Confidentiality and NDA

About this page

This page explains our standing approach to confidentiality so you know how your information will be treated before you have signed anything.

It is an informational summary, not a contract. A binding non-disclosure agreement is a separate document signed by both parties. We are glad to sign yours, or to provide ours, before you share anything sensitive. Ask and we will send it the same day.

Purpose of confidentiality

People tell us things they would not tell a competitor: what is broken, what it costs them, what they plan to launch. That only works if the information stays with us. Treating it properly is a condition of doing this work, not a favour.

Definition of confidential information

We treat as confidential any non-public information disclosed to us in connection with a possible or actual engagement, in any form — written, spoken, visual or in a system we are given access to.

Client information

Company structure, staffing, customers, suppliers, commercial terms, pricing and strategy.

Project information

Briefs, requirements, specifications, roadmaps, timelines, budgets, internal discussions and anything about a product that has not been announced.

Business information

Financial figures, performance data, contracts, and the identity of your own clients where that is not public.

Technical information

Architecture, infrastructure, credentials, API keys, database contents, security arrangements and known vulnerabilities.

Source code and documentation

Existing code we are given access to, code we write for you, and the documentation around it.

Designs and assets

Unreleased brand work, designs, prototypes, copy and media.

Non-disclosure obligations

For information covered above, we:

• Keep it confidential and do not disclose it outside the people who need it to do the work.
• Use it only for the purpose it was given for.
• Apply at least the same care we apply to our own confidential information.
• Bind our team to the same obligations through their employment or contractor terms.
• Do not use it for our own benefit or any other client's benefit.
• Do not publish your name, logo or project as a reference without your permission. Case studies are published only with sign-off.

Permitted disclosures

We may disclose confidential information only:

• To team members and approved subcontractors who need it, under equivalent obligations.
• To professional advisers under a duty of confidence.
• Where you have given written permission.
• Where we are required by law or a valid order — and then only what is required, having told you first where we are lawfully able to.

Exceptions to confidentiality

Standard exceptions apply. Information is not confidential if it:

• Was already public, or becomes public without any breach by us.
• Was already lawfully in our possession before you disclosed it.
• Is lawfully received from a third party who is free to disclose it.
• Is independently developed by us without reference to your information.

Data protection

Where confidential information includes personal data, we also handle it under our privacy policy and any data processing terms in the engagement agreement. Credentials are stored in a password manager, never in email or chat, and access is removed when a person leaves the project.

Confidentiality duration

Our obligations begin when you first disclose something — including during initial conversations, before any agreement is signed — and continue after the engagement ends. Confirm the survival period the company wants to commit to; a fixed number of years is common, with trade secrets protected for as long as they remain secret.

Return and deletion of confidential materials

At the end of an engagement, or whenever you ask, we will return or destroy confidential materials and confirm we have done so. We may retain one archival copy where our professional or legal obligations require it, and that copy stays subject to these obligations.

Access to your systems is revoked at handover as a matter of routine, not on request.

Intellectual property considerations

Confidentiality and ownership are separate questions. Disclosing information to us gives us no right in it. Ownership of what we build for you is set by the engagement agreement — our standard position is that it transfers to you on payment, together with the repository, infrastructure definitions and documentation.

Breach of confidentiality

If confidential information is disclosed in error or accessed without authority, we will tell you promptly, explain what happened and what is affected, and take reasonable steps to contain it. We will not delay a disclosure to make it sound better.

General

Nothing on this page creates an obligation on you to disclose anything, or commits either party to an engagement. Where a signed NDA and this page differ, the signed NDA governs.

Contact

To request an NDA before sharing anything, contact us and say so — it is a normal request and needs no explanation.