1. Who We Are
ConnectHive ("we", "us", "our") operates the ConnectHive platform (the "Platform"), a marketplace connecting businesses with content creators. We are ConnectHive Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17272941, with our registered office at 66 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NA. While ConnectHive is UK-based, the Platform is available to businesses and creators in the United Kingdom and to international users.
We are the data controller for the personal data we collect and process as described in this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the details in Section 11.
2. What This Policy Covers
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect personal data when you use the ConnectHive website, mobile application, and related services, whether you are registering as a business, a creator, or simply browsing our public pages. This policy should be read alongside our Terms of Use, which govern your use of the Platform more generally.
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information You Give Us
- Account information — your name, email address, password, date of birth (creators), phone number, and business or creator display name.
- Onboarding information — business details (industry, what you sell, target customers, budget, goals) or creator details (niche, content vibe, specialisms, platforms, follower counts, bio, location).
- Identity and verification information — for creators, this may include legal name, date of birth, and bank account details for payouts via our payment provider.
- Profile content — profile photos, portfolio images and videos, service listings, campaign posts, and any other content you upload.
- Communications — messages sent through our in-platform messaging system, support enquiries, dispute submissions, and feedback.
- Payment information — credit purchases, transaction history, and (for creators) payout details, processed via our third-party payment provider.
3.2 Information We Collect Automatically
- Usage data — pages visited, features used, time spent on the Platform, and actions taken (e.g. campaigns posted, quotes submitted, services purchased, messages sent).
- Device and technical information — IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, and general location (city/region level).
- Cookies and similar technologies — see Section 8 for details.
3.3 Information From Third Parties
If you choose to verify your social media accounts (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter/X, Twitch, LinkedIn), we receive limited information from those platforms via OAuth — specifically your username and follower/subscriber count. We do not request or receive posting permissions, private messages, or any other private data from connected accounts. If you sign up via a referral link, we receive information that identifies the referring creator so we can apply referral rewards correctly.
4. How We Use Your Information
- To create and manage your account, including verifying your identity and approving your profile.
- To operate the marketplace — matching businesses with creators based on the information in your profile, onboarding answers, campaign posts, and service listings.
- To process payments, hold funds securely on a creator's behalf until a campaign is approved, release payments, and process withdrawals via our payment provider.
- To enable messaging between businesses and creators once a transaction has begun.
- To monitor messages and platform activity for prohibited conduct — including attempts to share contact details, take payment off-platform, or avoid platform fees — as described in Section 6.2 of our Terms of Use.
- To send you service-related communications — order confirmations, receipts, notifications about campaigns, quotes, services, deadlines, disputes, and account status.
- To send marketing communications where you have opted in — you can opt out at any time.
- To moderate content — reviewing campaign posts, service listings, portfolio uploads, and reviews before they go live.
- To investigate and resolve disputes between businesses and creators, including reviewing relevant messages, uploaded files, and account history.
- To detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, policy violations, and attempts to circumvent the Platform.
- To improve the Platform, including analysing usage trends and testing new features.
- To comply with our legal obligations, including tax, accounting, and regulatory requirements.
5. Legal Basis for Processing (UK GDPR)
We rely on the following legal bases under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018:
- Contract — processing necessary to provide the services you have signed up for, including account setup, campaign/service transactions, payments, and dispute resolution.
- Legitimate interests — for fraud prevention, platform security, monitoring for prohibited off-platform conduct, service improvement, and certain marketing to existing users, balanced against your rights.
- Consent — for marketing communications you have opted into, and for OAuth-based social media verification.
- Legal obligation — for record-keeping required by tax, accounting, and other applicable law.
6. Sharing Your Information
6.1 Between Businesses and Creators
- Public profile information (display name, photo, bio, niche, specialisms, platform badges, follower counts, reach category, ratings, service listings) is visible to the other side of the marketplace.
- Your real name, email address, phone number, and date of birth are never shown to the other party at any stage.
- Social media handles and your business website are only revealed to the other party after a completed transaction between you.
- Location is shown at city/town level only — never a full address.
- Messages sent through the in-platform messaging system are visible to the business and creator involved in that conversation, and to ConnectHive's moderation and support team where necessary for monitoring, dispute resolution, or safety purposes as described in this policy and our Terms of Use.
6.2 With Service Providers
We share information with trusted third parties who help us operate the Platform, including: Stripe for payment processing and creator payouts; cloud hosting providers for storing data and content; email service providers for sending notifications and receipts; and analytics providers for understanding how the Platform is used. These providers are only given the information they need to perform their function and are contractually required to protect it.
6.3 Legal and Safety Reasons
- We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental request.
- We may disclose information to protect the rights, property, or safety of ConnectHive, our users, or the public — for example, in cases of suspected fraud, abuse, or attempts to circumvent platform fees.
6.4 Business Transfers
If ConnectHive is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of assets, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change and any choices you may have.
7. Data Retention
- We retain account information for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards to comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations (typically up to 6 years for financial records).
- Transaction records, including campaign posts, service listings, quotes, payments, messages, and dispute history, are retained for record-keeping, dispute resolution, and audit purposes.
- If you delete your account, we will remove or anonymise personal data that is no longer required, except where we are required to retain it by law.
8. Cookies
We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, understand how the Platform is used, and (where you consent) for marketing purposes.
- Essential cookies — required for the Platform to function (e.g. login sessions) — cannot be disabled.
- Functional cookies — remember your preferences and settings.
- Analytics cookies — help us understand usage patterns to improve the Platform.
- Marketing cookies — used only with your consent, for relevant communications.
You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or via our cookie banner on first visit. See our Cookies Policy for full details.
9. Data Security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or alteration, including encryption of sensitive data, access controls, and regular security reviews. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Your Rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Request deletion of your data, subject to our legal retention obligations.
- Object to or restrict certain processing.
- Request a copy of your data in a portable format.
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (e.g. marketing emails, social media verification).
- Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data has been mishandled.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 11.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at support@connecthive.co.uk or by post at ConnectHive Limited, 66 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NA.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you via the Platform or by email. The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy shows when it was last revised. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.