Welcome to Notary Helper (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “the Company”). Notary Helper is an online platform that connects individuals and businesses with qualified notary lawyers and notarial services around the world. We operate through offices in two jurisdictions: our principal office is located in New York, United States of America, and we maintain a regional office in Ireland for our European Union operations.
This Privacy Policy explains how Notary Helper collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects your personal information when you visit our website, create an account, use our services, or otherwise interact with us. It also explains the rights you have over your personal data and how you may exercise them.
Because we operate across multiple jurisdictions, this Privacy Policy is designed to comply simultaneously with:
Where the laws of different jurisdictions impose different standards, we apply the higher standard of protection. Jurisdiction-specific rights and disclosures are addressed in dedicated sections at the end of this Policy.
Contact details for privacy matters:
Email: info@notaryhelper.com
Principal Office: New York, USA
EU Regional Office: Dublin, Ireland
If you are located in the European Union, the Notary Helper EU entity (Ireland) acts as the data controller for your personal data. For all other users, the principal entity in New York, USA acts as the data controller.
This Policy applies to:
This Policy does not apply to third-party websites, services, or applications that may be linked to or from our platform. Those third parties operate under their own independent privacy policies, and we encourage you to review them carefully before providing any personal information.
We collect personal information in several ways: directly from you, automatically through your use of our website, and from third parties. The categories of information we collect are described below.
Account Registration and Profile Information When you register for an account, whether as an individual user, a business representative, or a notary professional, we collect:
Identity Verification Documents Because notarial services require the verification of identity as a matter of legal necessity, we collect and process identity documentation, which may include:
These documents contain sensitive personal data including your photograph, date of birth, document number, and nationality. We handle such information with enhanced security measures and strict access controls, as described in Section 9 of this Policy.
Payment and Billing Information When you make a payment for notary services or platform fees, we collect:
Full payment card numbers and bank account details are processed directly by our third-party payment processor (Stripe, Inc.) and are not stored on Notary Helper servers. Please refer to Section 7 for more information on how Stripe handles your payment data.
Location Data We collect location information in the following ways:
Communications and Correspondence If you contact us through email, our contact forms, live chat, or any other means, we retain records of that correspondence, including your name, contact details, and the content of your message. We also retain records of communications between users and notary professionals made through our platform’s messaging system.
Service Requests and Transaction Data When you request notarial services through the platform, we collect details related to that request, including the type of document to be notarized, the requested date and time, special instructions, and the outcome of the notarization. We retain transaction records as required by law and for dispute resolution purposes.
When you use our website, we automatically collect certain technical and behavioral data through cookies, web beacons, pixels, and similar tracking technologies. This includes:
We may receive personal information about you from the following third-party sources:
We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes, each tied to a specific lawful basis as required by applicable law:
We use your information to create and manage your account, authenticate your identity when you log in, match you with appropriate notary professionals based on location, language, and document type, facilitate communication between users and notaries, process service requests and transactions, and deliver the notarial services you have requested. This processing is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and Notary Helper.
Given the legal nature of notarial services, verifying the identity of users and notary professionals is a core operational requirement. We use identity documents and verification data to confirm that users are who they claim to be, that notary professionals hold valid and current commissions or licenses, and to meet anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements where applicable. This processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligations and for the performance of our services.
We use billing information to process payments for services rendered on the platform, issue invoices and receipts, handle refunds or disputed transactions, and detect and prevent payment fraud. This processing is necessary for the performance of a contract and to protect our legitimate interests in preventing financial fraud.
We process your data to comply with applicable laws and regulations across all jurisdictions in which we operate. This includes responding to lawful requests from courts, regulators, or law enforcement agencies; maintaining records required under notarial law, anti-money laundering legislation, and tax law; enforcing our Terms of Service; and defending legal claims made against us or by us.
We analyze usage patterns, login activity, and behavioral signals to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, unauthorized access to accounts, identity theft, and abuse of our platform. This processing is based on our legitimate interest in maintaining a safe and trustworthy platform.
We use your contact details and correspondence history to respond to your inquiries, provide technical support, send transactional messages such as booking confirmations, payment receipts, and service updates, and notify you of changes to our platform, policies, or your account. These communications are necessary for the performance of our contract with you and, where required by law, based on your consent.
With your consent (or, where permitted by applicable law, on the basis of our legitimate interest), we may send you marketing emails or notifications about new features, new notary professionals in your area, and special offers. You may withdraw your consent to marketing communications at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any marketing email or by contacting us at info@notaryhelper.com. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out prior to withdrawal.
We use aggregated and pseudonymized data to analyze how users interact with our platform, identify popular features and areas for improvement, conduct internal research and reporting, and test new features before full rollout. This processing is based on our legitimate interest in improving our services.
We may use your location, search history, and usage data to personalize your experience on the platform, for example by surfacing notary professionals who are most relevant to your location and document requirements. This processing is based on our legitimate interest or, where required, your consent.
For users in the European Union, we are required to identify a legal basis for each type of processing activity. The following legal bases apply:
| Processing Activity | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Account creation and management | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Identity verification | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)); Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Processing payments | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Fraud prevention and platform security | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Regulatory and legal compliance | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
| Marketing communications | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
| Analytics and improvement | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Personalization | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) or Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Processing special category data (e.g. identity documents containing biometric or nationality data) | Explicit consent (Art. 9(2)(a)) or substantial public interest (Art. 9(2)(g)) |
Where we rely on legitimate interests as a legal basis, we have conducted a balancing test and determined that our interests do not override your rights and freedoms. You may request information about these balancing tests by contacting us at info@notaryhelper.com.
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit our website. They allow us and third parties to recognize your device, remember your preferences, and collect information about how you use our platform. Similar technologies include web beacons, pixel tags, local storage, and session storage.
Strictly Necessary Cookies These cookies are essential for the website to function. They enable you to navigate the platform, log in to your account, and complete transactions. They cannot be switched off in our systems. They do not store any personally identifiable information beyond what is required for session management.
Functional Cookies These cookies allow us to remember your preferences and settings, such as your language preference, region, and display settings, so that we can provide a more personalized experience on return visits.
Analytics and Performance Cookies We use analytics cookies, including those provided by Google Analytics, to understand how visitors use our website. These cookies collect information in aggregate and pseudonymized form about pages visited, time spent on the platform, and errors encountered. We use this data solely to improve our platform. Google Analytics data is processed in accordance with Google’s privacy policy.
Marketing and Targeting Cookies With your consent, we may place marketing cookies that help us and our advertising partners deliver relevant advertisements on our website and on third-party platforms. These cookies track your browsing behavior across websites and use that information to serve you personalized content.
Some cookies on our platform are placed by third parties, including Google (Analytics and Sign-In), Stripe (payment processing), and any other integrated service providers. These third parties have their own privacy and cookie policies, and we do not control them.
When you first visit our website, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner that allows you to accept, reject, or customize your cookie preferences by category. You can update your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer of our website.
You may also manage cookies directly through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. Please note that disabling strictly necessary cookies may impair your ability to use parts of the platform. For more information about managing cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We share personal information with third parties only in the limited circumstances described below.
When you submit a service request or initiate contact with a notary professional through our platform, we share the information necessary to fulfill that request with the relevant notary. This may include your name, contact details, location, and details about the document or service requested. Notary professionals are subject to their own professional confidentiality obligations in addition to contractual data protection requirements imposed by Notary Helper.
All payment transactions on the platform are processed by Stripe, Inc., a globally recognized payment technology company. When you submit payment information, it is transmitted directly and securely to Stripe. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified and processes payment data pursuant to its own privacy policy, available at stripe.com/privacy. We receive from Stripe only a transaction confirmation, a token reference, and the last four digits of your payment method. We do not store full payment card numbers.
Stripe may process data in the United States and other countries. For EU users, Stripe relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and other GDPR-compliant transfer mechanisms.
We integrate Google services on our platform, which may include Google Analytics (for website analytics), Google Maps (for location-based notary search), and Google Sign-In (for account authentication). Google may collect and process data as described in Google’s Privacy Policy at policies.google.com/privacy. Where Google Analytics processes EU user data, we have implemented IP anonymization and data processing agreements that comply with GDPR requirements.
We may share identity documents and related data with third-party identity verification services to perform automated or manual identity checks. These providers are contractually bound to process your data only as directed by us and to maintain appropriate security standards.
Our platform is hosted on third-party cloud infrastructure. Our hosting providers act as data processors and process data only on our instructions under contractual data processing agreements. Our servers are located in the United States and the European Union to provide data residency options consistent with applicable laws.
We may disclose your personal information to courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, or other public authorities where we are required to do so by law, or where disclosure is necessary to protect our legal rights, prevent fraud, or protect the safety of our users or the public. Where lawfully permitted, we will notify you of such disclosures.
We may share personal information with our legal counsel, auditors, and professional advisers on a strictly need-to-know basis and subject to confidentiality obligations.
In the event of a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of all or part of our business, personal information held by Notary Helper may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will notify you by email and by a prominent notice on our website before your personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
Notary Helper operates globally, and your personal information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries other than the country in which you reside. In particular, data may be transferred between our offices in the United States and Ireland, and to third-party service providers operating in other countries.
When we transfer personal data from the EU to countries not recognized by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of data protection, we rely on the following safeguards:
You may request a copy of the applicable transfer safeguards by contacting us at info@notaryhelper.com.
Data transferred out of the United States is subject to applicable US federal and state privacy and export laws. We apply contractual safeguards with all international recipients and conduct due diligence to ensure an adequate level of protection is maintained at all times.
We take the security of your personal information seriously and have implemented a range of technical and organizational measures to protect it against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction.
Technical Measures include:
Organizational Measures include:
Identity Document Security: Identity documents are stored in a segregated, encrypted environment with heightened access controls. Access logs are maintained and reviewed regularly. Documents are retained only for as long as legally required or necessary for the purpose for which they were collected.
Despite these measures, no transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you transmit personal information to us at your own risk. If you have reason to believe that your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately at info@notaryhelper.com.
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to meet our legal obligations, and to resolve any disputes or enforce our agreements. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data:
| Data Category | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Account information | Duration of account, plus one year after account closure |
| Identity verification documents | As required by applicable notarial and AML law |
| Transaction and payment records | 3 years from the date of transaction (tax and accounting requirements) |
| Communications and correspondence | 3 years from the date of the last communication |
| Cookie and analytics data | As set out in Section 6; typically 13 months for analytics cookies |
| Marketing consent records | Until consent is withdrawn, plus 3 years |
| Legal hold data | Duration of any active legal proceeding or regulatory investigation |
When personal information is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymize it. In some cases, where immediate deletion is not technically feasible (for example, in backup archives), data will be isolated from further processing and deleted at the earliest practicable opportunity.
You may request early deletion of your personal data in accordance with your rights described in Section 11. Please note that we may be unable to delete data we are legally required to retain.
Depending on your location, you have certain rights over your personal information. We are committed to honoring these rights within the timeframes required by applicable law.
Regardless of where you are located, you may:
If you are located in the European Union or EEA, you have the following additional rights:
If you are a resident of the United States, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) provides you with the following rights:
To submit a request under the ADPPA, contact us at info@notaryhelper.com or use the dedicated privacy request form on our website. We will verify your identity before processing your request and will respond within 45 days, extendable by a further 45 days where reasonably necessary, with notice to you.
Authorized Agents: US residents may designate an authorized agent to submit requests on their behalf. We will require written proof of authorization and may verify the identity of both the agent and the resident directly.
To exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact us at:
Email: info@notaryhelper.com Subject line: Privacy Rights Request
We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. This is to protect your data from being disclosed to unauthorized parties. Verification may involve confirming details associated with your account or, in some cases, providing a copy of an identity document. We will process verified requests within the timeframes required by applicable law and will not charge a fee unless a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
Notary Helper is not directed at children under the age of 16, or under the applicable age of majority in the user’s jurisdiction where that age is higher. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child below the applicable age threshold, we will take prompt steps to delete that information from our records.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided personal information to us without your consent, please contact us at info@notaryhelper.com.
Some browsers include a “Do Not Track” (DNT) feature that signals to websites that you do not wish to be tracked. Currently, there is no universally accepted standard for responding to DNT signals, and our platform does not alter its data collection practices in response to DNT signals. We will reassess this position if a universally accepted standard is adopted. In the meantime, you may manage your tracking preferences through our Cookie Settings tool.
Our platform may contain links to third-party websites, including websites of notary professionals, legal resources, payment portals, and other external services. When you leave our website, your information is governed by the privacy policy of the destination website. We have no responsibility or liability for the content or privacy practices of third-party sites, and we encourage you to review their policies before submitting any personal information.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our data practices, applicable laws, or platform features. When we make material changes, we will:
Where required by law (for example, where changes affect how we process EU personal data), we will seek your renewed consent before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the platform after the effective date of any updated Policy constitutes your acknowledgment of the changes.
We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.
EU Representative and DPO Contact (Ireland): Notary Helper EU Operations [Address], Dublin, Ireland Email: info@notaryhelper.com
Principal Privacy Contact (New York, USA): Notary Helper Inc. [Address], New York, USA Email: info@notaryhelper.com
If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, we ask that you first contact us directly at info@notaryhelper.com so that we have an opportunity to resolve the matter. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to provide a substantive response within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to the relevant supervisory authority for your jurisdiction:
