Privacy Policy

1.Who we are & how to contact us

Choyce is a beauty-booking marketplace that connects clients with independent beauty professionals (“Professionals”) such as hairstylists, barbers, braiders, nail technicians and makeup artists. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018, the data controller is:

Choyce Brit Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number [company number]), registered office 66 Paul Street, London, England, United Kingdom, EC2A 4NA.

You can reach us about privacy at:

• Email: info@choyce.io
• Post: Data Protection, Choyce Brit Ltd, 66 Paul Street, London, England, United Kingdom, EC2A 4NA

We have appointed a person responsible for privacy matters. If we are required to appoint a Data Protection Officer, their contact details will be published here. Please direct all data-protection enquiries to the contact above.

2.Scope of this policy

This policy applies to personal data we process about clients, Professionals, prospective users, website visitors, waitlist subscribers and business contacts. It does not apply to third-party websites, apps or services that we do not control (see section 15).

3.Personal data we collect

We collect and process the following categories of personal data:

If you do not provide personal data we need to deliver a service (for example, to create an account or complete a booking), we may be unable to provide that service.

4.How we collect your data

• Directly from you — when you create an account, complete your profile, make or accept a booking, submit a review, contact support or join our waitlist.
• Automatically — through cookies and similar technologies, device permissions (such as location and notifications) and server logs when you use the Platform.
• From third parties — from our payment provider (payment outcomes), map/location providers, authentication and hosting providers, and analytics tools, as described in section 9.
• From other users — a Professional receives limited details necessary to fulfil a booking you make, and clients receive Professional profile information.

5.Purposes & lawful bases

We only process your personal data where the law allows us to. The lawful bases we rely on are:

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have carried out a balancing assessment to ensure those interests are not overridden by your rights. You can ask us for more information about that assessment using the contact details above.

6.Special category & children’s data

We do not intentionally collect “special category” data (such as health, racial or ethnic origin, or biometric data). Please do not submit such information through free-text fields, reviews or images. If you choose to share it (for example, describing a scalp or skin condition to a Professional), you consent to us processing it for the purpose of facilitating your booking, and you may withdraw that consent at any time.

The Platform is not intended for children. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and make bookings. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

7.Marketing & communications

We may send you marketing about Choyce services where you have consented, or where you are an existing customer and we are marketing similar services (and you have not opted out). You can opt out of marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails, adjusting your in-app notification settings, or contacting info@choyce.io. Opting out of marketing does not stop essential service messages (such as booking confirmations, security alerts and receipts), which you receive as part of the service.

8.Cookies & similar technologies

We and our partners use cookies, local storage and similar technologies to run the Platform, remember your preferences (such as your theme), measure performance and, where you consent, for analytics. For full details and how to manage them, see our Cookie Policy.

9.Who we share your data with

We share personal data only as necessary and with appropriate safeguards, including with:

• Professionals and clients — the information needed to make, accept and fulfil a booking (for example, your first name, appointment details and, for home services, your address).
• Payment provider — Stripe, to process reservation fees and payments and to prevent fraud. Stripe processes your payment data as a separate controller/processor under its own terms.
• Technology & infrastructure providers — hosting, cloud storage and media (e.g. Cloudinary), maps and location services (e.g. Google Maps Platform), push notifications (e.g. Firebase Cloud Messaging) and email delivery providers, acting as our processors under contract.
• Analytics & diagnostics providers — to help us understand and improve performance and reliability.
• Professional advisers — lawyers, accountants, insurers and auditors, where necessary.
• Authorities and third parties — where required to comply with the law, enforce our terms, or protect the rights, safety or property of Choyce, our users or others.
• Successors — in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, in which case your data may be transferred subject to this policy.

We do not sell your personal data.

10.International data transfers

Some of our providers are located outside the United Kingdom. Where we transfer personal data outside the UK, we ensure an appropriate safeguard is in place, such as UK ‘adequacy’ regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, together with additional measures where needed. You can request a copy of the relevant safeguard by contacting us.

11.How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes we collected it for, including to satisfy legal, accounting, tax or reporting requirements and to resolve disputes. As a general guide:

• Account data — for the life of your account and for a reasonable period afterwards.
• Booking & transaction records — typically up to 7 years to meet tax and accounting obligations.
• Support communications — for as long as needed to handle your query and any related dispute.
• Marketing data — until you opt out or after a period of inactivity.

When we no longer need personal data, we securely delete or anonymise it.

12.How we protect your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encryption in transit, access controls, password hashing, and secure, PCI-compliant payment processing through our provider. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; while we work hard to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for notifying us of any suspected unauthorised access.

13.Your data protection rights

Subject to conditions and exemptions in law, you have the right to:

• Be informed about how we use your data (this policy).
• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erase your data (“right to be forgotten”) in certain circumstances.
• Restrict our processing in certain circumstances.
• Data portability — receive certain data in a portable format.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.
• Withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent (this does not affect prior processing).

To exercise any right, contact info@choyce.io. We may need to verify your identity. We will respond within one month, which may be extended for complex requests. Exercising your rights is free in most cases.

14.Automated decisions & profiling

We may use limited automated processing to rank search results, personalise recommendations, and detect fraud or abuse. We do not make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you based solely on automated processing without a lawful basis and appropriate safeguards. Where such decisions occur, you may request human review, express your point of view and contest the decision.

15.Third-party links & services

The Platform may contain links to, or integrate with, third-party websites and services (for example, payment pages, maps and app stores). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. Please review their privacy notices before providing personal data.

16.Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here and change the “Last updated” date. Where changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to notify you (for example, by email or in-app notice). Your continued use of the Platform after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

17.Complaints & the ICO

We would like the chance to resolve your concerns, so please contact us first at info@choyce.io. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.