Why information security matters
A high-value art purchase involves some of the most sensitive data you hold: government ID, home address, wealth and payment paths, and the fact of the transaction itself. How that information is collected and stored matters as much as the price of the work.
What is at stake
Identity documents and financial details are prime targets for fraud and impersonation. If they sit in unencrypted email, shared drives, or personal phones, they can be copied, forwarded by mistake, or kept long after the sale with no audit trail of who opened them.
For you, poor handling means identity theft risk, embarrassment if material leaks, and uncertainty about who still has copies years later. For the dealer, it means regulatory breach, loss of bank relationships, and an inability to answer HMRC or law enforcement when asked "who saw this file, and when?"
Why “we’ve always emailed PDFs” is not enough
- Email is not designed for controlled access , forwards and Bcc breaks the chain of custody.
- Attachments multiply copies across devices and backups with no central policy.
- There is rarely a clear retention or deletion date aligned with law.
- Collectors cannot tell whether a gallery takes security seriously from a generic inbox.
Regulators expect art market participants to apply risk-based controls proportionate to high-value trade. Professional dealers increasingly adopt platforms like Proofenance so collectors see a visible, defined standard that meets the level regulators expect instead of ad hoc channels.
Information security vs privacy
Security is how data is protected from unauthorised access, loss, or tampering (encryption, access codes, logging, staff permissions). Privacy is what the dealer may do with your data for their own purposes (marketing, etc.) , governed by their privacy notice and law. Proofenance focuses on secure processing for compliance; your gallery remains responsible for how they use your information beyond that.
Read our privacy notice and the gallery's own notice for the full picture.
What to look for before you send documents
- A link tied to a named sale, not a vague “send us your passport”.
- A separate access code , not embedded in the same email as the link.
- Plain explanation of why each step is required.
- Optional: a dealer public information page on Proofenance and a Powered by Proofenance mark.