Privacy policy

What data we process, why, for how long, and how to exercise your rights.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

In short

  • We only collect what we need to reply to you.
  • The chatbot runs in your browser: your messages are not sent to any server.
  • This website does not use audience measurement or advertising cookies.
  • We never sell or rent your data.

Data controller

For data about website visitors and prospective clients, the data controller is Pinnoydesign, sole proprietorship of Maurice Pinnoy (CBE BE 1043.052.381), Namur, Belgium, which operates PIC Assistance. Contact: contact.picassistance@gmail.com.

Data we process, purposes and legal bases

Contact form and emails

When you use the contact form, we receive your name, email address, occupation, the plan you are interested in, your message, the language of the page and your consent (tick box). If you email us directly, we receive your email and its content.

We use this data only to answer your request and, if you wish, to prepare a working relationship. Legal basis: steps taken at your request before entering into a contract (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Depending on how the website is set up, the form either opens your email app with a pre-filled message (nothing is sent until you click “Send”) or passes the data on through the Formspree service (see “Recipients” below).

Hosting provider’s technical logs

Like any website, our hosting provider Netlify records technical data on each visit (including IP address, date and page requested) to keep the website secure and working properly. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in protecting the website (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Business prospecting

We may contact businesses and self-employed professionals using their publicly available business contact details to introduce our services. Legal basis: our legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object at any time, simply by replying or by writing to contact.picassistance@gmail.com: we will stop contacting you immediately.

The chatbot

The website’s chatbot runs entirely in your browser, using a FAQ built into the page. Your messages are not sent to any server, neither to us nor to anyone else, and nothing is stored: everything disappears when you close or reload the page. Only a technical flag remembers, for the visit, that the welcome bubble was already shown (see “Cookies and local storage”).

Cookies and local storage

This website sets no advertising or tracking cookies. It only stores two technical items in your browser, strictly necessary for the site to work; they are not used for tracking and are never sent to us:

  • Your cookie choice: local storage (localStorage), key pic-cookie-consent, kept for 6 months. It holds your choices, their date and a version number: if we ever add a new tool, you will be asked again.
  • Whether the chat welcome message was shown: session storage (sessionStorage), key pic-chat-teaser, deleted when you close the tab. It stops the small “Got a question?” bubble from popping up on every page during your visit.

The optional “Audience measurement” category offered in the banner is off by default and currently unused: no analytics tool is installed. If we add one, it will only be enabled with your consent and this page will be updated. You can change your choice at any time: (also at the bottom of every page).

Recipients and processors

Your data is only accessible to the founders of PIC Assistance, to the extent necessary. We use the following service providers:

  • Netlify, Inc. (United States): website hosting and technical logs.
  • Formspree, Inc. (United States): receiving contact form messages, only when this service is enabled.
  • Gmail (Google): our email service, which receives your emails and form messages.

Some of these providers are based outside the European Union. These transfers are covered by appropriate safeguards, in particular the standard contractual clauses adopted by the European Commission.

Retention periods

  • Contact requests and exchanges with prospective clients: no more than 3 years after the last contact, unless a contract is signed.
  • Data relating to a client contract: for the duration of the contract, then as required by our legal obligations.
  • Technical logs: for a limited period, in line with Netlify’s retention policy.

Our clients’ data

When we work for a client (quotes, invoices, emails, calendar, supporting documents, etc.), the client remains the controller of their own data and of their customers’ data; PIC Assistance acts as a processor. Every client signs a confidentiality clause and a data processing agreement (Article 28 GDPR) setting out our obligations.

We work through delegated access to the client’s accounts: clients never share their passwords with us and can withdraw this access at any time. Accounting documents stay with the client and their accountant. When the contract ends, data is returned or deleted as set out in the agreement.

Security

The website is served over HTTPS only. We restrict access to data to the people who need it and use delegated access rather than shared passwords.

Your rights

You may at any time ask to access your data, have it rectified or erased, restrict its processing, receive it in a portable format (portability) or object to its processing, including for prospecting. Write to us at contact.picassistance@gmail.com. We will reply within one month at most; we may ask you to confirm your identity.

Complaints

If you believe your data is not being handled properly, you can lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (Autorité de protection des données / Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit), rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels (www.dataprotectionauthority.be). Please feel free to contact us first: we will put things right.

Changes

We may update this policy, for example when a new service is enabled. The date of the last update is shown at the top of this page. See also our legal notice.