1. Who this policy is about
This policy covers the Voice For Locals shopper app for Android and iPhone (the “app”), the accounts you create in it, and these consumer legal pages. The app lets you find local businesses, pay them, collect loyalty points, redeem rewards, rate visits, refer friends or businesses, and take part in loyalty campaigns.
It does not replace the privacy notice of a local business you buy from. That business is responsible for its own goods, services, and any information it collects outside the app.
2. Who is responsible for your information
The data controller for the shopper app is:
Unloc Ltd, trading as Voice For Locals
Company number 06806173
Office 7, 35-37 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7JN, United Kingdom
Email: support@voiceforlocals.co.uk
Phone: 07735 552903
Privacy requests sent to that email are handled as data-protection requests. If a data protection officer is appointed, we will pass the request to them.
3. The app is for adults
The app is for people aged 18 or over. It is not directed at children. We do not knowingly create accounts for anyone under 18. If you believe we hold information about a child, email us and we will delete it.
4. Information we collect
We collect only what the app needs to run the features you use. You can refuse optional device permissions. Some features then will not work: for example, QR payment needs the camera, and nearby shops need location.
| Information | Why we use it | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile number, one-time passcodes, and, if you choose them, Google or Apple sign-in details (name, email, and the sign-in token those providers give us) | Create and protect your account, sign you in, and send security codes, including for account deletion | Contract, and legitimate interests in keeping accounts secure |
| Name, gender, postcode, country, profile photo, audience profile, and length of time in that profile where the profile asks for it | Complete your profile, show local businesses and rewards, and run the loyalty programme | Contract. Profile photo is optional and used with your consent when you upload it |
| Ethnicity, including “prefer not to say” | Understand who the local rewards programme reaches, and check that it is being offered fairly. We do not use ethnicity to set your price or to refuse you service | Explicit consent for special-category data. You can choose “prefer not to say” |
| Housing situation, and the support centre that confirms it with a one-time code, but only if the profile you choose asks for that check | Confirm that profile and show support or rewards that depend on it. This is not shown on a public profile | Explicit consent. You can choose a different profile that does not ask for it |
| Reward preferences (categories and sub-categories) | Show rewards that match what you asked to see | Contract, and consent where a preference is optional |
| Location while you use the app, and a location update about every four minutes while Live mode is on and the app is open | Show nearby shops, local deals, and live rewards. Live mode tells participating businesses you are nearby and open to a reward. Do Not Disturb stops those live updates | Consent through the device permission, and contract for the nearby and live-reward features. We do not collect location in the background for advertising |
| Camera image of a QR code | Start a payment or a feedback visit at a business. We use the code, not a stored photo of the scene | Consent through the camera permission, and contract |
| Payment amount, reference, business, status, and the Stripe customer identifier. Card numbers are entered in Stripe’s payment sheet | Take payment for a real-world purchase from a local business, prevent fraud, and award points for a successful payment | Contract, legal obligation for financial and tax records, and legitimate interests in preventing fraud |
| Loyalty points, tier, rewards collected or redeemed, favourites, transaction history, and points history | Run the loyalty programme and show your activity | Contract |
| Ratings, written feedback, and whether you would recommend a business | Publish genuine reviews after a real visit or payment, and improve local listings | Contract, and legitimate interests in honest local reviews |
| Referral code, people or businesses you refer, and referral points | Apply a code you enter and credit referral rewards described in the app | Contract |
| Answers you submit to a loyalty campaign or survey | Run that campaign and credit any points the campaign offered | Consent when you choose to respond. A campaign will say if a question is sensitive |
| Push-notification token, notification history, and whether a notification was opened | Send messages you have allowed, such as payment results, points, feedback requests, referral updates, tier changes, and campaigns | Consent through the device notification permission. You can turn notifications off in iOS or Android settings |
| Records that you accepted the legal agreements, the time, and the country those agreements applied to | Show that you agreed, and ask you to agree again if you change your profile | Legal obligation and legitimate interests |
| App security and diagnostic information needed to run the service, such as authentication tokens stored on your phone | Keep you signed in and protect the account | Legitimate interests, and contract |
5. Sensitive information
Ethnicity is special-category data under UK GDPR. Housing status connected with homelessness is treated as sensitive even where it is not health data. We ask for these only in the profile screens, we tell you why, and we rely on your explicit consent. We do not sell this information. We do not use it for advertising across other companies’ apps. We do not show it to other shoppers.
A support centre you select for a housing check receives the verification request needed to confirm that check. A business sees your ethnicity or housing status only if a programme you join says so on the screen before you submit it.
You may withdraw consent by editing your profile, choosing “prefer not to say” where that option exists, choosing a profile that does not ask for a housing check, or deleting your account. Withdrawal does not affect use that was lawful before you withdrew consent. If we still need a record for the law, we keep only that record.
6. Location and Live mode
Location is used while the app is in use, to show nearby shops, local deals, and rewards around you. If you turn Live mode on, the app sends your location about every four minutes while it is open, so live rewards can be offered. Do Not Disturb turns those live updates off. We do not sell location, and we do not use it to track you across apps or websites owned by other companies.
You can refuse or later withdraw location permission in your phone settings. Nearby and live-reward features will then stop working.
7. Payments
Payments in the app are for goods or services from a local business, not for digital content sold by us. Card details are collected by Stripe inside the payment sheet. We do not store your full card number on our servers. We keep the payment record, amount, business, status, and Stripe customer identifier so we can confirm the payment, award points, handle disputes, and meet accounting duties.
8. Loyalty, referrals, and campaigns
Points, tiers, rewards, and referral credits are part of the promotional programme described in the app at the time you earn them. We keep the history of those credits so the programme can be operated and explained. Campaign answers are used for that campaign. If a question asks for anything sensitive, that will be clear before you answer, and you can skip the campaign.
9. Reviews and other content you add
Ratings and written feedback can be shown to the business and to other shoppers as a review of a genuine visit. Do not include someone else’s private information, or anything unlawful, in a review. We may remove content that breaks the Terms of Use. To report a review, email support@voiceforlocals.co.uk with the business name and what is wrong.
10. Notifications
We ask permission before sending push notifications. Messages about a payment you made, points from that activity, a feedback request for that visit, or a security code are part of the service. Offers and campaigns are promotional. You can turn notifications off in your phone settings, or email us to object to promotional messages. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations you can opt out of electronic marketing at any time.
11. Who receives your information
We do not sell personal information. We share it only as follows:
- Local businesses you deal with. A business you pay, review, favourite, or redeem with can see what it needs for that relationship, such as your name, the transaction, your review, and points activity with that business.
- Support centres you choose, for a housing verification code.
- Stripe to process the payment. Stripe’s privacy notice applies to card data it collects.
- Google if you use Google sign-in, and for Firebase Cloud Messaging, which delivers push notifications. We do not use the app to show third-party adverts or to share data with advertising networks.
- Apple if you use Sign in with Apple, and for notification delivery on iPhone.
- Cloud hosting and database providers who store the app’s data for us under contract.
- Professional advisers, insurers, or authorities where the law requires it, or where it is necessary to investigate fraud, protect users, or establish or defend a legal claim.
The app does not use Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt because it does not track you across other companies’ apps and websites. Google Play data-safety answers and the App Store privacy details should match this policy.
12. Where information is stored
We store information in the United Kingdom or in a country the UK recognises as adequate, or we use a transfer safeguard such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses. Stripe, Google, and Apple may process data outside the UK as described in their own notices. You can ask us for a copy of the relevant safeguard.
13. How long we keep information
We keep account information while your account is open. If you delete the account, we delete or irreversibly anonymise your profile, preferences, sign-in identifiers, notification token, location pings, and campaign answers, unless a longer period below applies.
- Payment and loyalty records that we must keep for tax, accounting, or fraud prevention: normally up to six years after the transaction.
- Reviews: removed from public view when you delete your account, unless we must keep a limited copy to investigate a report or a legal claim.
- Support and complaint emails: for as long as needed to resolve the matter and for a short period afterwards.
- One-time codes: only until they expire or are used.
More detail is on the delete your account page.
14. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can ask us to:
- confirm whether we process your information and for a copy of it;
- correct inaccurate information (you can also edit your profile in the app);
- delete your information, or restrict how we use it;
- give you a portable copy of information you provided, where the right applies;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests, and object at any time to direct marketing;
- withdraw consent, without affecting earlier lawful use;
- ask for a human review of a decision that is based only on automated processing and that has a legal or similarly significant effect. Awarding points from a published rule is not that kind of decision. We do not use your data to make solely automated decisions that deny you a legal right.
Email support@voiceforlocals.co.uk. We may need to confirm it is you. We respond within one month, or we will tell you if we need longer. You can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. We would like the chance to put things right first.
15. Security
We use access controls, encrypted connections, and payment handling through Stripe. No online service is perfectly secure. Keep your phone and sign-in codes private. Tell us if you think your account has been misused.
16. Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, where the change is important, we will tell you in the app or by a notification and ask you to agree again when the law or the app requires it. The current version is always at this page.
17. Store listings
This is the privacy-policy URL for the United Kingdom shopper app on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Account deletion is available in the app and is explained at https://voiceforlocals.shop/gb/consumer/delete-account.