Privacy Policy
Last updated: 1 March 2026
1. Introduction
Beqst (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you use our estate planning platform.
James McPherson, trading as Beqst, operates this platform from the United Kingdom and is the data controller for your personal information.
2. Data We Collect
Account information
When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and authentication credentials.
Estate planning data
Information you choose to enter about your assets, liabilities, beneficiaries, executors, final wishes, and other estate details. Selected high-risk fields and uploaded document content receive additional application-layer AES-256-GCM encryption before storage. Other data is protected through access controls and our configured infrastructure providers' storage safeguards.
Usage data
We collect anonymised usage data including pages visited, features used, and session duration to improve our service.
3. How We Use Your Data
- To provide and maintain the Beqst estate planning service
- To communicate with you about your account and service updates
- To improve our platform based on anonymised usage patterns
- To comply with legal obligations
- To protect against fraud and unauthorised access
4. Data Storage & Security
We use configured cloud infrastructure to store and process platform data. Selected high-risk fields and uploaded document content receive application-layer AES-256-GCM encryption, and TLS protects data in transit. Some operational providers process limited data outside the United Kingdom; see Data Sharing below and our Cookie Policy.
We review application code, dependencies, and security controls and track identified findings through remediation. Security reviews reduce risk but cannot guarantee that any online service is invulnerable.
5. Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Rectify inaccurate data
- Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”)
- Restrict processing of your data
- Data portability (export your data)
- Object to processing
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@beqst.com.
6. Cookies
We use essential cookies to maintain your session and remember your preferences (such as dark mode). We do not use third-party advertising cookies.
Analytics cookies are only placed with your consent and can be managed through your browser settings.
7. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with:
- Contracted service providers who help us operate the platform, including hosting, authentication, storage, email, payments, analytics, monitoring, and optional AI features
- Law enforcement when required by law
- Your designated executors, only when you explicitly grant access
These providers may process data in the United Kingdom, European Economic Area, or other jurisdictions depending on the service and configuration. Contact us at privacy@beqst.com for current information about providers and international processing.
8. Data Retention
We keep your account data for as long as your account is open. Changing or cancelling a paid plan does not delete it.
When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your estate records and personal details. Some information is kept afterwards, including:
- the records of an estate where a death certificate has been verified, for at least seven years after the verification;
- billing and payment records;
- a record of the consent choices you made, and your email address on our do-not-contact list so we never send you marketing again;
- security and audit logs;
- AI copilot conversations, which are deleted two years after their last activity.
Files you uploaded are not yet removed from storage automatically when you delete your account. If you want them deleted, email privacy@beqst.com and we will remove them. You can also ask us at any time what we still hold about you. Certain data may be kept longer where the law requires it.
9. Contact Us
For privacy-related enquiries, contact our Data Protection Officer at privacy@beqst.com.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).