Privacy notice
Last updated 30 October 2026
I collect as little about you as I can: enough to take your booking, run your sessions and answer your emails. I do not sell your information, and every marketing email I send has a link to unsubscribe.
Who I am
Bitten by the Vibe is run by me, Alan Hopley, a sole trader based in London. I decide how your personal information is used, which makes me the "controller" under UK data protection law.
For any question about your information, email hello@bittenbythevibe.com.
What I collect, why, and the legal basis
| When | What I collect | Why, and the legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| You book and pay | Name, email, company name if you want an invoice, what you bought and when. Stripe handles your card details: I see only the card type and last four digits. | To provide what you booked (contract). To keep accounts for HMRC (legal obligation). |
| You book a free chat, coaching hour or scoping call | Name, email, the time you chose and your answers to the booking questions. | To hold the call and prepare for it (contract, or steps you ask me to take before entering into one). |
| You email me | Your email address and whatever you choose to write. | To reply (legitimate interests: answering the people who contact me). |
| You join a live session | The name you show, your video if your camera is on, your voice and chat messages. Sessions are not recorded. | To run the session (contract). |
| You visit this website | Standard server logs kept by the hosting provider, including IP address, browser and pages requested. | To deliver and protect the website (legitimate interests). |
| You accept analytics cookies | How you found the site and which pages you looked at, through Google Analytics. | To see which pages help people and which do not (consent, which you can withdraw). |
| You tell me about something that helps you learn | What you choose to tell me, which might include information about neurodivergence, a disability or your health. | To make adjustments for you (contract). Because this can be health information, I also rely on your explicit consent, which you give by telling me and can withdraw at any time. |
| You complete a course | Your name, the course and the date you completed it, under a credential ID printed on your certificate. | To issue your certificate and let anyone you give the ID to, such as an employer, check it online (contract). |
| You sign up for emails, or you have booked with me | Your name and email address. | To send occasional emails with hints, tips and news about courses. If you signed up, that is consent. If you booked with me and did not opt out at the time, it is legitimate interests, under the rule that lets a business email its own customers about similar services. |
To book, I need your name and email address. Without them I cannot confirm your place or send joining details. Everything else is optional.
I do not use your information to make automated decisions about you.
Who I share it with
I use these services to run the business. Each one processes your information to provide its service:
- Stripe (Stripe Payments UK Ltd): card payments and receipts.
- Cal.com (Cal.com, Inc., United States): booking calls and coaching sessions.
- Google: website hosting (Firebase), my calendar, live sessions (Google Meet) and, only if you accept cookies, Google Analytics.
- Apple: email, through iCloud Mail.
- Anthropic (Anthropic Ireland, Limited): Claude, which I use to help draft replies and plan sessions. I have switched off the setting that lets Anthropic use my chats to train its models. I do not put information about adjustments, health or disability into Claude or any other AI tool.
I would also share information with HMRC or an accountant if the law required it, or with any other organisation the law requires.
Cal.com, Google, Apple and Stripe's US parent company process some data in the United States. They are certified under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (the "UK-US data bridge"), which the UK government recognises as giving adequate protection. Anthropic transfers data to the United States under standard contractual clauses approved for UK transfers.
How long I keep it
- Payment and booking records: for as long as HMRC requires, which is at least 5 years after the 31 January Self Assessment deadline for that tax year. Then I delete them.
- Your answers to booking questions and our emails: 24 months after we were last in touch, unless they are part of a booking record.
- Information about adjustments: deleted when your course or coaching ends, unless you ask me to keep it for future bookings.
- Google Analytics data: deleted after 2 months.
- Certificate records: kept so your credential can still be checked, until you ask me to remove them.
- Marketing email list: until you unsubscribe. I keep a note that you unsubscribed so I do not email you again.
- Server logs: kept by Google for running Firebase Hosting, under Google's own retention rules. I only look at them to investigate a problem with the site.
Cookies
This website sets no cookies unless you choose "Accept" on the cookie banner. If you do, Google Analytics sets two:
| Name | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes one visitor from another | 2 years |
| _ga_ followed by an ID | Remembers the state of your visit | 2 years |
Your choice is saved in your browser, so the banner does not ask again. To change your mind, use "Cookie settings" at the bottom of any page. If you switch from Accept to Reject, the Google Analytics cookies are deleted.
Stripe and Cal.com set their own cookies when you use their pages to pay or book.
Your rights
You can ask me to:
- give you a copy of the information I hold about you,
- correct anything that is wrong,
- delete your information, where I do not have to keep it by law,
- limit how I use it while a question about it is resolved,
- send it to you, or to someone else, in a machine-readable format.
Your right to object. Where I rely on legitimate interests, such as replying to emails or keeping server logs, you can object and I will stop unless I have compelling grounds to continue. You can stop marketing emails at any time with the unsubscribe link in any of them, or by emailing me, and I will stop. You can also withdraw consent to analytics cookies at any time through "Cookie settings".
To exercise any of these rights, email hello@bittenbythevibe.com. It is free, and I will respond within one month.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how I have handled your information, email me at hello@bittenbythevibe.com with "Data protection complaint" in the subject. I will acknowledge it within 30 days, investigate it, keep you updated and tell you the outcome.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes
When I change how I use personal information, I will update this notice and the date at the top.