Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 21st May 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to The Equine Directory (“we”, “our”, “us”).
We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data transparently and securely in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable privacy laws.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website and services.
Website: https://theequinedirectory.co.uk/
Contact Email: info@theequinedirectory.co.uk

2. Who We Are
The Equine Directory is an online equine directory and community platform that may provide:

  • Business listings
  • Premium memberships
  • Advertising services
  • Event listings
  • Forums and community features
  • Blogs and content
  • Other related equestrian services

For the purposes of data protection law, we are the “data controller” of your personal information.

3. Information We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data.
Information You Provide Directly
Including:

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Telephone number
  • Postal address
  • Business details
  • Username and password
  • Profile information
  • Membership details
  • Advertising enquiries
  • Event submissions
  • Forum posts and comments
  • Messages sent through contact forms
  • Customer support communications

Payment and Subscription Information
If you purchase memberships, listings, advertising, or other paid services, we may collect:

  • Billing address
  • Transaction details
  • VAT information where applicable
  • Subscription records 
  • Payment status

Payments are processed securely by third-party payment providers. We do not store any full payment card details on our servers.

Automatically Collected Information
When you use our website, we may automatically collect:

  • IP address
  • Browser type
  • Device information
  • Operating system
  • Pages visited
  • Time spent on pages
  • Referral URLs 
  • Cookies and tracking data

 4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

  • Create and manage user accounts
  • Provide memberships and paid listings
  • Publish business listings and event information
  • Process payments and subscriptions
  • Deliver advertising services
  • Respond to enquiries and support requests
  • Improve website functionality and performance
  • Analyse user behaviour and traffic
  • Detect fraud or misuse
  • Moderate forums and public content
  • Send service-related communications
  • Send marketing communications where legally permitted
  • Comply with legal and regulatory obligations

 5. Legal Bases for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract
Where processing is necessary to:

  • Provide memberships
  • Manage listings
  • Process payments
  • Deliver services you request

Legitimate Interests
To:

  • Improve our platform
  • Manage business operations
  • Prevent fraud
  • Moderate content
  • Market relevant services

Consent
For:

  • Marketing emails
  • Optional cookies
  • Certain advertising technologies

You may withdraw consent at any time.

Legal Obligation
Where processing is required by law, including:

  • Accounting
  • Taxation
  • Fraud prevention
  • Responding to lawful requests

6. Memberships, Listings and Advertising

We provide paid memberships, premium listings, advertising placements, and promotional services.
Information submitted in connection with these services may be publicly displayed on the website, including:

  • Business names
  • Contact details
  • Event information
  • Profile content
  • Images
  • Reviews
  • Promotional material

 By submitting content, you confirm that:

  • You have the right to provide the information, the information is accurate and publication does not infringe third-party rights.
  • We reserve the right to moderate, edit, suspend, or remove content that breaches our policies or applicable laws.

7. Community Features and Public Content

Our website may include:

  • Forums
  • Reviews
  • Comments
  • Discussion boards
  • Other interactive features

Any information posted publicly may be visible to:

  • Other users
  • Search engines
  • The general public

Please avoid posting sensitive or confidential information in public areas.
We may monitor and moderate community content to maintain platform safety and compliance.

8. Marketing Communications

We may send:

  • Account notifications
  • Service updates
  • Membership reminders
  • Newsletters
  • Promotions
  • Marketing communications

We will only send marketing communications where permitted under applicable law.

You may unsubscribe at any time by:

  • Clicking the unsubscribe link in emails
  • Contacting us directly

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Operate the website
  • Remember preferences
  • Analyse traffic
  • Improve performance
  • Personalise content
  • Measure advertising effectiveness

Non-essential cookies are only used with your consent. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.

10. Sharing Your Information

We may share personal information with trusted third parties including:

  • Website hosting providers
  • Payment processors
  • Analytics providers
  • Advertising platforms
  • Email marketing providers
  • Technical support providers
  • Professional advisers

Examples may include:

  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Google Analytics
  • Meta/Facebook
  • Mailchimp

Third parties are required to process personal data securely and lawfully.
We do not sell personal information.

11. International Data Transfers

Some third-party providers may process personal data outside the United Kingdom.

Where international transfers occur, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

  • Adequacy regulations
  • International data transfer agreements
  • Approved contractual protections

12. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to:

  • Provide services
  • Manage memberships
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Resolve disputes
  • Enforce agreements
  • Maintain business records

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and legal requirements.

13. Your Rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:

  • Access your personal data
  • Correct inaccurate information
  • Request deletion
  • Restrict processing
  • Object to processing
  • Withdraw consent
  • Request data portability
  • Lodge a complaint with the ICO

To exercise your rights, contact us using the details below.

14. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against:

  • Unauthorised access
  • Disclosure
  • Alteration
  • Loss
  • Misuse

However, no internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.

15. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not intended for children under the age of 13 without parental involvement.

If we become aware that personal data has been collected unlawfully from a child, we will take steps to delete it.

16. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites.
Users should review third-party privacy policies separately.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.
Continued use of the website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

18. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact:
The Equine Directory
https://theequinedirectory.co.uk/
info@theequinedirectory.co.uk

19. Complaints
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)