At Circle Interactive, we believe that professional relationships should be based on value and trust, not technical or legal traps. Because we specialise in open-source solutions like Drupal and CiviCRM, we align our business with the values of transparency and freedom.
This policy explains how we ensure you, the client, always remain the sole owner of your data and your digital platform.
1. Data Ownership: You Own It
We act as the custodians of your data, but never the owners. All data collected, processed, or stored within your system belongs entirely to you.
We do not claim any intellectual property rights over your database, the configuration, your users' information, or the content you create. You have the right to access, modify, or delete your data at any time without needing our permission.
2. Data Sovereignty: Knowing Where Your Data Lives
Data Sovereignty means your data is owned by you and subject to the laws of the country where you operate - this means it should be physically stored in that jurisdiction.
UK-Based Hosting: To ensure the highest legal protections, we host our clients' data on servers located within the United Kingdom. This ensures full compliance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
EU and US Hosting: We can supply this to clients operating in those jurisdictions.
By keeping data in the jurisdiction of your choice, you can ensure you are protected by familiar, world-class privacy laws, preventing your information from being subject to less-stringent foreign jurisdictions.
3. Data Portability: The Freedom to Move
Data portability is your legal right to take your information with you if you decide to change providers.
Standardised Formats: We will provide your data in standard machine-readable SQL format that any IT professional can use (we can also provide extracts in CSV or JSON). We will never manipulate your data in a way that makes it unreadable to others however it will be encrypted when transferred.
No "Data Ransoms": If you choose to leave, we will provide a full backup of your database and files promptly. We do charge a small admin fee for this.
API Access: Where applicable, we can provide secure API access allowing you to sync your data to other tools you use, ensuring your systems can talk to each other.
4. Open Source Values: Software Freedom
Our choice of technology is your greatest protection against vendor lock-in.
Unlike proprietary software companies, we run our systems on open-source code. This means you can run it on your own infrastructure if you like. It means you or we can modify it to fit in your requirements. It means if Circle Interactive were to disappear tomorrow or you simply don’t like us any more, there are many other developers and agencies around the world that could take over your system.
You have the right to access and modify the source code of your website or CRM. We will always share all the source code with you on request.
5. Our Exit Guarantee
We want you to stay because you love working with us, not because you’re stuck. To prove this, we commit to the following:
Transition Support: If you move to another provider, we will work with them to ensure a smooth handover within your timeframes.
Full File Access: You will receive all custom code, themes, and configuration files we have built for you.
Clean Break: Once the transition is complete and you’ve confirmed you have everything, we will securely delete our copies of your data to ensure your privacy is maintained.
