Privacy Policy

Who we are

The Local Trail is a UK directory of local independent food and produce sellers farm shops, honesty boxes, cake sheds, egg stalls and more. We are operated by The Local Trail (registered address to be confirmed). If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us at hello@thelocaltrail.net.

What personal data we collect and why

Account registration

When you create an account we collect your email address, name, and a securely hashed version of your password (we never store your password in plain text). We use this to identify you, let you log in, and send you transactional emails about your listings.

Legal basis: Contract this data is necessary to provide you with an account.

Listings

When you add a listing we collect the details you provide: business name, description, address, postcode, phone number, website, and any photos you upload. This information is published publicly on the site when your listing is approved.

Legal basis: Contract you've asked us to publish your listing.

Emails

We send transactional emails when: your listing is submitted, approved or rejected; you receive a reply to a feature request; and other account-related notifications. We do not send marketing emails unless you have specifically opted in.

Payments (subscriptions)

If you subscribe to a paid product (such as the Self-Service EPOS), payment is handled securely by Stripe. We do not store your card details these are held by Stripe under their own privacy policy. We do store your subscription status and, where applicable, a Stripe customer reference number.

Cookies and session data

We use a single session cookie to keep you logged in. This is an essential cookie the site cannot function without it. We do not use tracking or advertising cookies. See our Cookie Policy for more detail.

Who we share your data with

We share your data only with the following third parties, and only to the extent necessary to operate the site:

• Brevo (Sendinblue) our email service provider. Your email address is passed to Brevo when we send you transactional emails. Brevo is GDPR-compliant and processes data in the EU. Brevo Privacy Policy →
• Stripe our payment processor. Used when you subscribe to a paid product. Stripe is PCI-DSS compliant. Stripe Privacy Policy →
• postcodes.io a free, open-source UK postcode lookup API. Your postcode is sent to this service to determine map coordinates. No personal data beyond the postcode is shared, and it is not logged or stored by postcodes.io.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to any third party.

How long we keep your data

• Account data kept for as long as you have an account with us. If you ask us to delete your account, we will remove your personal data within 30 days.
• Listing data kept for as long as the listing is active, plus a reasonable period afterwards in case of disputes.
• Payment records kept for 7 years to comply with HMRC record-keeping requirements.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct any inaccurate data
• Delete your account and associated personal data
• Restrict how we process your data in certain circumstances
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Portability receive your data in a machine-readable format

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@thelocaltrail.net. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe we are not handling your data correctly.

Security

All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt before storage we cannot retrieve your password, only verify it. We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, but no system is completely secure.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify registered members of any significant changes by email. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact us

The Local Trail
Registered address to be confirmed
hello@thelocaltrail.net