How we look after your information
Owners send us confidential information about their buildings, and councils put their name on our letters. This page sets out, as facts, how that information is handled. Where something is not in place yet, we say so.
In short
- Your council sees every answer and document you send.
- Any AI reading of your documents runs in Microsoft Azure's UK South region.
- If your company chooses, AI suggests answers from your documents; you check and confirm every one.
- We never ask for payment, bank details or your password.
- Only someone with the code posted to a building can claim it.
On this page
Who runs Golden Ledger
Golden Ledger is a trading name of MatchKey Technology Limited, a company registered in England and Wales, company number 16292336. Registered office: 100 High Ash Drive, Leeds LS17 8RE. ICO registration number: ZB962065. Checked on the Companies House and ICO registers on 26 October 2026.
Who is responsible for your information
Your council is responsible for what you send. We run Golden Ledger for your council and use your information only as it instructs.
Your council is the controller for the answers and documents owners send about their buildings. It decides why that information is collected and how long it is kept, and its own privacy notice sets out the lawful basis. MatchKey Technology Limited is its processor, acting on the council's written instructions under a data processing agreement. MatchKey does not use what you send for its own purposes unless your council instructs it.
MatchKey is an independent controller only for its own information: the building and ownership data it supplies to councils (heights from Ordnance Survey, owners from HM Land Registry); owner accounts and sign-in; enquiries made through this website or by email; and, if you allow analytics cookies, how you use Golden Ledger.
Checked against our privacy notice on .
Who sees what
| Who | What they see |
|---|---|
| You, the people you add to your company, and your managing agent if you have one | The buildings linked to your company, your answers and your documents |
| Your council | Every answer and document you send, for buildings in its own area only. A council never sees another council's buildings |
| MatchKey staff | Your information only where they need it to support you and keep the service working. Access is limited by role and recorded |
| Our suppliers | Only what each needs to run its part of the service, under contract. They are listed below |
| Homes England | Homes England would see anonymised counts only, once that reporting exists. |
| Anyone else | No one, unless the law requires it, for example a court order. We do not publish lists of buildings |
Checked against our privacy notice on .
Where your information goes
- Youand the people you add to your companyYou see your buildings, your answers and your documents.
- Golden LedgerAI reading in Microsoft Azure, UK SouthReads your documents only if your company has chosen it. You confirm every value before it becomes an answer.
- Your councilfor its own buildings onlySees every answer and document you send, and accepts each answer or asks you a question.
Documents you upload are stored and scanned for viruses in Microsoft Azure's UK South region, and nothing is read until the scan has passed. Any AI reading of your documents runs in the same region. Our application servers and database are in London. Information is encrypted when it travels between your browser and Golden Ledger. Every supplier and where it holds data is listed under For councils below.
With your consent, we use analytics and advertising cookies to understand how people use Golden Ledger and to reach councils and owners who may need it. We never share your answers, documents or building details with analytics or advertisers. You can change your choice at any time with Cookie settings, and our cookies page lists every cookie.
Checked against our privacy notice on .
How we use AI to read documents
Your company chooses whether its documents are read for it, and nothing is read until it has chosen. If it chooses reading, Azure AI Document Intelligence reads the text and tables in PDFs, Word files and images, in Microsoft Azure's UK South region. If it also allows help with the written parts, Azure OpenAI suggests answers, in the same region. A suggestion is only a suggestion: you check and confirm every value before it becomes an answer your council sees.
No decision about a building or an owner is made by AI alone (UK GDPR Articles 22A to 22D). Your council's officers review and decide.
Checked against our privacy notice on .
Signing in and access
You sign in with an email link, Google, Microsoft or a password. Sign-in is run by WorkOS, so Golden Ledger never holds your password, and we never ask for it by letter, email or phone. Each council sees only its own buildings. A building can be claimed only with the access code posted to it, and we show you the building's address before you go on.
Checked against our security page on .
Your rights
You have the right to a copy of your information, to have it corrected, and in some cases to have it deleted (UK GDPR Articles 15 to 17). You can see what you have sent at any time from your building page, which lists your documents and opens your answers. For what you sent about a building, your council is the controller: ask your council to correct it, and we will help it answer. For anything else, or to complain, email privacy@goldenledger.co.uk. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Checked against our privacy notice on .
A suspicious letter or a security concern
If a letter, email or call asks for payment, bank details or a password, it is not from us. Do not reply. Report it to your council and to Action Fraud.
To report a security concern about Golden Ledger, email security@goldenledger.co.uk.
For councils: governance and procurement
What your data protection, IT security and procurement colleagues will ask for, and what exists today. If something you need is not listed, ask us and we will tell you plainly whether it exists.
- Your council is the controller for the answers and documents owners send. MatchKey Technology Limited processes them as your processor, under a data processing agreement, and uses them only as you instruct. Each council's agreement adopts the baseline questions and the rule for which buildings get a letter as its own instructions to us.
- We do not reuse what owners send for our own purposes unless you instruct us to.
- MatchKey is an independent controller only for its own building and ownership data supplied to councils (Ordnance Survey heights and HM Land Registry owners), for owner accounts and sign-in, for enquiries to our website, and, with consent, for usage analytics.
| Supplier | What they do | Where the data is held |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure | Stores and virus scans uploaded documents; reads them if the owner's company chooses | UK South (London) |
| Vercel | Runs the website and application, and holds some older uploaded documents until they are moved to Microsoft | London |
| Neon | Hosts the database that holds accounts, answers and records | London (AWS eu-west-2) |
| WorkOS | Sign-in and password management | United States |
| Resend | Sends service emails | United States |
| Google Cloud (BigQuery) | Holds MatchKey's building and ownership data, which names companies, not private individuals | European Union |
| Google Analytics, only with consent | Measures how Golden Ledger is used | United States and other countries where Google has data centres |
| Companies House | Company details we look up, sending company names and numbers only | UK |
As listed in our privacy notice, checked against our systems on . The safeguard for each transfer outside the UK is in the privacy notice.
- How long it is kept. Your council decides how long it keeps what owners send. Our own periods are in the privacy notice: for example, security and sign-in records for 6 years, an IP address used to limit code guessing for no more than 2 days, and website enquiries for 2 years after our last reply.
- Security. Sign-in by WorkOS, so we never hold passwords. Each council sees only its own buildings, checked on every request. Access codes are checked against a hashed copy, and guessing is limited. Staff access is limited by role and recorded. The full list is on our security page.
- Accessibility. Designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA. It has not yet been independently audited. Read our accessibility statement.
- How to buy. A set-up fee and a monthly subscription per council, quoted for your area. Your council is invoiced; there is no card payment and no charge to owners. Email councils@goldenledger.co.uk for a quote.
- Documents not yet published. A data processing agreement template, a data protection impact assessment support pack and a security summary are not yet published. We provide them to your council on request.
- Who we are. Golden Ledger is a trading name of MatchKey Technology Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number 16292336, registered office 100 High Ash Drive, Leeds LS17 8RE. ICO registration ZB962065. More on About us.
Checked against our privacy notice, security page and accessibility statement on .
Email councils@goldenledger.co.uk. We reply within one working day.