area, how soon you need help, and a short summary — and to help match local businesses.

Automation can be wrong. You should check the confirmation we send you and provide accurate information. We do not promise that a person reads every message.

These tools help us run the service. They do not, by themselves, create a contract for work.

6. Matching local businesses

If you confirm and send the enquiry, we may notify relevant local businesses. Matching is based on the type of help and the area, using the information available at the time.

Matching is not a recommendation, approval, or guarantee that a business is suitable, insured, licensed, or available.

7. When customer contact information is shared

We create the enquiry and allow matching businesses to access your contact details only after you reply YES (or an equivalent confirmation) to the WhatsApp confirmation.

Until a business unlocks the enquiry, they can see limited job information (such as category, area, urgency and summary). They cannot see your WhatsApp number on Asku.

8. Up to three providers

Up to three matching businesses may unlock the same enquiry.

9. Provider unlock access

When a business unlocks, Asku shows them your WhatsApp number for that enquiry, as held on Asku at that time.

An unlock is access to your contact details. It is not a booking, a guaranteed reply, or a contract for work.

10. What providers may independently retain

If a business contacts you, they may also hold your number in their own phone, WhatsApp or records.

Asku can remove or redact your details on the Asku platform after a limited period. Asku cannot delete information a business has already received and kept for itself. That business is responsible for how it handles information it holds.

11. STOP and conversation closure

You can reply STOP on WhatsApp to clear your active Asku chat.

STOP clears that conversation on Asku. If you have already sent an enquiry, that request may already have been shared with matching businesses, including any that unlocked it. STOP does not by itself retract an enquiry that has already been sent.

For access, correction, or deletion requests about data Asku still holds, email info@asku.co.uk.

Businesses who reply STOP are asking to stop job alerts. That is separate from customer STOP.

12. Retention

We keep personal data only as long as needed to run the service and meet legal requirements.

In current normal use:

  • an enquiry is available for matching for a limited window (currently about two hours unless it is closed sooner)
  • after an enquiry closes or expires, Asku keeps it for a further limited period (currently 7 days, unless a longer legal need applies)
  • completed WhatsApp conversation records are removed after a limited period (currently 7 days from last activity in a completed chat)
  • delivery logs needed to run WhatsApp may be kept for a similar limited period

These periods are operational settings and may change. The latest Privacy Policy on this page is the public description.

Customers can also ask us to delete data we still hold, subject to law (for example we may need to keep some records for a complaint, security, or accounting).

13. Anonymisation and deletion

After the retention period:

  • if no business unlocked the enquiry, we may delete it from Asku
  • if one or more businesses unlocked it, we may anonymise it: contact details and job content are removed or replaced so they are no longer available through Asku. The unlock link may still open, but the number and full job details will not be shown

We do not guarantee that enquiry information remains available on Asku indefinitely.

In-progress chats that were never sent as an enquiry are cleared if you reply STOP. They are not currently removed by the same daily enquiry-retention job.

14. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures, including restricted access. Customer phone numbers on submitted enquiries are stored encrypted. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

WhatsApp, our messaging provider, and our hosting and payment providers process data as needed to provide their services to us.

15. Customer rights

Under UK GDPR you may have the right to:

  • access your data
  • correct inaccurate data
  • request deletion
  • restrict or object to certain processing
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
  • complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Withdrawing consent or asking us to delete data on Asku does not automatically erase information already lawfully received by a business that unlocked your enquiry.

16. Complaints

Privacy questions and complaints about how Asku handled your data: info@asku.co.uk.

You can also complain to the ICO (ico.org.uk).

Complaints about a business’s quote or work should usually be raised with that business.

17. Contact details

info@asku.co.uk

18. Changes to the Privacy Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will be published on this page.

Children

Asku is not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect data from under-16s.