Privacy Policy

Heoka Partners Limited, company 16516554. Questions, or to ask for a copy or deletion of your data: connor@heoka.co.uk.

Heoka Partners Limited ("Heoka", "we", "us"). Last updated: 17 October 2026

1. The short version

  • Harness is software we host for small businesses. It looks at your accounting records and your email to work out which invoices and quotes need chasing and which emails are waiting on a reply. Harness runs no AI model of ours. Free-text drafts are written by your own Claude or ChatGPT when you ask. Routine overnight chases are filled in from fixed templates.
  • We can technically read your email. Section 3 says how, what we do and do not do, and what we cannot yet promise.
  • By default, nothing goes out to anyone until a person at your company approves that exact text. Your company's owner can switch a step to automatic. If they do, Harness sends that step on its own. Section 11 explains.
  • You choose what to connect. Every connection is optional, and each one can be disconnected (section 8).
  • Your accounting software and your mailbox stay yours, in the tools you already pay for. Harness keeps a working copy of some of it, described in section 4.
  • We do not sell personal data. We do not use your email for advertising. We do not use Google user data to train AI models.
  • Questions or requests: connor@heoka.co.uk or +44 7561 106150.

2. Who we are, and our two roles

Heoka Partners Limited, company number 16516554, is a UK company run by Connor Longworth. Contact: connor@heoka.co.uk, +44 7561 106150. ICO registration is in progress. We will put the number here when we have it.

We act in two different roles.

  1. Controller for information about people who visit heoka.co.uk, enquire or book a call, sign up for Harness, pay for it, or write to us. This is covered by sections 4 (G and H), 6 and 7.
  2. Processor for the business information inside Harness: the mail, invoices, contacts and quotes of the company that connects Harness. That company is the controller and decides why the information is used. We process it on that company's instructions, to provide Harness.

If you are not our customer, but your email address or invoice is in a customer's mailbox or books: the business that holds it is responsible for telling you. You can ask them to erase it from Harness (they can do this in one step, see section 8), or write to us and we will pass your request to them.

3. Can Heoka read your email? Plain words.

Short answer: technically, yes. Here is how, so that you can decide.

What the software keeps

When you connect a mailbox, you give Harness permission to read it and to send from it. Harness then keeps a working copy at four levels.

  1. For most messages: who it is from and to, the subject, the date, whether it has been read, some list headers, and a preview of up to about 200 characters from the start of the message. That preview is part of the message text, so it counts as mail content, not just "metadata".
  2. For emails you sent that look like a quote or an invoice: Harness reads the full text of that email to pull out the reference, amount and dates. The text is stored encrypted. Nothing found this way is chased until you confirm it.
  3. Attachments, only if "attachment reading" is switched on for your company: Harness reads PDF, Word, CSV, plain text and calendar files that arrive on recent mail from people, and keeps the extracted text (up to 64,000 characters per file). It does not read files whose names look like a passport, driving licence, visa or residence permit. This is off unless switched on.
  4. CVs, for recruitment firms: if you use Harness in recruiter mode and attachment reading is on, Harness reads the text of CVs (PDF or Word) that candidates email you and keeps it in our database with that message. CVs are held as plain text, not encrypted. They are searched by our rules on the server. Harness does not run an AI model over them. Your own Claude or ChatGPT reads a CV only when you ask it to, for example to summarise a candidate. Harness does not rank or score candidates and does not send a CV anywhere. The text is deleted when you disconnect that mailbox, when you erase that person, and when the retention window removes the message. Candidates are the people the CV is about. You decide why their data is used, and Harness handles it for you.

What our software does not do

  • It does not run any AI model of ours over your mail. Our server has no AI model key and runs no AI model on Heoka's account. Anything written by AI is written in your own Claude or ChatGPT, on your own plan, when you ask.
  • It does not use your email for advertising, and it does not sell or share it.
  • It does not send message contents to analytics. Error reports are scrubbed of email addresses and keys before they leave, though an error message could in rare cases carry a fragment of text such as a subject line.

What a person at Heoka could do

We hold the server, the database and the keys that unlock your connection to your mailbox. Someone with that access could read the previews and the stored quote, invoice, attachment and CV text in the database, and could use your connection to read your live mailbox, including full messages and attachments.

Today our systems do not record when a person at Heoka looks at your mail. Heoka is a very small company.

What we commit to

A person at Heoka will read the content of your messages only where Google, Microsoft and UK law allow it:

  • you ask us to look at a specific message, for example to fix a fault you report;
  • it is needed for security, such as investigating abuse or a bug;
  • the law requires it; or
  • the data is combined and anonymised and used to run the service.

What you control

You choose how long we keep mail (default 13 months, section 7), you can erase everything about one correspondent, you can disconnect at any time, and you can remove Harness's access from inside your Google or Microsoft account (section 8).

4. What we collect, and where it comes from

Every connection below is optional and only happens if the owner of your Harness account connects it, or asks us to switch it on.

A. Email

  • Gmail (Google). Harness asks for permission to read your mail (gmail.readonly) and to send as you (gmail.send), plus your email address. We keep what section 3 describes: headers and a short preview, quote and invoice text from sent mail (encrypted), and attachment text and CV text if switched on. Your Google connection token is stored encrypted.
  • Outlook and Microsoft 365 work accounts (Microsoft). Harness asks for permission to read your mail (Mail.Read), send as you (Mail.Send), read your basic profile (User.Read), and stay connected (offline_access). Work and school accounts only, not personal Outlook.com. We keep the same as for Gmail. Your connection token is stored encrypted.
  • Google and Microsoft change notifications. Where switched on, Google and Microsoft tell Harness that new mail has arrived (identifiers and a change marker, not the message). Nothing is kept beyond the sync.

B. Files and chat tools

These can be read only when the owner of your Harness account connects them or asks us to switch them on. Each is optional.

  • Microsoft 365 files (OneDrive). Read-only. Harness finds a file by name, so your own AI can read it when you ask.
  • Google Drive. Harness can read the files you pick.
  • Slack. Harness may read messages in the channels the owner connects, and can post an approval card with a link back to Harness so you can approve a draft.
  • Microsoft Teams. Harness may read the chats the owner connects (Chat.Read), to rank unanswered chats beside unanswered mail. It can also post an approval card with a link back to Harness. We keep chat previews.

C. Accounting and business tools

  • Xero. Contacts, invoices, payments, aged-debtor reports and organisation settings. Read-only scopes.
  • FreeAgent. Contacts, invoices and payment status.
  • QuickBooks Online. Contacts and invoices.
  • HubSpot. Contacts and deals, using a key you create in your own HubSpot.
  • GoCardless (payments). Mandate and payment status.
  • GoCardless Bank Account Data (bank feed through Open Banking). Incoming bank transactions, to stop a chase when an invoice is paid. The consent to read one bank account is yours.
  • Companies House. Public register data for the company number you give us.

What we keep from these: the contacts, invoices, payment facts and quote records Harness needs to build the chase queue, the drafts waiting for you, the approvals you give, and what Harness sends.

D. Money

  • Stripe. Your subscription and payment status. Card details go to Stripe and never reach us.
  • Your own Twilio account. Text messages as a second channel for a chase, only if you connect your own Twilio account. We store your Twilio account details encrypted.

E. Alerts to your phone

Telegram carries approvals and alerts to the owner's phone through a bot run by Heoka. A message can carry the name of the person being chased, a draft subject line (up to 80 characters; for a draft started from an email, that is the real email subject), and the amount owed. Message previews are not sent. Telegram handles these under its own terms.

F. Your own AI

When you connect Harness to your own Claude or ChatGPT, that product asks Harness for information (your queue, invoice facts, and, when you ask about a thread, the sender, subject and preview) and receives it under your account and your agreement with Anthropic or OpenAI. We are not a party to that agreement and we do not see your AI conversations. Their rules about retention and about training on your chats are theirs. Please check those settings.

Harness makes no AI call on Heoka's account.

G. People who visit the website, enquire or book a call

  • Name, email, phone, company, what you tell us, and which page you came from.
  • Standard web logs and first-party page views, linked by a random id kept in your browser. This can include a Google click id if you arrived from a Search ad.
  • Correspondence with us.

H. People who sign up, sign in or pay

  • Name or email, company, a password hash (never the password), or the identity Google or Microsoft confirms when you use "Sign in with Google" or "Sign in with Microsoft" (we ask for your email address and basic profile only).
  • When you accept our terms and this notice: the time and the document versions.
  • Subscription, billing and payment records.
  • Security and service logs, including diagnostic records of calls to connected services (30 days).

I. Inside the Harness app

Which screens are opened and what is clicked, with your account id, role and company name, counted by PostHog (EU region). Masked text is used so button labels and links are not captured. It never receives email addresses, message or draft contents, or your customers' contact details. Session recording and surveys are off. Do Not Track is respected.

J. Errors

If error reporting is on, Sentry receives technical error reports. We strip email addresses, keys and bearer tokens from the text before it leaves, and do not send personal data by default.

K. Outbound business email from Heoka

We email some UK businesses we think Harness can help, using details from public business sources. We send through our own Google Workspace and Brevo. Every message says how to stop, and we stop when asked.

5. Who else handles your data

  • Hetzner Online GmbH. Hosts the live Harness servers and database, in Falkenstein, Germany. Holds everything in Harness.
  • Cloudflare. Secure tunnel and edge in front of api.heoka.co.uk and mcp.heoka.co.uk, and DNS. Sees traffic in transit, including mail content shown in the app.
  • Oracle Cloud. Holds an encrypted off-site copy of the Harness database, as a nightly backup.
  • Google. Your Gmail and Google Drive connections, push notifications, and Heoka's own Google Workspace email, including account emails we send to buyers.
  • Microsoft. Your Outlook, OneDrive and Teams connections.
  • Slack. The Slack connection, if the owner connects it.
  • Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, HubSpot and GoCardless. The connections you choose, each in its own locations. Data as in section 4C.
  • Stripe. Payments and subscriptions. Billing data.
  • Telegram. Approvals and alerts to the owner's phone, as in section 4E.
  • Twilio (your own account). Text messages, if you connect it.
  • PostHog (EU). Product analytics, as in section 4I.
  • Sentry. Error reports, if switched on.
  • Supabase. Website forms and first-party website analytics, EU or UK region.
  • Lovable. Hosts the marketing site and sets its own session cookie.
  • Google Ads. Ad measurement tag. It loads only if you press Accept on the cookie banner.
  • Brevo. Heoka's own outbound business email.
  • Your own Claude or ChatGPT (Anthropic, OpenAI). Drafting, on your plan. They receive what you ask your AI to read from Harness.

We do not sell personal data.

6. Why we may use it (lawful bases)

  • Harness account, queue, drafts, connections. To provide the service you subscribed to. Basis: contract.
  • Business information inside Harness about your customers and contacts. To provide Harness to you, on your instructions. We act as your processor. Your lawful basis is yours to choose.
  • Billing and tax records. To take payment and meet tax law. Basis: contract, and legal obligation.
  • Support and correspondence. To support you. Basis: contract, and legitimate interests.
  • Enquiry and booking data. To reply and set up a call. Basis: legitimate interests, and your consent on the form.
  • Web logs and first-party page views. To run and improve the site. Basis: legitimate interests.
  • App screen views and clicks (PostHog). To see which parts of Harness are used. Basis: legitimate interests.
  • Error reports (Sentry). To keep the service working. Basis: legitimate interests.
  • Security and abuse logs. To keep the service safe. Basis: legitimate interests.
  • Google Ads tag. To measure Search ads. Basis: consent (Accept on the cookie banner).
  • Outbound business email. To tell relevant businesses about Harness. Basis: legitimate interests for companies, consent for individuals.

7. How long we keep it

  • Mail previews and headers: 395 days (13 months) by default. The owner can choose any length from 30 days to 3,650 days. Older mail is deleted every night.
  • Quote and invoice text read from sent mail: the same window, unless you confirmed the find. Deleted when you erase a person.
  • Attachment text and CV text: with its message, and deleted at once if you disconnect that mailbox.
  • Your connection tokens: while connected. Our copy is wiped when you disconnect.
  • Accounting records copied into Harness (invoices, contacts, payment facts): while you are a customer. After you disconnect, the copy stays until you ask us to delete it or close your account.
  • Drafts, approvals and the record of what was sent: while you are a customer. We do not yet delete these on a schedule.
  • Diagnostic call logs and webhook records: 30 days.
  • Subscription and billing records: as long as UK tax law requires, currently six years.
  • Enquiries: while we are talking, and 12 months after the last contact.
  • Backups: a nightly encrypted copy. Deleted data can remain in a backup until that copy is replaced.
  • Website page views: used in aggregate. The random browser id lasts until you clear site data.

8. Disconnect, export and delete

Disconnect a mailbox or an accounting tool

  1. Sign in to Harness as the owner and open Connections.
  2. Choose Disconnect on the mailbox or tool.

What happens:

  • Mailbox: our copy of the connection token is wiped, the sender role is dropped, and any attachment text and CV text read from that mailbox is deleted. Cached headers and previews stay until your retention window removes them or you erase the person (below).
  • Accounting tool: our copy of the connection token is wiped. The invoices and contacts already copied stay until you ask us to delete them.

Also remove access from the provider (please do this)

Disconnecting in Harness does not yet tell Google or Microsoft to cancel the permission. To cancel it at the source:

  • Google: in your Google Account, open the page for third-party apps and services, choose Harness, and remove access.
  • Microsoft 365: remove the Harness app from your account's app permissions, or ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to remove it for the organisation.
  • Slack, Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, HubSpot, GoCardless: remove Harness from the connected apps or authorised apps list in that product.

Erase everything about one person

Ask your Claude or ChatGPT: "Forget everything from jo@example.com." Harness deletes every cached thread that person wrote into or was written to, skips any waiting reply to them, blanks their words in any promise or dispute record, deletes quote and invoice text found in their mail, and keeps a marker so a later sync cannot bring it back. Their invoices and contact record stay, because those belong to your accounting software. Some draft text and approval records may survive an erasure. If you need those removed too, email us.

Change how long mail is kept

Ask your Claude or ChatGPT: "Only keep six months of email history."

Close your account and delete your data

Email connor@heoka.co.uk. We acknowledge within five working days and finish within one month. There is no self-serve deletion button today, and cancelling a subscription alone leaves your data in place. We keep billing records for tax. Backup copies are covered in section 7.

Get a copy of your data

Email connor@heoka.co.uk. We will send you a copy.

9. Where your data is, and transfers outside the UK

The live Harness servers are in Germany at Hetzner. Germany is covered by UK adequacy regulations. Some providers in section 5 process data outside the UK or the EEA, for example Google, Microsoft, Slack, Stripe, Cloudflare, Telegram and Oracle. Where Heoka appoints the provider, the transfer relies on a UK adequacy regulation, the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses, or the UK-US data bridge, whichever applies to that provider. A provider you appoint yourself, such as your own Claude, ChatGPT or Twilio account, is your relationship.

10. Security

  • Connection tokens for your mailbox and connected tools are stored encrypted (AES-256-GCM).
  • Traffic uses HTTPS.
  • Each company's records are separated from other companies' records by database row-level security.
  • Sign-in attempts are rate limited, and secrets are redacted from our request logs.
  • CVs and attachment text are not separately encrypted (section 3).
  • No security measure removes all risk. If a breach affects your data we will tell you without undue delay, and report to the ICO where the law requires.

We are a small company and we would rather describe what we actually do than list certifications we do not hold.

11. Automated processing and sending

  • Harness ranks threads and invoices and sorts mail with fixed rules, not an AI model of ours. It does not make decisions with legal effect about people.
  • Sending: by default, Harness sends nothing to anyone outside your company until a person at your company approves that exact text. The approval is tied to the text: if the draft changes after you approved it, the send is refused.
  • Automatic steps: the owner can switch a kind of reply or chase to automatic. If they do, Harness sends that step on its own, including overnight, from the owner's mailbox. Escalation and final notices always need a person. The owner can switch on "Approve every send" to stop automatic sending completely.
  • Text messages follow the same approval rules.

12. Cookies and similar technologies

  • Needed to sign in: a session cookie that keeps your account secure.
  • Website: a random id in your browser (local storage) that links page views, plus standard web logs. The cookie banner does not currently switch these first-party page views off. That is a gap, not a feature. Lovable, who host the marketing site, also set their own session cookie.
  • Google Ads tag: loads only if you press Accept on the banner. Declining leaves it unloaded.
  • Inside the app: PostHog sets local storage and a cookie for product analytics. Do Not Track is respected.

13. Your rights

You can ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction, a portable copy, or object to how we use your information, and you can withdraw consent at any time without affecting what happened before. Email connor@heoka.co.uk. We acknowledge within five working days and reply within one month. If we hold your information only on behalf of a Harness customer, we will pass your request to that customer.

14. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

15. Google user data

Harness's use of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. In plain terms:

  • We use Gmail and Google Drive data only to provide and improve the features you can see in Harness: ranking the mail that waits on you, finding quotes and invoices you sent, reading attachments and files if you switch that on, and sending the emails you approve or have set to automatic.
  • We do not sell Google user data, or use it for advertising.
  • We do not use Google user data to create, train or improve AI or machine-learning models.
  • We transfer it to others only to provide those features with your consent, for security, to follow the law, or as part of a sale of the business after asking you first. When you ask your own Claude or ChatGPT about a message, you are the one who asks, and the content goes to the provider you chose.
  • No person at Heoka reads your Gmail messages except in the cases listed in section 3.
  • You can delete your data or remove access at any time (section 8).

16. Changes to this notice

We will update this page when what we do changes. If a change affects what we collect, who sees it or where it goes, we will tell customers before it takes effect.

Heoka Partners Limited, company number 16516554