Privacy Policy

SalonVQ ("we", "us", "our") provides an online revision and learning platform for students studying hairdressing, barbering, and beauty therapy qualifications. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, and what rights you have over it.

We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. If you have any questions or want to exercise your rights, contact us at hello@salonvq.co.uk.

1. Who this applies to

This policy covers two types of SalonVQ accounts:

• College-managed learners: students whose accounts are created and managed by their college or training provider. If you are a college-managed learner, your college is also involved in handling your data — speak to your tutor or course administrator about their own data protection arrangements alongside this policy.
• Independent learners: students who register for SalonVQ directly, without going through a college. This policy applies fully and directly to independent learners.

SalonVQ is intended for learners aged 16 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

2. What data we collect

Depending on how you use SalonVQ, we may collect:

• Account information: your name, email address, and a securely hashed password (we never store your password in plain text)
• Course information: the qualification and level you're studying towards
• Learning activity: lessons completed, quiz scores, XP and streak data, diagnostic self-assessment results, and any revision plan generated from them
• Technical data: IP address (used for security purposes, such as rate-limiting login attempts), and basic session information needed to keep you signed in

We do not collect payment information directly — if SalonVQ introduces paid subscriptions in future, payment processing will be handled by a third-party payment provider, and this policy will be updated accordingly.

3. Why we collect it

We process your data to:

• Create and manage your account
• Provide the core service — lessons, revision tracking, diagnostic assessments, and personalised revision plans
• Keep your account secure (e.g. detecting suspicious login activity)
• Respond to support requests, including password resets
• Improve the platform based on how it's used

Legal basis: For independent learners, we process your data on the basis of performing our contract with you (providing the service you signed up for) and our legitimate interest in keeping the platform secure and functional. For college-managed learners, your college determines the legal basis under its own arrangements with us.

4. How long we keep your data

We keep your account and learning data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your independent-learner account (available from your Profile screen), we permanently delete your account record and associated learning data at the point of deletion.

For college-managed learners, retention is determined by your college's arrangements with us.

5. Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

• Resend (our email delivery provider) — to send password reset and account-related emails
• Replit (our hosting provider) — where your data is stored
• Your college, if you are a college-managed learner

We do not share your data with advertisers or use it for advertising purposes.

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data (independent learners can do this directly from the app; college-managed learners should contact their college or us)
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Data portability, where technically feasible

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@salonvq.co.uk. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe we have not handled your data properly.

7. Security

We use industry-standard practices to protect your data, including salted password hashing, session-based authentication, and rate limiting on login and account-creation endpoints to reduce the risk of automated abuse. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We'll update the "Last updated" date at the top when we do. Continued use of SalonVQ after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

9. Contact us

Email: hello@salonvq.co.uk