Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

MealHoster Ltd ("we", "us", "our", or "MealHoster") is a company registered in England and Wales. We operate the MealHoster platform, which connects guests with hosts who offer food experiences including home-cooked meals, supper clubs, food tours, cooking classes, and other culinary events ("the Platform").

We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you use our Platform, website, mobile applications, and related services (collectively, "our Services").

By accessing or using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use our Services.

For the purposes of UK data protection law (including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018), MealHoster Ltd is the data controller.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

When you create an account, list an experience, or make a booking, we may collect the following:

• Account information: your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, profile photograph, and password.
• Host information: details about your food experiences, menus, pricing, availability, location (including home address if hosting at home), photographs, and a description of your culinary background.
• Guest information: booking details, number of guests, dietary requirements, allergies, and special requests.
• Identity verification: government-issued identification documents, where required, to verify your identity for trust and safety purposes.
• Payment information: bank account details (for hosts) and payment card details (for guests), processed securely through our third-party payment provider.
• Communications: messages you send through the Platform to hosts, guests, or our support team.
• Reviews and ratings: content you post about experiences or other users.

2.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use our Services, we may automatically collect:

• Device and usage data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, pages visited, links clicked, and the date and time of your visit.
• Location data: approximate location derived from your IP address, or precise location if you grant permission through your device settings.
• Cookies and similar technologies: we use cookies, pixels, and similar tracking technologies to recognise you, remember your preferences, and improve your experience. See Section 8 for more details.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, including:

• Social login providers (such as Google or Facebook) if you choose to register or log in using a third-party account.
• Payment service providers, who share limited transaction data with us.
• Publicly available sources, to verify host or guest information where appropriate.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide and operate the Platform: creating and managing your account, facilitating bookings, processing payments, and enabling communication between hosts and guests.
• To verify identity and build trust: conducting identity checks where necessary to maintain a safe and trusted community.
• To personalise your experience: recommending experiences based on your preferences, location, and past bookings.
• To process payments: facilitating secure payments from guests to hosts through our payment provider, and managing refunds and cancellations.
• To communicate with you: sending booking confirmations, reminders, updates about your account, and responding to your enquiries.
• To send marketing communications: with your consent, sending promotional messages about new experiences, features, and offers. You can opt out at any time.
• To improve our Services: analysing usage patterns, conducting research, and developing new features.
• To ensure safety and security: detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and other harmful activity, and enforcing our Terms of Service.
• To comply with legal obligations: meeting our legal, regulatory, and tax obligations, including responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

4. Legal Bases for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:

• Performance of a contract: processing necessary to fulfil our contract with you, such as managing your account, processing bookings, and facilitating payments.
• Legitimate interests: processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as improving our Services, preventing fraud, and ensuring platform safety, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
• Consent: where you have given us specific consent, such as for marketing communications or the use of precise location data. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation: processing necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• Between hosts and guests: when a booking is made, we share relevant information between the host and guest to facilitate the experience.
• Service providers: we share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Platform, including payment processors, cloud hosting providers, email service providers, analytics providers, and customer support tools.
• Legal and regulatory: we may disclose your information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, or legal processes.
• Safety and fraud prevention: we may share information to protect the rights, property, or safety of MealHoster, our users, or the public.
• Business transfers: in the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• With your consent: we may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

6. International Data Transfers

MealHoster operates globally, and your personal information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the United Kingdom. Where we transfer your data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law, including standard contractual clauses approved by the UK ICO, transfers to countries deemed to provide adequate protection, and other legally recognised transfer mechanisms.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our Services and fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Specific retention periods include:

• Account information: retained for as long as your account is active, and for up to 3 years after account closure.
• Booking and transaction records: retained for up to 7 years to comply with financial and tax regulations.
• Communications: retained for the duration of the booking relationship and a reasonable period thereafter for dispute resolution.
• Reviews: published reviews remain on the Platform even after account closure. Your name may be anonymised upon request.
• Marketing preferences: retained until you withdraw consent or unsubscribe.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

• Essential cookies: required for the Platform to function correctly.
• Functional cookies: used to remember your preferences, such as language and currency settings.
• Analytics cookies: used to understand how users interact with the Platform.
• Marketing cookies: used to deliver relevant advertisements. These are only set with your consent.

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or through any cookie consent tool we provide on our website.

9. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:

• Right of access: you can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to erasure: you can ask us to delete your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions.
• Right to restrict processing: you can ask us to temporarily limit how we use your information.
• Right to data portability: you can request your information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and opt out of direct marketing at any time.
• Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
• Right to lodge a complaint: you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@mealhoster.com. We will respond within one month.

10. Data Security

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, secure access controls, regular security assessments, and restricted access on a need-to-know basis.

11. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed at individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@mealhoster.com.

12. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Platform may contain links to third-party websites, services, or applications that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

13. Additional Provisions for Hosts

• Your profile information, including your name, profile photo, location (general area), experience descriptions, and reviews will be publicly visible on the Platform.
• Your exact address will only be shared with guests who have a confirmed booking.
• If you host food experiences at your home, you acknowledge that guests will have access to the parts of your property where the experience takes place.
• We may request additional verification, such as food hygiene certificates or allergen training documentation.
• Payment and tax information is processed and stored securely by our payment provider.

14. Additional Provisions for Guests

• Information you provide during booking, including dietary requirements and allergies, will be shared with your host.
• Your name and profile photo will be visible to the host once a booking is confirmed.
• Reviews you leave will be publicly visible on the Platform.
• If you provide health-related information such as allergies, this constitutes special category data under UK GDPR. We process this on the basis of your explicit consent.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by posting a prominent notice on our Platform at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of our Services after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

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