Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 15 July 2025

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The Competition Hive (accessible at competitionhive.co.uk) is committed to protecting your privacy and personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how The Competition Hive ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information when you use our skill-based prize competition website, in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. By using our website or entering our competitions, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

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Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process the following types of personal data from our users:

• Identity and Contact Information: When you create an account or enter a competition, we collect your name, email address, phone number, and shipping address (for prize delivery purposes).

• Age Verification: We require confirmation that you are 18 years of age or older. This may involve collecting your date of birth or a simple confirmation (e.g. a checkbox or popup) to ensure you meet our age requirements.

• Account Credentials: You provide a password (or other login credentials) when creating an account. This information is stored in an encrypted form for security.

• Competition Entry Records: We maintain records of the competitions you enter, including details of entries (such as entry date, entry answers or selections) and outcomes (e.g. whether you won a prize). This allows you to review your past participation and helps us administer the competitions fairly.

• Payment Information: If you make a payment to enter a competition, your payment details (e.g. credit/debit card information) are processed by our third-party payment provider. We do not store your full card details on our servers. We receive transaction information such as the amount, date, and status of your payment, which we keep for record-keeping and verification.

• Website Usage Data: When you interact with our site, we automatically collect certain technical data via cookies and analytics tools. This includes your IP address, browser type, device information, and browsing actions on our site (e.g. pages viewed, time spent, clicks). This usage data helps us analyze site performance and improve our services.

• Communication Data: If you contact us (for example, by emailing us or via a contact form), we will collect the information in your inquiry or feedback, along with our communications back to you. This may include records of support requests, questions about competitions, or any other correspondence between you and The Competition Hive.

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How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

• Account Setup and Management: To create your account and manage your profile. We use your information to register you as a user, allow you to log in securely, and enable you to view and manage your competition entries and account settings.

• Competition Entry and Participation: To process your competition entries and facilitate your participation. This includes verifying your eligibility (such as age and residency), entering you into the competition draws, contacting you if you win, and delivering prizes to you. We use your shipping address for prize fulfillment when necessary.

• Payment Processing: To collect entry fees and handle transactions for competitions. Payments are processed by our third-party payment processor, which uses your payment information to complete the transaction. We use the transaction details (not your card number) to confirm your payment and entry.

• Communication and Customer Support: To communicate with you about your account and competition entries. We may send you service-related emails or messages to confirm your entries, notify winners, arrange prize delivery, or alert you to important changes (such as updates to our terms or this policy). We may also respond to your inquiries, provide customer support, and send technical or security notices as needed. We may contact you via email and, if necessary, by phone or SMS (for example, to notify a winner or resolve an issue), using the contact information you provided.

• Marketing and Newsletters: If you have given consent, we use your contact details to send promotional communications, such as newsletters, special offers, or updates about new competitions and services. Each marketing email will contain an unsubscribe link so you can opt out at any time. (You can also withdraw your consent later – see Your Rights and Choices below.) We will not send you promotional emails if you have not opted in, and you can manage your email preferences as you wish.

• Analytics and Improvements: To analyze how our website is used and improve its performance and content. We use Wix’s built-in analytics tools and cookies to understand overall visitor behavior (for example, which pages or competitions are most popular, how users navigate the site, etc.). This helps us optimize site layout, fix technical issues, and enhance the user experience. We use this data in aggregate form and do not routinely attempt to identify individual users through analytics.

• Legal and Compliance: To comply with our legal obligations and to enforce our Terms and Conditions. For example, we use age verification measures to comply with laws that prohibit under-18s from entering prize competitions. We may process and retain certain data for tax and accounting purposes (such as keeping transaction records as required by law). Additionally, we may use personal information to prevent, detect, or investigate fraud and to ensure the security of our website (for instance, monitoring for suspicious activity to protect against unauthorized access or cheating in competitions).

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Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. The Competition Hive relies on the following legal bases:

• Consent: We will ask for your consent in situations where it is required, such as when sending you marketing emails or newsletters. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. For example, if you consent to receive our newsletter, you can later unsubscribe and we will stop sending it.

• Contract: Much of our data processing is necessary to perform the contract with you. When you create an account and enter competitions, we must process your personal data to provide the services you have requested. This includes using your details to register your entries, process payments, contact you about competition results, and deliver prizes if you win. In other words, this processing is based on the agreement (Terms and Conditions) between you and The Competition Hive when you participate in our competitions.

• Legal Obligation: We may process personal data to comply with legal obligations. For instance, we are required by law to verify that all participants are at least 18 years old, which is why we collect age confirmations. We also must keep certain records to comply with financial, tax, or gambling regulations (as applicable to skill-based competitions). If authorities lawfully require personal data (for example, for law enforcement or regulatory inquiries), we may process and share data as needed to comply.

• Legitimate Interests: In some cases, we process your data to pursue our legitimate interests in a way that is not overridden by your rights and freedoms. We have a legitimate interest in understanding how our website is used, so we can improve our services (analytics), in ensuring our platform’s security and preventing fraud, and in sending you information about similar competitions or services you have participated in (direct marketing to existing customers). When we rely on legitimate interests, we consider your rights and you have the right to object to such processing (see Your Rights and Choices below). We will not use legitimate interests as a basis for processing your data where your interests or fundamental rights outweigh our business interests.

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Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience and gather information about usage of our site.

• What Are Cookies: Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They allow the site to recognize your browser or device on subsequent visits and can store information such as user preferences or session tokens.

• How We Use Cookies: The Competition Hive uses cookies for several reasons:

  • Essential Cookies: These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. For example, when you log in, we use cookies to maintain your session so you remain logged in as you navigate the site. We also use a cookie to remember that you have confirmed you are over 18, so that the age verification popup is not shown to you on every visit. Without these essential cookies, key features of the site would not work.

  • Analytics Cookies: We use Wix’s built-in analytics tools, which deploy cookies to collect information about how visitors interact with our site. This includes statistics like which pages are visited, how long users stay on the site, how users found our site, and general demographics or device information. The data collected via these cookies is aggregated and anonymized – we look at trends and statistics, not at individual behavior. This helps us improve site performance, content, and overall user experience.

• Cookie Consent: When you first visit our site, you will be presented with a cookie notice or banner (in accordance with ePrivacy rules). If you consent or click “Accept”, non-essential cookies (such as analytics cookies) may be placed on your device. You can choose to decline or disable non-essential cookies. Most web browsers also allow you to control cookie settings and to delete cookies. Please note that if you block or delete certain cookies, some features of our site (like maintaining your login or remembering your age verification) may not function correctly.

• Third-Party Cookies: Our site is hosted on Wix, and Wix’s analytics and site infrastructure may utilize cookies as described above. We currently do not use third-party advertising cookies on The Competition Hive. If in the future we integrate content or services that set their own cookies (for example, embedding a YouTube video or using a third-party analytics service), we will update our cookie usage information. Any third-party cookie usage will be governed by the privacy policy of the respective third party. This Privacy Policy covers our use of cookies, but not cookies set by external providers.

For more details about cookies and how we use them, you may refer to our Cookie Policy (if available) or contact us with any questions.

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Third-Party Service Providers

We do not sell or trade your personal information. However, we do share certain data with trusted third parties when it is necessary to operate our website and services, or as required by law. The main third parties we engage with are:

• Wix (Website Hosting & Platform): Our website is built on and hosted by the Wix.com platform. Wix provides us with the online platform that allows us to offer The Competition Hive services to you. Your data (including personal information and analytics data) may be stored through Wix’s data storage, databases, and general Wix applications. Wix stores data on secure servers behind firewalls. By using our site, you also indirectly share data with Wix as our processor. Wix is a globally recognized website hosting provider that complies with data protection standards. (See Wix’s own Privacy Policy for details on how they handle data.) We have ensured that Wix, as our data processor, is contractually committed to protecting your information in line with UK GDPR requirements.

• Payment Processor: We use a third-party payment provider (for example, a reputable service such as Stripe, PayPal, or a Wix Payments gateway) to handle all payments for competition entries. When you make a payment on The Competition Hive, you are redirected to or interacting with this payment provider, who will process your payment details securely. Your full payment information (e.g. card numbers) is not received or stored by The Competition Hive – it is transmitted directly to the payment provider over encrypted connections. The payment provider then informs us if the payment was successful. Our chosen payment processors are PCI-DSS compliant, meaning they adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards to ensure the safe handling of payment data. This arrangement protects your financial information.

• Email and Newsletter Services: We may use third-party email service providers to help us send out transactional emails (like order confirmations or password resets) and marketing communications (newsletters, announcements) to those who have subscribed. For example, we might use an email marketing platform or Wix’s integrated email tools. These providers will have access to your email address and name (as needed to personalize emails) for the sole purpose of sending emails on our behalf. They are not allowed to use your information for any other purpose, and they must handle your data securely and in accordance with data protection law.

• Delivery and Courier Services: If you win a physical prize, we will use the shipping address (and possibly your phone/email for delivery updates) that you provided to arrange delivery. We may share your name and address with a trusted courier or postal service to send you the prize. Only the necessary details for fulfillment will be shared, and the courier is expected to protect your information and use it only for delivery purposes.

• Legal Disclosure: On rare occasions, we may need to share personal data to comply with legal obligations or respond to lawful requests from authorities. For example, if required by a court order, subpoena, or regulatory requirement, we might disclose data to law enforcement agencies or regulators. We may also disclose information to enforce our own legal rights or agreements (for instance, to pursue a fraud investigation or to handle a dispute), but in doing so we will always respect applicable data protection laws.

• Business Transfers: If The Competition Hive undergoes a business transaction such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user information (including personal data) may be transferred to the new owner as part of that deal. If such a transfer occurs, we will ensure that your personal data remains subject to confidentiality obligations and this Privacy Policy (unless you are notified of changes). We will communicate with users affected by any change in data ownership or usage resulting from a business transfer.

We require all third-party service providers to whom we disclose personal data to treat your information securely and to use it only for the purposes we specify. We strive to keep an updated list of key third parties in this Privacy Policy, and will inform you of any significant changes.

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Data Storage and Security

Your personal data is stored and processed on secure servers. In particular, data you provide through our website is stored in Wix.com’s servers and databases (as our hosting provider) and in the systems of other service providers as described above. We, and our service providers, employ a variety of security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption: Our site is secured via SSL/TLS encryption. This means that when you enter personal information (such as your login credentials or payment details) on our website, that data is encrypted in transit to prevent eavesdropping. Our payment transactions are also encrypted and processed over secure channels by our payment provider.

• Access Controls: Personal data is accessible only to those people who need to use it for the purposes described in this policy. The Competition Hive’s team is small, and access to user data is restricted to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis (for example, to handle customer support or fulfill orders). Our third-party processors (Wix, payment and email providers) also restrict access to your data within their organizations and are bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations.

• Secure Storage: Wix stores our data on secure servers protected by firewalls. Other providers we use also maintain strict security standards (for example, our payment processor maintaining PCI-DSS standards for financial info). We regularly update our systems and employ antivirus and monitoring tools to guard against vulnerabilities and attacks.

Despite our efforts to protect information, no website or Internet transmission is completely secure. However, we continually review and enhance our security practices to protect your data. In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and the relevant supervisory authority (the ICO in the UK) as required by law.

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Data Retention

We will keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, and to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

• Active Accounts: If you have an account with The Competition Hive, we will retain your personal information for as long as your account is active so that we can provide you with our services. This includes keeping your information on file to allow you to log in, enter competitions, and track your entries and past wins.

• Inactive Accounts and Closed Accounts: If you decide to close your account, or if your account remains inactive for an extended period, we will either delete or anonymize your personal data after a reasonable period, unless we need to keep it for legal reasons. For example, we may retain certain information from closed/inactive accounts for a set time frame to comply with tax laws, resolve disputes, prevent fraud, or enforce our terms. Data that is retained for these reasons will be limited to what is necessary and will be securely stored until it is no longer needed.

• Competition Records: Information related to competitions (entries, winners, transaction records) may be kept for the duration of the competition and for a period afterward (for example, to handle any post-competition queries or audits). Winner information might be retained longer to comply with legal obligations (such as proof of winners for legally required winner lists or financial records).

• Deletion of Data: When we no longer have a legitimate need or legal obligation to keep your personal data, we will securely erase it or anonymize it so you can no longer be identified. If you request deletion of your data, we will also take reasonable steps to remove your personal information from our systems (see Your Rights below for more on deletion requests). Do note that even after deletion from our active systems, backup copies might exist temporarily in our archives; however, we have processes to eventually purge or destroy backups in line with our data retention policies.

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Your Rights and Choices

Under UK GDPR, you have certain rights regarding your personal data. The Competition Hive is committed to respecting your rights and has processes in place for you to exercise them. Your key rights include:

• Right to Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, as well as information about how we use it. This is often called a “Data Subject Access Request.” We will provide you with a copy of your data in a suitable format, subject to some exceptions (for example, we may not be able to disclose data that involves other individuals without their consent).

• Right to Rectification: If any of your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to have it corrected or updated. You can update some of your information directly by logging into your account (e.g., you can change your contact details). For any changes you cannot make yourself, you can contact us to rectify the information.

• Right to Erasure: This is also known as the “right to be forgotten.” You may ask us to delete or remove your personal data if there is no compelling reason for us to keep it. For example, if you withdraw consent for our marketing emails, you can request we erase your contact info from our marketing list. We will honour requests for erasure where possible, but please note we may need to retain certain information when required by law or for legitimate business purposes (we will inform you if that is the case). If you have an account and wish to delete it entirely, you can contact us to request account deletion.

• Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. For instance, if you contest the accuracy of the data we hold or object to our processing, you can ask that we 'freeze' the use of your data while we address your concern. When processing is restricted, we can still store your data but will not use it further until the issue is resolved (unless necessary for legal reasons).

• Right to Data Portability: You have the right to obtain the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to have that data transmitted to another data controller where technically feasible. This right applies when the processing is based on your consent or on a contract and is carried out by automated means. In practice, this could mean you can ask us for an export of the personal information in your account, and we will provide it in a format (such as CSV or JSON) that you could import into another service if needed.

• Right to Object: You have the right to object to certain types of processing of your data. Notably, you can object to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing. Direct Marketing – You have an absolute right to object to your personal data being used for marketing purposes at any time. If you object, we will stop using your data for such purposes immediately. Legitimate Interests – If we are processing your data under the legitimate interest basis and you feel this impacts your rights or freedoms, you have the right to object. We will then reconsider our processing in light of your objection, and unless we have a compelling reason to continue (permitted by law), we will pause or stop that processing.

• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. For example, if you consented to receive our newsletter, you can later unsubscribe (withdraw consent), and we will stop that processing. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing done before you withdrew it. It also may not mean we delete data we collected under consent if we have another lawful basis to keep it (we will inform you in such cases).

• Right to Complain: If you believe your data protection rights have been violated, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues. You can find details on how to report a concern on the ICO’s website (ico.org.uk). We encourage you to contact us first with any concerns, and we will do our best to resolve them to your satisfaction.

Exercising Your Rights: You can exercise most of your rights by contacting us (see Contact Us below). We will respond to legitimate requests as soon as possible, and within one month at most (this timeframe can be extended by two further months for particularly complex requests, but we will inform you if an extension is needed). We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests, to ensure we don’t disclose or alter data for the wrong person. Exercising your rights is free of charge in most cases. However, if a request is unfounded or excessive (for example, repetitive), we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse to act on it, in accordance with the law.

Account Controls: If you have an online account with us, you can log in at any time to access and update certain information like your name, email, phone number, or password. You may also view your past competition entries in your account dashboard. For deletion of your account or any data not directly editable through the website, please contact us. We will guide you through the process and confirm once your request has been handled.

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Children’s Privacy and Age Restrictions

Our services are not intended for children or anyone under 18 years of age. The Competition Hive operates prize competitions that are only open to adults (18+), and we strictly enforce this age requirement.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18. During the account registration or entry process, you will be asked to confirm that you are 18 or older (for example, via an age verification popup or checkbox). This age confirmation is a condition of using our site. If you are under 18, do not use this website or provide any personal information to us.

If we learn that we have inadvertently collected information from a person under 18, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our records and terminate any account or entries associated with that individual. If you believe that someone under 18 may have registered on our site or provided us with personal data, please contact us right away so we can investigate and promptly remove the data.

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Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update or modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make changes, we will post the updated policy on this page and update the Last Updated date at the top. For significant changes, we may also provide a more prominent notice (such as a website banner or an email notification to users).

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data. Your continued use of The Competition Hive website after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

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Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights regarding your personal data, please contact us using the information below:

The Competition Hive (Data Controller)
Email: admin@competitionhive.co.uk
Address: [Company Address]
Phone: [Phone Number]

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We are committed to resolving any privacy issue with you. You can reach out to us by email for the quickest response. If you prefer to contact us by postal mail or telephone, please use the address or phone number listed above.

The Competition Hive will gladly answer your questions, address your concerns, or assist you with requests related to your personal data. Your privacy is important to us, and we strive to protect it through this Privacy Policy and our practices.