Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how Black Hive Digital Ltd collects, uses and protects personal information when you use this website, contact us or work with us.

Who we are

Black Hive Digital Ltd is a company registered in Northern Ireland under company number NI702221. Our registered office is 6a Glenavy Road, Ballinderry Upper, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, BT28 2PE.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Black Hive Digital Ltd is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

If you have a question about this policy or how we use your information, email hello@blackhivedigital.com or telephone 028 9600 5098.

Information we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

• Contact information, including your name, business name, job title, email address, telephone number and postal address.
• Enquiry information, including information you provide through our contact and project enquiry forms, such as your requirements, budget, timescale and any files you choose to submit.
• Client and project information, including correspondence, meeting notes, proposals, contracts, project materials, website credentials and support requests.
• Billing information, including invoice details and records of payments. We do not normally store full payment-card information.
• Technical information, including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, referral source and information recorded in server or security logs.
• Marketing preferences, where you have asked to receive communications or have chosen to unsubscribe.

How we collect information

We collect information directly from you when you complete a form, email, telephone, meet with us, request a proposal, become a client or ask us to provide support.

We may also collect limited technical information automatically through essential website technologies, server logs and, where you have consented, analytics cookies. We may receive information from publicly available business sources, referrals or professional contacts where it is appropriate to respond to an enquiry or explore a legitimate business opportunity.

How and why we use your information

We use personal information only where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the circumstances, we may use your information:

• To respond to enquiries and take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• To prepare proposals, provide web design, development, hosting, maintenance, support and related services, and otherwise perform our contracts with clients.
• To manage projects, client relationships, invoices, payments and business records.
• To operate, secure, maintain, diagnose and improve this website and the services we provide.
• To protect our systems, investigate misuse and establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
• To comply with legal, regulatory, accounting and tax obligations.
• To send marketing communications where you have consented or where permitted by law. You may opt out at any time.

Our lawful bases may include performance of a contract, taking steps before a contract, compliance with a legal obligation, our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business and services, and consent where consent is required.

Our legitimate interests

Where we rely on legitimate interests, those interests may include responding to business enquiries, managing client relationships, keeping appropriate business records, maintaining the security and performance of our systems, improving our services and promoting our business to relevant professional contacts. We consider the impact on your rights before relying on this basis.

Who we share information with

We may share personal information with trusted service providers where necessary to operate our business or provide services. These may include:

• Website hosting, cloud infrastructure, backup, security and domain service providers.
• Email, communication, project-management, file-storage and productivity providers.
• Analytics and website performance providers, where the relevant technologies have been enabled with consent.
• Payment, bookkeeping, accounting, legal and other professional advisers.
• Specialist collaborators or subcontractors involved in a project, where appropriate and subject to suitable confidentiality and data-protection arrangements.
• Public authorities, regulators, courts or law-enforcement bodies where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect legal rights.

We do not sell personal information.

International transfers

Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred internationally, we take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate legal safeguard is in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contractual protections.

How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, accounting and reporting requirements.

• General enquiries and unsuccessful proposals are normally retained for up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact.
• Client, contractual, project and financial records may normally be retained for up to seven years after the end of the relevant relationship or accounting period.
• Routine server, diagnostic and security logs are generally retained for a shorter period, commonly between 30 and 90 days, unless they are needed to investigate an incident.
• Analytics information is retained according to the settings of the analytics service and our consent configuration.
• Marketing information is retained until you unsubscribe or we determine that it is no longer relevant.

We may retain information for longer where required by law, to resolve a dispute or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

How we protect information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. These measures include access controls, managed hosting, software maintenance, backups and security monitoring where appropriate. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• Ask for access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Ask us to delete your information.
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing.
• Ask for certain information in a portable format.
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may depend on the reason we hold your information. To exercise a right, contact hello@blackhivedigital.com. We may need to confirm your identity before responding.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Essential technologies may operate without consent where they are necessary for the website to function. Optional analytics or marketing technologies will be used only in accordance with your consent choices. Please read our Cookie Policy for further information.

Third-party websites

This website may link to websites operated by other organisations. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, and you should review their policies before providing personal information.

Children

Our services are intended for businesses and are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through this website.

Complaints

Please contact us first if you have a concern so that we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection. Visit ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services, legal obligations or use of personal information changes. The latest version will always be published on this page.