Explore Manchester respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your information when you visit our website, create an account, submit a business listing, make a payment or contact us.
1. Who We Are
Explore Manchester is an online business directory helping people discover businesses, services and attractions across Manchester.
For data protection purposes, the data controller is:
Trading name: Explore Manchester
Email: info@exploremanchester.co.uk
2. Information We Collect
We may collect the following information:
- Your name, email address and telephone number
- Account login and registration information
- Business names, addresses and contact details
- Business descriptions, categories, photographs and website links
- Information submitted through contact or listing forms
- Payment and transaction information
- Communications between you and Explore Manchester
- IP address, browser type, device information and website activity
- Cookie preferences and analytics information
Business information submitted for publication may appear publicly within the Explore Manchester directory. Please avoid including private personal information in a public listing unless you want it displayed.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information to:
- Create and manage user accounts
- Review, publish and maintain business listings
- Process listing payments
- Respond to enquiries and provide support
- Send important service and account communications
- Prevent spam, fraud, misuse and security threats
- Improve our website and understand how it is used
- Comply with our legal and financial obligations
- Send marketing communications where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by law
4. Our Lawful Bases
Depending on the circumstances, we process information because:
- It is necessary to fulfil a contract with you
- You have provided your consent
- We have a legitimate business interest, such as operating and improving the directory
- We must comply with a legal obligation
- It is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims
You can withdraw your consent to marketing at any time by using the unsubscribe option provided or contacting us.
5. Business Listings
Information included in an approved business listing will be publicly accessible and may be indexed by search engines. This may include the business name, address, telephone number, email address, images, website link, opening hours and description.
If you submit information on behalf of another person or business, you confirm that you have permission to provide and publish it.
You may request an amendment or removal of a listing by contacting us. Removal from Explore Manchester does not guarantee immediate removal from search engine caches or third-party websites.
6. Payments
Payments may be handled by an independent payment provider. We do not normally store complete payment-card details. Payment providers process information under their own privacy policies.
We may retain transaction records where required for accounting, taxation, fraud prevention or legal purposes.
7. Sharing Your Information
We may share information with trusted providers that help us operate the website, including:
- Website hosting and technical support providers
- Payment-processing companies
- Email and communication platforms
- Analytics and security services
- Professional advisers, regulators or authorities where legally required
We do not sell your personal information.
Where a provider processes information outside the United Kingdom, we will take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate data-protection safeguards are in place.
8. Cookies
Explore Manchester may use essential cookies to operate the website and optional cookies for analytics, functionality or marketing.
Where legally required, non-essential cookies will only be used after you provide consent. You can change your preferences through our cookie settings or browser controls. Disabling certain cookies may affect how parts of the website function.
9. Data Retention
We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
Account and listing information may be retained while your account or listing remains active. Transaction records may be retained for the period required by tax and accounting laws. Enquiries and support correspondence will generally be deleted when no longer needed, unless retention is necessary for legal or security reasons.
10. Data Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. However, no website or online transmission method can be guaranteed as completely secure.
You are responsible for keeping your account password confidential and should notify us if you believe your account has been compromised.
11. Your Rights
Under UK data-protection law, you may have the right to:
- Be informed about how your data is used
- Request access to your personal information
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request deletion of your information
- Restrict how your information is processed
- Object to certain types of processing
- Request the transfer of eligible information
- Withdraw consent at any time
These rights are subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions. We may need to verify your identity before responding.
To exercise your rights, email info@exploremanchester.co.uk.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office through www.ico.org.uk, although we would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns first.
12. Children's Privacy
Explore Manchester is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children.
13. External Websites
Business listings may contain links to third-party websites. Explore Manchester is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of external websites. You should review their privacy policies before providing personal information.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to our website, services or legal obligations. The latest version will always be published on this page with the updated date.
15. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, contact:
Explore Manchester
Email: info@exploremanchester.co.uk