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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

Placemarks ("we", "us", "our") operates the website www.placemarks.co.uk. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide

  • Account details: name, email address, password (hashed)
  • Business listing data: business name, address, phone, website, description, photos
  • Reviews and comments you post
  • Communications you send to us

Information collected automatically

  • IP address and approximate location (for local discovery features)
  • Browser type, device type, operating system
  • Pages visited, time spent, referring URL
  • Cookies and similar technologies (see Section 6)

2. How We Use Your Information

  • To provide and improve our services
  • To display relevant local content based on your location
  • To process business listing claims and subscriptions
  • To send transactional emails (account confirmation, password reset)
  • To respond to support requests
  • To detect and prevent fraud or abuse
  • To generate anonymised, aggregated analytics

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your data under the following legal bases:

  • Contract: to provide the services you signed up for
  • Legitimate interest: to improve our platform, prevent abuse, and provide analytics to business owners
  • Consent: for optional marketing communications (you can withdraw at any time)
  • Legal obligation: to comply with applicable laws

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

  • Supabase (authentication and database hosting, EU servers)
  • Stripe (payment processing for business subscriptions)
  • Mapbox (map rendering — receives approximate location data)
  • Vercel (website hosting)

All third-party processors are contractually bound to protect your data.

5. Data Retention

  • Account data is retained for as long as your account is active
  • After account deletion, personal data is removed within 30 days
  • Anonymised analytics data may be retained indefinitely
  • Business listing data remains visible if the business has an active listing

6. Cookies

We use the following cookies:

  • Essential: authentication session cookies (required for the site to function)
  • Functional: user preferences such as location permissions

We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. No third-party analytics cookies are set without your consent.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Rectify inaccurate data
  • Request deletion of your data
  • Restrict or object to processing
  • Data portability (receive your data in a structured format)
  • Lodge a complaint with the ICO (ico.org.uk)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@placemarks.co.uk.

8. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (TLS), hashed passwords, and access controls. However, no system is 100% secure.

9. Children

Our services are not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or a notice on our website. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact

For privacy-related enquiries, contact us at:
Email: privacy@placemarks.co.uk