Last updated: 1 February 2026
africanstores.co.uk ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website and services.
This policy applies to all visitors, registered users, and store owners who interact with africanstores.co.uk. By using our platform, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
We collect the following types of information:
Account Information — When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and password. Store owners may additionally provide business name, address, phone number, and business details.
Usage Data — We automatically collect information about how you interact with our platform, including pages visited, search queries, stores viewed, and features used. This helps us improve the user experience.
Location Data — When you search for stores by postcode or city, we process location data to provide relevant results. We do not track your real-time location.
Communications — Messages sent between customers and stores through our messaging feature are stored to enable the conversation. Review content and ratings you submit are stored and displayed publicly.
Device Information — We collect basic device and browser information including device type, operating system, browser type, and screen resolution for optimisation purposes.
We use your information to:
We will never sell your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.
If you claim a store listing, additional information applies:
Business Details — Your store name, address, phone number, opening hours, and category are displayed publicly on your listing page.
Analytics Data — We provide you with anonymised analytics about how users interact with your listing, including view counts, call button taps, direction requests, and follower counts. Individual users are never identified in these analytics.
Subscription Data — If you subscribe to a paid plan, payment is processed securely through our payment provider. We store your subscription status and billing history but do not store full card details.
Messaging — Messages received from customers are accessible through your dashboard. You are responsible for handling customer communications appropriately.
We share your information only in the following circumstances:
Publicly Visible Content — Reviews, ratings, and any content you choose to make public are visible to all users. Store owners' business details are displayed publicly.
Service Providers — We use trusted third-party services for hosting, email delivery, payment processing, and analytics. These providers only access information necessary to perform their services.
Legal Requirements — We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or the public.
Business Transfers — In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user information may be transferred as part of the transaction.
We use cookies and similar technologies to:
Essential Cookies — Required for basic functionality (authentication, security). These cannot be disabled.
Analytics Cookies — Help us understand usage patterns to improve the platform. You can opt out of these through your browser settings.
We do not use advertising cookies or share cookie data with advertisers.
Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), you have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@africanstores.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.
You can also delete your account and all associated data through the Settings page in your profile.
We take reasonable measures to protect your information, including:
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to security@africanstores.co.uk.
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
Reviews may be retained in anonymised form after account deletion to preserve the integrity of store ratings.
Our platform is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected such information, we will promptly delete it.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify registered users by email and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
Your continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data:
Email: privacy@africanstores.co.uk
Address: africanstores.co.uk, London, United Kingdom
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.