BUDMASTERGROW

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026 · UK GDPR & Data Protection Act 2018 compliant

In plain English: we collect as little as we can get away with, store it in the EU, never sell it, and delete it when we don't need it. Everything below explains exactly what that means.

1. Who we are

BudMaster Grow™ is a UK business based in Poole, Dorset. For the purposes of UK GDPR, we are the data controller for any personal data you give us through this website, pre-orders, email, or the phone line.

Contact for anything privacy-related: hi@budmastergrow.com · 01202 798433

2. What data we collect, and why

When you browse the site

We run PostHog (EU-hosted in Frankfurt) for product analytics. By default, before you give consent, nothing is sent to PostHog. Once you accept analytics cookies, PostHog captures:

We explicitly do not record your keystrokes, mouse movements, or form inputs. Session replays are off. Autocapture is off. We respect the Do Not Track browser header.

Lawful basis: consent (UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)) — you opt in via the cookie banner, and can withdraw at any time.

When you join the waitlist or pre-order

To let you know when we ship, we need:

Lawful basis: contract performance (UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)) — we can't fulfil an order without knowing where to send it.

When you use the product-decision quiz

The quiz stores your anonymous answers so we can understand which products are in demand. We store a one-way hash of your IP address (so the same person can't submit 500 times, but we can't de-anonymise it) — no email, no name, no identifying info.

Lawful basis: legitimate interest (UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)) — understanding demand with minimal data.

When you message Bert (our chat widget)

Your chat messages are sent to our server to generate a response. We keep chat logs for 30 days to debug conversations that go wrong, then delete them. We don't train AI models on your messages.

Lawful basis: legitimate interest (UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)) — keeping a working support channel.

When you pay for something

We use Stripe (for card payments) and BTCPay Server (for Bitcoin / Lightning). Payment details — card numbers, Bitcoin wallet addresses — never touch our servers. They go directly between you and the payment processor. We only see: the payment confirmation, the amount, your email (to send a receipt), and your delivery address.

Lawful basis: contract performance. Stripe's privacy notice: stripe.com/privacy.

When you call or text the phone line

Our phone number (01202 798433) is handled by Voipfone. Calls go to voicemail; messages are transcribed and emailed to us. Voipfone holds call metadata (date, duration, incoming number) under their own privacy policy.

Lawful basis: legitimate interest — customer support.

3. Who we share data with

We do not sell or trade personal data. Ever. We do use a small number of EU-hosted or UK-hosted third-party services:

ServiceWhat we shareWhy
PostHog (Frankfurt, EU)Anonymous session + page views (consent-gated)Analytics
Stripe (Ireland EU entity)Email, delivery address, amountCard payments
BTCPay Server (self-hosted)Email onlyBitcoin / Lightning payments
Voipfone (UK)Phone call metadataPhone line + voicemail
Anthropic Claude API (EU inference)Bert chat messages (no identifiers)Chat responses
Email provider (UK)Order confirmation + support repliesEmail delivery
Royal Mail / DPD / courier of your choiceName + delivery addressShipping

All third parties above are GDPR-compliant and process data under written agreements with us.

4. International transfers

All data stays in the UK or EU. We explicitly chose EU-region hosting (Frankfurt) for PostHog and EU-inference for Claude to avoid US data transfers. Our own servers are UK-hosted.

5. How long we keep it

DataKept forThen
Order records (email, address, what you bought)6 yearsUK tax law retention (HMRC)
Waitlist emails (no pre-order)Until you unsubscribe, or 2 years of inactivityDeleted
Bert chat logs30 daysDeleted
Voicemail messages90 daysAuto-deleted by Voipfone
PostHog analytics7 years max (platform default); anonymous sessions effectively forever but not linked to youPostHog retention policy applies
Quiz submissions (hashed IP only)1 yearAggregated into statistics, then deleted

6. Your rights (UK GDPR)

You can ask us, at any time, to:

Email hi@budmastergrow.com from the address we have on file. We'll respond within 30 days (usually within a week) and won't charge you.

7. Cookies and similar technologies

We use a small number of cookies + local-storage items:

TypeName patternPurposeNeeds consent?
Essentialbm_cookie_consentRemembers your cookie-banner choiceNo
Analyticsph_* (PostHog)Anonymous session + page-view trackingYes
PaymentSet by Stripe during checkoutFraud prevention (Stripe's domain)Implicit via checkout

You can change your consent any time by clicking "Manage cookies" in the footer, or by clearing your browser's site data.

8. Security

Servers run current OS security patches. Payment details never touch our infrastructure (they go direct to Stripe / BTCPay). Admin access requires a password + IP allow-list. Customer data backups are encrypted at rest.

If we ever have a breach that puts your data at risk, we will notify you within 72 hours of discovery, as required by UK GDPR.

9. Complaints

If you're not happy with how we handle your data, email us first — we'll do our best to put it right. If you're still not satisfied, you have the right to complain to the UK data-protection regulator:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113 · Website: ico.org.uk

10. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of the page and, for material changes, email customers on the waitlist or order list. We keep previous versions on request.

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