1. Who We Are
SalonCompare (“we”, “us”, or “our”) operates the website saloncompare.co.uk(the “Site”). We are an independent hair salon price comparison service based in London, United Kingdom. If you have any questions about this privacy policy, you can contact us at hello@saloncompare.co.uk.
2. What Data We Collect
We are committed to collecting only the minimum data necessary to provide and improve our service. The data we may collect includes:
Information You Provide
- Contact form submissions — your name, email address, and message content when you contact us via our website.
- Correspondence — any information you provide when you email us directly.
Information Collected Automatically
- Usage data — pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, and general browsing patterns.
- Device information — browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and device type.
- IP address — used for approximate geolocation (city/region level) and security purposes.
- Cookies and similar technologies — see Section 6 below for full details.
- First-party analytics (optional) — if you accept analytics cookies, we store a random anonymous ID in an HttpOnly cookie, record page views (including the path you view) and visit sessions (to understand repeat use), log which treatment and area you compare when you use the search bar, and store your browser’s referrer when it is sent (for traffic source statistics). This is not used for advertising and is not shared with third parties for analytics.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To provide our service — displaying salon prices, ratings, and comparisons relevant to your area and interests.
- To respond to enquiries — replying to messages you send us via our contact form or email.
- To improve our website — understanding how visitors use the Site so we can enhance the user experience, content, and functionality.
- To ensure security — detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, or technical issues.
- To display advertisements — we may use third-party advertising services (such as Google AdSense) to display relevant ads. These services may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our Site or other websites.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (UK GDPR)
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), we process your personal data on the following legal bases:
- Consent — where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose (e.g. submitting a contact form, accepting cookies).
- Legitimate interests — where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests (e.g. improving our service, understanding usage patterns) and those interests are not overridden by your rights.
- Legal obligation — where we need to process your data to comply with a legal requirement.
5. Third-Party Services
We may use the following third-party services that collect or process data on our behalf:
Google AdSense
We may display advertisements served by Google AdSense. Google uses cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites. You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings.
Google Analytics
We may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our Site. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect anonymous usage data. You can opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Hosting & Infrastructure
Our Site is hosted on infrastructure that may log IP addresses and request metadata for security and performance purposes. This data is retained for a limited period and is not used for marketing.
6. Cookies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. We use the following types of cookies:
| Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Required for the Site to function correctly (e.g. security tokens, session management). | Session |
| Analytics | Help us understand how visitors use the Site so we can improve it. | Up to 2 years |
| Advertising | Used by advertising partners (e.g. Google) to show relevant ads and measure ad performance. | Up to 2 years |
Where required, we use Google's certified consent tools (Privacy & messaging / consent management) so you can accept or decline categories such as advertising and analytics. You can also manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site.
7. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share data in the following limited circumstances:
- Service providers — trusted third parties who help us operate the Site (e.g. hosting, analytics, advertising), bound by data processing agreements.
- Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or governmental authority.
- Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction.
8. Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. Specifically:
- Contact form submissions are retained for up to 12 months, after which they are deleted.
- Analytics data is retained in anonymised/aggregated form and cannot be used to identify individuals.
- Server logs containing IP addresses are retained for up to 90 days.
9. Your Rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:
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
Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
Right to Restrict Processing
Request that we limit how we use your data.
Right to Data Portability
Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to Object
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
To exercise any of these rights, please email us at hello@saloncompare.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
10. Children's Privacy
Our Site is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.
11. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include HTTPS encryption, secure hosting infrastructure, and access controls. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal, regulatory, or operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
13. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or our data practices, please contact us:
SalonCompare
Email: hello@saloncompare.co.uk
London, United Kingdom