Short version: Your data is important. Lyn keeps hold of the minimum needed to run your hire and make rebooking easy, nothing gets shared beyond what's genuinely necessary, identity documents are deleted fastest of all, and you can ask for any of it to be deleted whenever you like.
Here's the longer version, so you know exactly what's kept, why, for how long, and where.
Driving licence & ID checks
What: photo or details of your licence, shared to confirm you meet the insurer's eligibility criteria.
Why: the insurer requires this before the vehicle can be released — it's not optional, but it's also the most sensitive thing you'll share with Lyn, so it gets the shortest life of anything on this list.
How long: deleted as soon as it's served its purpose — typically right after handover, once eligibility is confirmed. It doesn't linger in the chat afterwards.
Where: WhatsApp, during the booking and handover process only.
Driver details & booking conversation
What: your driver details and the WhatsApp conversation about your hire — dates, arrangements, any questions along the way.
Why: to run the current hire, and because a lot of guests come back — keeping this on hand for a short while means you're not re-explaining everything if you rebook soon after.
How long: kept for around 3 months after your hire ends. After that, it's cleared unless you've been in touch again in the meantime.
Where: WhatsApp.
Your phone number (WhatsApp contact)
What: just your name and phone number as a WhatsApp contact.
Why: so you can easily get in touch, and Lyn can recognise you, when you come back.
How long: kept for around a year after your hire ends. After that, it's deleted unless you've been in touch again.
Where: WhatsApp contacts.
Booking records (dates, mileage, price)
What: the practical details of your hire — first name, hire dates, mileage, price — kept in Lyn's own booking system for her records.
Why: basic business record-keeping, and UK tax law requires records like this to be kept for a set period regardless of Lyn's own preference.
How long: 6 years, in line with HMRC requirements. This one isn't a discretionary choice on Lyn's part — it's a legal minimum.
Where: Lyn's private booking notes (not shared, not published, not accessible to anyone else).
Who else sees any of this
Only the people who genuinely need it to make your hire happen: the insurer, to confirm you're eligible to drive, and Swikly, to process the security deposit. Nobody else. Your information is never sold, and it's never used for marketing, ever.
Your rights, in plain terms
At any point, you can ask Lyn to show you what she holds about you, correct anything that's wrong, or delete it sooner than the times above — no need to wait, and no need to explain why. The one exception is the 6-year booking record, which Lyn is legally required to keep.
Just ask via WhatsApp — there's no form to fill in and no waiting period.
Lyn is the data controller for this information. If you're ever unhappy with how it's been handled and don't feel that's been resolved directly, you also have the right to raise it with the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).