1. Overview
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information Aaine (“Aaine,” “we,” “us”) collects when you use the platform, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to clients finding and contacting verified lawyers, lawyers listing profiles and managing leads, and visitors browsing the site.
Aaine is a lawyer discovery and lead-management platform. Clients browse profiles, view contact details, and send messages or inquiries. Lawyers use a dashboard (including Lead Inbox tools) to manage those inquiries. Aaine does not currently operate consultation booking or client escrow payments.
2. Data we collect
- Account details — name, email or phone number, password hash, role (client, lawyer, or admin), preferred language, and privacy preferences.
- Profile data (lawyers) — bar or law society registration details, practice areas, languages, experience, rates, chamber address, contact options they choose to display, references, and professional photo.
- Verification data (lawyers) — identity documents, professional credentials, references, and the outcomes of our checks.
- Inquiries and messages — short matter descriptions, quote or contact requests, and messages you send or receive through the platform (including Lead Inbox records for lawyers).
- Payment data (lawyers) — records related to verification fees and, where applicable, paid plan billing. Card numbers, wallet credentials, and crypto payment details are handled by our payment processors and are not stored on our servers.
- Safety and support reports — information you submit when reporting fake profiles, privacy concerns, account issues, or requesting support.
- Usage data — pages viewed, searches run, device and browser metadata, IP address, and timestamps.
- Reviews and public content — content you publish on the platform where reviews or similar features are available.
3. How we use your data
- To operate the platform — let you sign in, search the directory, view profiles, contact lawyers, and manage your account.
- To verify lawyer credentials before listing a profile, and to re-verify standing when needed.
- To deliver inquiries and messages to the intended lawyer, and to power Lead Inbox CRM features (statuses, notes, follow-ups, and related analytics).
- To process lawyer verification fees and, where offered, paid plan subscriptions through our payment partners.
- To handle safety reports, account issues, and support requests.
- To protect users from fraud, abuse, and impersonation.
- To improve the product — diagnose issues, measure feature usage, and prioritise work.
- To send service messages (verification status, account changes, security notices) and, with consent, occasional product updates.
- To meet legal, regulatory, and tax obligations.
4. Legal bases for processing
Where applicable, we process personal data under one or more of the following legal bases: performance of a contract (operating your account, delivering messages and platform features), legitimate interests (verification, fraud prevention, product improvement, directory integrity), legal obligation (tax, regulatory reporting), and consent (marketing emails, optional analytics).
5. Who we share data with
We share personal information only when needed to run the service or when required by law. Categories of recipients include:
- The other party to an inquiry — clients see lawyers’ public profile and contact options; lawyers see the matter context and contact details the client chose to share when reaching out.
- Service providers — hosting, authentication, payment processing, email and SMS delivery, customer support tooling, and error monitoring. These vendors are bound by contracts that limit how they can use the data.
- Verification sources — bar associations and law societies we contact to confirm a lawyer’s standing.
- Authorities — where we have a legal obligation or a good-faith belief that disclosure is necessary to protect a user’s safety or our rights.
We do not sell personal data, and we do not let advertisers use your information to target you across the web.
6. Identity documents
Identity documents uploaded by lawyers during verification are encrypted at rest, accessible only to the verification team, never shown to clients, and removed from active storage 90 days after verification completes. We retain a hash and a verification record for audit purposes only.
7. Cookies and analytics
We use a small set of cookies and similar technologies: strictly necessary cookies for sign-in and session security (including shared authentication across aaine.com and app.aaine.com where configured), and aggregate analytics that help us understand which pages people find useful. We do not run advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels. You can clear or block cookies via your browser settings; doing so may break sign-in.
8. Data retention
We keep account, inquiry, and lead records for as long as the account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle support or safety matters, comply with tax and regulatory requirements, and defend legal claims. Identity documents are removed 90 days after verification completes. You can request deletion of your account at any time — see Your rights.
9. Security
We use industry-standard safeguards — encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, audit logging, and regular reviews of our infrastructure. No platform is perfectly secure; if we ever detect a breach that materially affects you, we’ll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.
10. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, restrict, or delete your personal data, and to object to certain processing. You can exercise most of these directly from your dashboard, or by contacting us — see Contact. We’ll respond within a reasonable timeframe and free of charge, unless your request is manifestly excessive.
11. International transfers
Aaine operates across multiple jurisdictions. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we use safeguards such as standard contractual clauses and equivalent protections to keep the data secure regardless of where it’s processed.
12. Children
Aaine is not directed at children under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we’ll remove it.
13. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we’ll surface them on the platform before they take effect and, where you’ve given us one, email you a summary.
14. Contact
Privacy questions or rights requests? Reach us through the Contact page or email [email protected].