Legal

Privacy policy

How we collect, use and protect personal data when you use desousa.estate.

Last updated: August 2026

Introduction and scope

This privacy policy explains how Micaela Franco de Sousa, Unipessoal Lda (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses and protects personal data when you use our website desousa.estate. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and to complying with applicable data protection law, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our services are offered to clients globally, including in the EU, and we apply the same high standard of data protection to all users.

For the purposes of data protection law, the controller is Micaela Franco de Sousa, Unipessoal Lda, São José Street, No. 11, 1st Floor, Unit H, 9050-458 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. You can contact us with any question or request regarding your personal data at micaela@desousa.estate or by phone at +351 931 742 567. This policy applies to personal data collected through our website and related communications.

Personal data we collect

We may collect personal data — any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual — in several ways:

Information you provide to us: when you contact us via a web form, email or telephone, or when you use our services, you may provide your name, contact details and the content of your enquiry. Providing this information is voluntary, but without it we may be unable to answer your request.
Transaction and client data: if you engage our services, we may collect further data such as your postal address, identification details or financial information needed to complete the transaction. Any collection of financial or legal documentation is communicated to you at the relevant time and handled confidentially.
Usage data: when you visit desousa.estate we automatically collect technical information such as your IP address, browser type and version, device identifiers, the pages you viewed, the time and date of your visit and the referring website or search engine. Online identifiers such as cookie IDs or IP addresses can qualify as personal data under EU law.
Analytics and advertising tools: we may use Google Analytics, Google Ads and Google Tag Manager, which set cookies to help us understand how the site is used and to measure advertising. The data collected is generally aggregated and does not directly identify you.
Cookies and similar technologies: cookies are small text files placed on your device. We use them to remember your preferences and to understand how the site is used. Non-essential cookies are only set with your consent.

Data we do not collect

We do not actively collect special categories of personal data, such as data on health, religion or political opinions, and we ask you not to provide such data in free-text fields. Our website is not intended for children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect their data. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it.

How we use personal data

We only use your personal data for legitimate business purposes and in accordance with the law. The purposes and the corresponding legal bases under the GDPR are:

Providing services and responding to enquiries — legal basis: performance of a contract or steps taken at your request before entering into one, and our legitimate interest in effective client service.
Real estate transactions: facilitating viewings, negotiating terms, completing transactions and keeping you informed — legal basis: contractual necessity and compliance with our legal obligations.
Marketing communications, such as newsletters and new listings — legal basis: your consent, or our legitimate interest in informing existing clients. You can withdraw consent or opt out at any time.
Website analytics and improvements — legal basis: your consent, given through our cookie banner. For strictly necessary technical data we rely on our legitimate interest in the security and functionality of the site.
Advertising and retargeting through partners such as Google Ads — legal basis: your consent. Profiling is used solely to tailor marketing; we do not carry out automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects.
Compliance with legal obligations, including tax, accounting and anti-money-laundering rules applicable to real estate transactions — legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation.
Protection of rights and interests, including fraud prevention, security and defending legal claims — legal basis: legitimate interests.

Cookies and tracking technologies

Some cookies are necessary for the core functionality of the site, for example to remember your cookie preferences or to enable security features. Analytics and advertising cookies are non-essential and are only used with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time through the consent banner or your browser settings.

Disclosure of your information

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share it in the following cases:

Service providers acting on our instructions under a data processing agreement, such as hosting, email, CRM, analytics and advertising providers.
Business transfers, in the event of a merger, acquisition or asset sale, where your data remains subject to equivalent protection.
Legal obligations and protection, where disclosure is required by law or necessary to enforce our terms, investigate fraud or defend legal claims.
With your consent, for example if you ask us to refer you to a lawyer, mortgage provider or partner agency.

International data transfers

Your data is primarily processed in Portugal or within the European Economic Area. Some providers, in particular the analytics and advertising tools we use, may transfer data to servers outside the EEA, including the United States. Such transfers are made in compliance with Articles 44–49 GDPR, normally on the basis of the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, an approved framework or another applicable derogation, together with additional technical measures where needed.

Data retention

We keep your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes it was collected for, including legal, accounting and reporting requirements:

Enquiries and contact data: up to one year if no business relationship follows, unless a longer period is legally required.
Client and transaction data: for the duration of the relationship and thereafter as required by law, typically 7 to 10 years for tax and financial compliance.
Marketing data: until you unsubscribe or withdraw consent; we then keep only the minimum needed to respect your opt-out.
Analytics data: according to the retention settings configured with the provider, currently around 14 months.
Cookies: session cookies expire when you close the browser; persistent cookies expire after a set period or when you delete them.

Your data protection rights

Subject to applicable law, and in particular if you are in the European Union, you have the following rights:

Right of access to the personal data we hold about you and to information on how we use it.
Right to rectification of inaccurate, incomplete or outdated data.
Right to erasure of your personal data, where no overriding legal ground for retention applies.
Right to restrict processing in certain circumstances, for example while the accuracy of data is verified.
Right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and an unconditional right to object to direct marketing.
Right to data portability, receiving your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
Right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Exercising your rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at micaela@desousa.estate. For security we may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. We will respond as soon as possible and no later than one month after receiving a valid request; for complex or multiple requests we may extend this by up to two further months and will tell you why.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. We hope you will contact us first so that we can resolve the matter directly. Our lead supervisory authority is the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD) in Portugal; you may also contact the authority in your country of residence or place of work.

Data security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. These include HTTPS encryption in transit, access controls limiting access to those who need it, pseudonymisation where suitable, regular maintenance and security reviews, and staff training. No transmission over the internet is completely secure, so please avoid sending sensitive information by unencrypted email, and contact us immediately if you believe your interaction with us is no longer secure.

Third-party sites

Our website may link to external sites or embed third-party content such as property portals, map services or social media features. This policy does not apply to those sites, which are outside our control. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements or operations. Updates are published on this page with a new date, and significant changes may be communicated by additional means.

Contact us

Micaela Franco de Sousa, Unipessoal Lda, São José Street, No. 11, 1st Floor, Unit H, 9050-458 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Email: micaela@desousa.estate. Telephone: +351 931 742 567.