Privacy Policy

Our Next Step is run by me, Christopher, a sole trader trading as Our Next Step. I am the “controller” of your personal information, which means I decide how it is used and I am responsible for looking after it. In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean me, trading as Our Next Step.

Postal address:

OurNextStep
Unit 171729
PO Box 6945
London
W1A 6US
United Kingdom

Privacy questions: [email protected]

General enquiries: [email protected]

Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), registration number [ICO NUMBER – TO FOLLOW].

This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who it is shared with, how long it is kept and what your rights are. It applies to the Our Next Step website, waiting-list forms, registration, questionnaires, member profiles, emails, texts and any other contact you have with us.

• Your profile is private. It is never published on the website, and other members cannot browse it.
• I only share your details with someone when I introduce you to them, and only the information needed for that introduction.
• Introductions are decided by me personally, not by an automatic system.
• We never sell your personal information.
• You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time.

Information you give us

Depending on how you use Our Next Step, this may include:

• your name, email address and phone number;
• your date of birth or age;
• the town or area where you live;
• your gender and the gender of the people you’d like to meet;
• your profile answers and questionnaire responses, such as your interests, lifestyle, family situation and what you’re looking for;
• photos, including any photo or selfie used to check your identity;
• what you tell us when you email, text or message us; and
• information you give us when reporting another member.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the website, we and our providers may collect:

• your IP address, device and browser type;
• which pages you visit, how you arrived at the website (for example from an ad or an email) and how you use it;
• whether you open our emails or click their links; and
• login and account activity.

Some of this is collected using cookies and similar technologies. See “Cookies” below.

While Our Next Step is launching, you may join a waiting list. If you do, we collect your name and email address, and sometimes your town and gender.

We use this to manage the waiting list, keep you updated about the launch, invite you to complete your profile, and send you information about membership.

Joining the waiting list does not make you a paid member. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of your information. Ours are:

• To provide the service you have asked for (contract): running your account, reviewing your profile, making introductions, member support and, in future, taking payments.
• To keep members safe (legitimate interests, and legal obligation where applicable): checking identities and photos, preventing fraud and scams, investigating reports and enforcing our Terms & Conditions.
• To run and improve the business (legitimate interests): understanding how people find and use the website and improving the service. Measuring which adverts work relies on your consent to advertising cookies.
• To send you updates and marketing emails (consent, or legitimate interests for people who have joined the waiting list or become members). You can unsubscribe at any time.
• To meet legal requirements (legal obligation): for example keeping financial records and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This won’t affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

Some information you give a dating and introductions service is “special category” information under UK data protection law. For example, the gender of the people you want to meet can reveal your sexual orientation, and you may choose to tell us about your health, religion or ethnicity.

We only use this information to make introductions and keep members safe, and only with your explicit consent, which we ask for when you register.

If you withdraw that consent, we may not be able to make introductions for you.

Please don’t give us sensitive information we haven’t asked for unless you’re comfortable doing so.

To help keep members safe, we may ask you to verify your identity, for example with a selfie that is compared to your profile photos.

We use the result only to confirm you are who you say you are.

Your profile is private. It is not published on the website, and members cannot search or browse other members.

When I make an introduction, I share relevant information from your profile with the person I’m introducing you to. I never share your email address, phone number or exact address unless you ask me to.

I decide on introductions personally, using the information you give me and my own matching tools to help. No decision about you is made solely by an automated system.

Once you’ve been introduced, please think carefully about what you share with the other person. You should not assume they will keep it confidential.

Photos you upload are seen by me, and by the people I introduce you to. I check every photo myself. We may remove photos that break our Terms & Conditions or raise safety concerns.

We never sell your personal information.

We use the following trusted providers to run Our Next Step. They process information on our behalf and only as we instruct them:

• Website hosting: Luminal – stores the website and member information.
• Cloudflare – website security and performance.
• Mailchimp (Intuit), including Mailchimp Transactional – sends our emails and newsletters, and tells us whether emails are opened.
• Twilio – sends text messages, such as verification codes.
• Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager (Google) – website statistics.
• Microsoft Clarity (Microsoft) – page recordings, only if you switch them on in the cookie settings.
• Meta (Facebook and Instagram) – our adverts, and the Meta pixel, which measures how well they work. The pixel only runs if you accept advertising cookies.
• Stripe – takes membership payments. We never see or store your full card details.

We may also share information:

• with professional advisers such as an accountant or solicitor, where needed; and
• where required by law, a court order or the police, or to protect the safety of members or others.

Some of these providers, including Mailchimp, Google, Microsoft and Meta, may process information in the United States or elsewhere outside the UK. Where they do, the transfer is protected by legal safeguards approved under UK law. These include the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, or the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.

Cookies are small files stored on your device. When you first visit, a banner explains what I use, and you can change your choices at any time using the cookie icon in the bottom corner of every page.

• Essential: needed for the website to work, for example keeping you logged in and remembering your cookie choices. These are always on.
• Statistics (Google Analytics): counts which pages people visit and how they found the site, so I can improve it. For visitors in the UK this is on unless you switch it off, as UK law allows for simple statistics. Visitors from the EU are asked first. Google Analytics is set up for statistics only: Google signals, advertising features and data sharing with Google are switched off.
• Page recordings (Microsoft Clarity): shows me how visitors scroll and click, so I can spot pages that are hard to use. This only runs if you switch it on.
• Advertising (Meta pixel): lets Meta (Facebook and Instagram) tell me whether my adverts brought you to the site. This only runs if you accept it, and I don’t send Meta your name, email address or other contact details.

Your cookie choices, and a few small display settings (such as which question cards you’ve already seen), are stored in your own browser and aren’t sent to me.

• Waiting list: until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you. If we haven’t heard from you for two years, we’ll delete your details.
• Member accounts and profiles: while you are a member. When you close your account, we delete your profile and photos within 30 days.
• Safety records (reports, warnings and account bans): up to two years after an account closes, to help protect other members.
• Emails and messages with us: up to two years after our last contact.
• Payment and financial records: for six years, as required by tax law.
• Website statistics: Google Analytics keeps detailed visit data for 2 months, and data linked to a returning visitor for up to 14 months. Our reports only show totals, not individuals.

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration and disclosure. Access to member information is limited to me.

No website can be completely secure. Please keep your login details private, and tell us straight away if you think your account has been accessed without your permission.

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong;
• ask us to delete your information;
• ask us to restrict how we use your information;
• object to how we use your information, including for marketing at any time;
• ask for your information in a format you can take elsewhere; and
• withdraw your consent where we rely on it.

Some of these rights have conditions and exceptions. To use any of them, email [email protected]. We will reply within one month.

You can ask us to delete your account at any time by emailing [email protected]. [Or: using the account deletion option in your member area, once available.]

When you close your account, we delete your information as described above. We may keep some information where the law requires it, for safety reasons, or to deal with legal claims.

Our Next Step is only for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you think someone under 18 has given us information, please let us know and we will delete it.

Our website may link to other websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their privacy policies.

We may update this policy as Our Next Step develops. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. If we make important changes, we’ll tell members and the waiting list by email.

If you’re unhappy with how we have handled your information, please email [email protected] first and I’ll do my best to put it right.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.