PRIVACY POLICY

General

We are The Connect Social Ltd, Office 1, Izabella House, 24-26 Regent Place, Birmingham, England, B1 3NJ, United Kingdom, VAT Reg. No 449716163 (referred to herein as “we”, “our”, or “us”, as the context requires).

This Privacy Policy (together with our Terms and any other documents referred to in them) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. It applies to all creatives, brands, institutes, and other individuals whose data we may process.

We operate The Connect, a digital platform enabling creatives, brands, agencies and institutes to collaborate, showcase work, manage creative opportunities and facilitate payments. This policy explains how we handle your data in relation to those services.

We may change this policy from time to time. Please check our website periodically for updates. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting a notice on the Platform or by emailing you at the address you have provided.

The Processing of Your Data

We process personal data primarily to perform the contract we have entered into with you for the provision of our services, or to take steps prior to entering into that contract. This includes the publication and hosting of creative portfolios, operation of Creative Invites, and facilitation of communications and payments between creatives, brands, and institutes.

We may also process your personal data based on our legitimate interests, provided these are not overridden by your rights or freedoms. Such legitimate interests include Platform administration, data security, performance analytics, prevention of fraud or misuse, and the promotion of The Connect community and services.

Where we rely on consent, for example, to send marketing communications, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time by contacting hello@theconnect.social.

We will not process your data for any purpose incompatible with those described in this policy without first obtaining your consent or providing notice as required by law.

Data We Collect About You

The information we collect may be provided directly by you, collected automatically from your device, or obtained from third-party sources.

Information you provide directly

This may include:

Your full name, email address, phone number, country of residence, and profile photo.
Professional or creative information, such as biography, creative discipline, portfolio content, project uploads, social handles, and links to external work.
Information submitted through Creative Invites, applications, messages, or correspondence with other users.
Payment, billing and tax information (processed securely through Stripe Connect).
Verification documents and identification data required for compliance or payment processing.

Information we collect automatically

When you access or use the Platform, we may automatically collect:

IP address, device identifiers, browser type, operating system, access times, and referring URLs.
Interaction data (pages visited, clicks, search queries, time spent, and navigation patterns).
Error logs and diagnostic information to ensure site functionality and security.
Data collected via cookies and similar tracking technologies (see “Cookies” below).

Information we collect from third parties

We may receive data from:

Stripe, for identity verification, payment processing, and fraud prevention.
Analytics and performance providers (such as Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or Amplitude).
Social media or networking platforms, if you link your account or choose to authenticate through them.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us provide a good browsing experience and improve the Platform.

A “cookie” is a small text file placed on your device that enables certain site functionality. Cookies may collect information such as your browser type, IP address, session ID, or preferences.

We use the following types of cookies:

Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the operation and security of the website (e.g. login authentication, session management).
Analytical / performance cookies: Allow us to recognise users, count visits, and see how visitors navigate the site so we can improve usability.
Functional cookies: Used to personalise your experience, remember settings, and enhance interaction.
Targeting / marketing cookies: Used to measure campaign performance or serve relevant content.

We may use tools such as Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Amplitude, or similar services for these purposes.

You can set your browser to refuse some or all cookies; however, disabling them may limit certain features of the Platform.

Marketing

If you have opted-in to marketing, we may contact you by email with updates, opportunities, or promotional material about The Connect or our partners.

You may withdraw consent or opt out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails or contacting hello@theconnect.social.

Even after opting out of marketing, you may still receive transactional or service-related messages essential to your account (such as payment confirmations or policy updates).

We do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Recipients of Your Information

We do not rent or sell your personal data. We may share it only when necessary to operate the Platform, fulfil contractual obligations, or comply with legal requirements.

Recipients may include:

Our service providers and processors, such as payment partners (Stripe), hosting companies, analytics platforms, communication tools, and IT support.
Clients and Institutes, when you participate in Creative Invites or collaborations—your profile, submissions and related information may be shared as part of that process.
Professional advisers, auditors, and consultants under duty of confidentiality.
Government or regulatory authorities, where required by law or court order.
Successor entities, in the event of a merger, acquisition or reorganisation, under equivalent privacy safeguards.

All processors acting on our behalf are required by contract to keep data secure and use it only as instructed by us.

International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers may process data outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area (“EEA”).

When this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

Transfers to countries deemed by the ICO or European Commission to provide adequate protection; or
Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the ICO or European Commission; or
Other legally approved mechanisms providing equivalent levels of protection.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to provide our services or as otherwise required by law.

Retention duration may vary depending on the type of data, but we consider:

Statutory or contractual requirements for record-keeping (e.g. tax or accounting obligations).
Whether the data is necessary for the operation of active accounts, projects or transactions.
Whether retention is required for legitimate business interests or to defend potential claims.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised in accordance with best practice and applicable law.

Your Rights

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), you have the following rights in respect of your personal data:

Right of access – request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification – request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) – request deletion of data where no lawful reason exists for us to keep it.
Right to restriction – request suspension of processing in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability – receive your data in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to object – object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact hello@theconnect.social.
We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

If you believe your rights have been infringed, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.

Contacts and Complaints

Questions, comments and requests regarding this Privacy Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to:

The Connect Social Ltd, Office 1, Izabella House, 24-26 Regent Place, Birmingham, England, B1 3NJ United Kingdom
Email: hello@theconnect.social

You may also contact the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have handled your data.