Privacy Policy

TheFlavourLink (“we”, “our”, “us”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and process your personal data in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Data Controller

TheFlavourLink operates as the Data Controller responsible for your personal data collected through the Platform.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following personal information when you use our Platform:

• Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, and password.
• Seller Verification Data: Copies of Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificates, Local Council Registration confirmation receipts, and proof of identity.
• Location Data: Precise or approximate location (geofencing) to connect Buyers with local Sellers within walking/delivery distance.
• Order & Transaction Data: Order history, items purchased, collection PIN verifications, and communication logs.
• Financial Data: Bank account and payment card details (processed securely via Stripe; TheFlavourLink does not store full credit card numbers or banking secrets directly).
• Device & Technical Data: IP address, operating system, browser type, and app usage telemetry.

1. How We Use Your Data

We process your personal data under the following lawful bases:

• To Fulfill Contracts: Processing orders, facilitating doorstep PIN verification, processing payouts, and dispatching third-party couriers.
• Legal Compliance: Verifying seller hygiene qualifications and maintaining financial transaction records.
• Legitimate Interests: Improving our AI vision/voice tools, preventing fraud on the platform, and optimizing hyper-local search results.
• Communication: Sending mandatory SMS/WhatsApp notifications regarding real-time order updates.

1. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We only share personal data with third parties where strictly necessary:

• Between Buyer & Seller: Contact name, delivery address, and order details are shared between the Buyer and Seller for order fulfillment.
• Payment Processors: Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. for processing payments and automated payouts.
• Courier APIs: Third-party delivery providers (e.g., Uber Direct, Stuart) if paid delivery is requested.
• Service Providers: AI API providers (e.g., Anthropic Claude / OpenAI) for processing voice listings and image auto-tagging (data is processed anonymously).

1. Data Retention & Account Deletion

• We retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active or as required by UK tax and accounting laws (up to 6 years for transaction records).
• Account Deletion: You have the right to delete your account at any time via the in-app settings menu ("Delete Account"). Upon request, your account and associated personal data will be permanently erased or anonymized within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

1. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following statutory rights:

• Right to access the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to request correction of inaccurate data.
• Right to request erasure of your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Right to restrict or object to data processing.
• Right to data portability.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Data Protection Lead at: theflavourlink@gmail.com.