Subject access requests and your data rights
A subject access request obliges a platform to give you the personal data it holds about you, normally within one month and free of charge. For drivers it is the way to get earnings history out of a deactivated account and to find out what a decision was based on.
Last checked 12/09/2026.
Platforms hold a great deal about a driver and show almost none of it. A subject access request is the legal route to the rest, and it costs nothing but an email and a wait.
What you are entitled to
- A copy of the personal data the platform holds about you.
- What it is used for, who it has been shared with, and how long it is kept.
- Where it came from, if not from you.
- Meaningful information about the logic of any solely automated decision that has a significant effect on you, which is exactly what an automated deactivation is.
How to make one
- Find the platform's data protection or privacy contact. It is in the privacy notice, and most have a dedicated address or form.
- Write to them saying you are making a subject access request under the UK GDPR. The words matter, because they start the clock.
- Say specifically what you want. A broad request gets a slow, broad answer; a specific one gets a faster and more useful one.
- Include enough for them to identify you: the account email, driver identifier, and the dates concerned.
- Note the date you sent it. They have one month.
- If nothing arrives, chase once in writing, then complain to the ICO.
What it is useful for
Three situations, mostly.
| Situation | What the request gets you |
|---|---|
| Deactivated and cannot open the app | Earnings history you still need for a tax return |
| Deactivated with no clear reason | What was actually recorded, and whether a person was involved |
| A worker status or pay claim | Hours logged in and payments, which is the arithmetic a claim rests on |
If it goes wrong
The Information Commissioner's Office handles complaints about data rights. Complaining is free and is done through their website, and you should raise it with the platform first so you can show you did.
Sources
Common questions
- What is a subject access request?
- A right under UK GDPR to ask any organisation for the personal data it holds about you. It has to respond within one month, extendable to three for complex requests, and it cannot charge you for a first copy.
- What can I ask a delivery platform for?
- Earnings and payment history, the hours you were logged in, ratings and metrics, customer complaints about you, notes on your account, location data, and information about any automated decision affecting you.
- Can they refuse?
- Only in narrow circumstances, such as where releasing data would reveal personal data about somebody else. They can redact a complainant's identity; they cannot refuse the whole request because it is inconvenient.
- What if they ignore me?
- Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. It is free, it is done online, and a regulator asking a platform why it missed a statutory deadline tends to be effective.
- Does this help with a deactivation?
- Often. It is the way to find out what was actually recorded rather than what the automated message said, and under UK GDPR you are entitled to meaningful information about the logic of a solely automated decision that significantly affects you.
About the author
Issac Davies, Founder of JoltMile
Issac Davies drives for gig apps in the UK and built JoltMile to show drivers what a shift actually pays once fuel, insurance and tax come off. Every guide here is checked against HMRC and gov.uk guidance, and is information rather than tax advice.
Track this automatically
The JoltMile app works this out from your own shifts, and keeps the figures ready for Self Assessment. Your first 10 shifts are free.
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