Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

XploreUK is operated by Quatech Global. We are the data controller for personal data collected through this website (xploreuk.com).

Contact: hello@xploreuk.com

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal data we collect when you use XploreUK, including through our website, event alerts, and community forum.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect different types of data depending on how you use the service:

We do not collect:

• Payment card details (we do not process payments)
• Location data or GPS coordinates
• Device identifiers or fingerprinting data
• Browsing history beyond what is stored in your own browser's local storage

3. How We Use Your Data

• To provide the service — creating and managing your account, displaying community posts under your name
• To send event alerts — if you set up preferences, we send you a personalised digest of upcoming events matching your chosen cities and categories at the frequency you selected
• To communicate service updates — important notices about your account or changes to the service
• To process event bookings — if you book a place on an organiser-created event, we share your name and email with the event organiser
• To moderate the community — reviewing content that is reported or flagged
• To improve the service — understanding which features are used (using anonymised aggregate data only)

We do not use your personal data for advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (UK GDPR)

Under UK GDPR, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Contract (Article 6(1)(b)) — processing necessary to provide the account and event alert service you signed up for
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — for optional preferences (cities, categories, alert frequency) and community participation
• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — for service improvement, fraud prevention, and security monitoring, where these do not override your rights

5. Third Parties We Share Data With

We do not sell your personal data. We share limited data only with the following service providers, all of whom are contractually required to protect it:

We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any other commercial third parties.

6. Email Communications

If you set up event alert preferences, we will send you a digest of upcoming UK events matching your chosen cities and categories. The frequency is your choice: daily, weekly, or never.

Every alert email includes an unsubscribe link. You can also change your alert frequency or turn alerts off entirely from your account preferences at any time.

We may also send you important service-related emails (e.g. password resets, account confirmations). These cannot be opted out of as they are necessary for the service to function.

7. Cookies & Local Storage

XploreUK does not use tracking or advertising cookies. We use your browser's local storage (not cookies) for the following purposes only:

• Authentication token (guk_token) — keeps you signed in between visits
• User session (guk_user) — stores your name and role to display in the nav
• Theme preference (xuk-theme) — remembers if you chose light or dark mode
• Dismissed alerts (xuk-hide-strip) — remembers if you dismissed the alerts banner

This data is stored only in your own browser and is never sent to any third-party analytics service. You can clear it at any time by signing out or clearing your browser's site data.

8. Data Retention

• Account data — retained for as long as your account is active, then deleted within 30 days of account deletion
• Community posts — retained until you delete them or until your account is deleted
• Event booking records — retained for 12 months after the event date for organisers' records, then deleted
• Email logs — Resend retains email delivery logs for up to 30 days

9. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@xploreuk.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

10. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:

• Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing — we cannot read your password
• All data in transit is encrypted using TLS (HTTPS)
• Database access is restricted to our server infrastructure
• Authentication tokens expire after 7 days

No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. While we take reasonable precautions, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.

11. Children's Privacy

XploreUK is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us immediately at hello@xploreuk.com and we will delete it promptly.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify registered users by email.

We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

13. Contact & Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:

• Email: hello@xploreuk.com
• Website: xploreuk.com

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's supervisory authority for data protection:

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113