1. Introduction & Who We Are
Welcome to BEL Directory(“BEL”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). BEL is a beauty and hair directory serving the Newham, East London community, operated by BEL. Our platform connects local residents with verified hair, beauty, and grooming professionals.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal data when you use our website at beldirectory.com and related services. Please read it carefully. By using BEL, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
For the purposes of the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, BEL is the data controller of your personal data.
2. Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal data:
- Account registration data: name, email address, and password (hashed) when you create an account or sign in via Google OAuth.
- Business listing data: business name, address, contact details, category, description, images, and operating hours submitted by business owners.
- Reviews and user-generated content: star ratings, written reviews, and any media you submit about a listed business.
- Usage data: pages visited, search queries made, links clicked, time on site, and referral source.
- Cookies and local storage: session identifiers, preference data, and analytics identifiers.
- Device and browser information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, screen resolution, and device type.
- Communications: any messages you send to us via email or contact forms.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
- Providing and operating the platform: to create and manage your account, display business listings, and enable reviews.
- Verifying and approving listings: to review business information and confirm legitimacy before publishing.
- Transactional emails: to send account confirmations, password resets, and listing approval notifications via our email provider Resend.
- Platform improvement: to understand how users interact with BEL, fix bugs, and develop new features.
- Fraud prevention and safety: to detect and prevent fake reviews, spam, and abusive behaviour on the platform.
- Legal compliance: to meet our obligations under applicable law.
We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:
- Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b)): processing necessary to provide the services you have requested, including account management and listing display.
- Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): improving the platform, preventing fraud, and sending service-related communications — where our interests do not override your rights.
- Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): for any marketing communications and non-essential cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): where processing is required by law, including financial record-keeping and responding to lawful requests from authorities.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services.
- Account data is kept for the duration of your account and deleted within 30 days of a verified deletion request.
- Business listing data is retained while the listing is active and for 12 months thereafter for audit purposes.
- Review data is anonymised upon account deletion — the review content and rating may remain visible but will no longer be associated with your identity.
- Financial records are kept for 7 years to comply with HMRC requirements.
8. Your Rights Under GDPR
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Right of access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to erasure: request deletion of your data (“right to be forgotten”), subject to legal obligations.
- Right to data portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Right to object: object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
- Right to restrict processing: request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
- Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at contact@beldirectory.com. We will respond within 30 days.
If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
9. Children's Privacy
BEL is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately at contact@beldirectory.com and we will take steps to delete it.
10. International Transfers
Your data is primarily stored and processed within the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdomvia Supabase's EU data centres. Where data is processed outside the UK/EEA (for example, by Vercel's global edge infrastructure), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:
Email: contact@beldirectory.com
Platform: BEL Directory, Newham, East London