This policy explains what personal data IBGP.ie collects, why we collect it, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. It applies to the website, the authenticated platform, and the mobile app.
The data controller is Smart Business Growth Platform Company Limited by Guarantee (Register Number 816312), incorporated in Ireland under the Companies Act 2014. Contact us about anything in this policy at info@ibgp.ie.
1. What we collect
Account data. You sign in with Google or LinkedIn — we never receive or store a password. From your chosen provider we receive your name, email address, profile picture URL and the provider's own account identifier.
Profile and company data. Anything you enter yourself: first and last name, country, company name, sector, description, development stage, company size, importer/exporter status, and your matching preferences.
Uploaded files. Company logos and PDF brochures you upload. These are stored on our own infrastructure, not in a third-party document service.
Enquiries. When you submit an enquiry or register interest on a public page we store your name, email, phone number, company name, the service and jurisdiction you selected, and your message — whether or not you are signed in.
Activity data. An audit record of significant actions you take on the platform (running a match, generating a document, screening a deal, booking a consultation), so you and we can see what happened and when.
Technical data. Your IP address, browser user agent, and server request logs, plus one essential session cookie. Sign-in and sign-out events are recorded for security purposes.
We do not collect special-category data, and we do not ask for payment card details — any paid engagement is invoiced separately.
2. Why we use it, and our legal basis
- To provide the platform — creating your account, storing your profile, producing matches and AI outputs, handling bookings. Legal basis: performance of a contract (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)).
- To respond to enquiries you send us. Legal basis: legitimate interests, and performance of a contract where an engagement follows (Article 6(1)(f) and (b)).
- To keep the service secure and working — audit logs, rate limiting, abuse prevention, debugging. Legal basis: legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)).
- To meet legal and regulatory obligations, including sanctions and anti-money-laundering screening where a trade transaction requires it. Legal basis: legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)).
We do not use your data for behavioural advertising, and we do not sell it.
3. AI processing
Several features — AI matching, the Export Assistant, the Business Launch wizard and Multi-Agent Deal Analysis — work by sending the relevant parts of your company profile and your prompt to xAI (the provider of the Grok models) for processing. Only the fields a feature needs are sent; for example the deal-analysis agents each receive a deliberately restricted slice of the deal context.
AI output is generated text. It can be wrong, out of date, or incomplete, and it is not legal, tax, financial or regulatory advice. Verify anything you intend to rely on. See the Terms of Service for the full position.
4. Who we share it with
- Google / LinkedIn — identity providers, only during sign-in.
- xAI — AI processing, as described above.
- Our hosting and infrastructure providers — for running the application, its database and its background workers.
- Experts you book — the details needed to hold your consultation.
- Counterparties you choose to be introduced to — never without an action by you.
- Authorities or professional advisers — where we are legally required to disclose.
Each processor is engaged under a written agreement that limits them to processing on our instructions.
5. International transfers
Some of our processors, including xAI, operate outside the European Economic Area. Where personal data is transferred to a third country we rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, or on an adequacy decision where one applies, together with the technical measures described below.
6. Cookies
We use one essential cookie: a signed, HTTP-only session cookie that keeps you signed in. It carries no tracking identifier and expires when your session ends or you sign out. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies, so there is no consent banner to click through.
7. How long we keep it
- Account, profile and company data — for as long as your account exists, then deleted or anonymised.
- Generated AI outputs and reports — kept with your account so you can re-open them, and deleted with it.
- Enquiries — up to 24 months from the last related correspondence.
- Activity and authentication logs — up to 12 months.
- Records we must retain by law (for example transaction-related records) — for the statutory period.
8. Security
Access is authenticated on every request; sessions use signed HTTP-only cookies and the API uses short-lived bearer tokens. Data is scoped to its owner in the database, transport is encrypted in transit, secrets are held as environment configuration rather than in the codebase, and administrative access is restricted to named accounts. No system is perfectly secure, so we also keep audit logs to detect misuse.
9. Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- have inaccurate data corrected;
- have your data erased;
- restrict or object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing.
Email info@ibgp.ie to exercise any of these. We respond within one month. You can also complain to the Irish Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie), or to the supervisory authority where you live.
10. Children
IBGP.ie is a business platform intended for people aged 18 or over acting in a professional capacity. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
We update this policy when the platform changes. The "last updated" date above always reflects the current version, and we will notify signed-in users of any material change before it takes effect.
Questions about this policy? Email info@ibgp.ie. See also our Terms of Service.