Budviews Privacy Policy
Effective Date: 1st September 2025
1. Who We Are
This privacy policy outlines how Budviews Limited (“Budviews”, “we”, “our” or “us”) collects, uses, shares and protects your personal data when you interact with our mobile app or related services.
Budviews is operated by BUDVIEWS LIMITED, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 16358042.
For privacy-related matters, you may contact our Data-Protection Officer at the following email address: support@budviews.com.
If you are based in the United Kingdom, you have the right to lodge complaints with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
2. What Personal Data We Collect and Why
We collect several types of personal data for specific and limited purposes. We explain below what categories of data we collect, what these categories include, why we collect them, and the legal basis upon which we rely.
We collect account details such as your mobile phone number and email address to facilitate account creation, login, and one-time password (OTP) verification. The legal basis for this processing is contractual necessity and, where applicable, your consent.
When you choose to share your contacts list with Budviews, we access phone contact information to help you find and connect with people you know. This processing is based on your consent and our legitimate interest in enhancing user connectivity.
For your user profile, we may collect your chosen username, profile photo, date of birth, and gender. This information helps us create a social environment and allows others to identify you within the app. This is processed solely based on your consent.
We collect usage and device data, including your IP address, operating system version, and device crash logs. These are used to analyse app performance, maintain security, and improve overall service reliability. The legal basis is our legitimate interest.
If you enable location features, we may collect your location data, such as GPS coordinates or an approximate location, in order to provide relevant suggestions or enhance the user experience. This data is processed only with your consent.
We also process communications data, such as emails you send to our support team and metadata relating to in-app messages, for customer service and legal compliance purposes. This is based on our legitimate interests and, where required, legal obligations.
We want to make clear that Budviews does not sell your personal data under any circumstances.
3. How We Collect Your Data
We collect personal data directly from you when you create an account, submit information manually, or engage with features such as uploading a profile photo or sending messages.
Some data is collected automatically from your device, such as usage logs and crash reports. This helps us maintain the security and performance of our app.
In limited cases, we may collect data from third-party channels, such as messaging providers or analytics services. These third parties act solely to enable features like OTP delivery or app usage analysis.
4. Controller vs Processor Roles
Budviews is the data controller of your personal data. This means that we determine the purposes and means of processing your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
We work with a limited number of trusted service providers, such as cloud hosting, messaging, and analytics providers. These partners act as data processors and operate under strict confidentiality and data protection agreements. In line with Article 28 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK-GDPR), these processors are subject to appropriate technical and organisational safeguards.
5. Why and How We Use Your Data
We use your personal data for several core purposes, including:
Providing, securing, and maintaining the Budviews platform;
Supporting features and services critical to your experience;
Developing new functionalities and improving existing ones;
Complying with legal and regulatory obligations;
Detecting, preventing and responding to security incidents, fraud, or abuse of the platform.
In some instances, our legal basis is the contract formed between you and Budviews. In others, we rely on legitimate interests, especially when evaluating performance and improving the service. When required, we obtain your consent, which you may withdraw at any time through in-app settings or by contacting us.
We strive to balance our legitimate business interests with your privacy rights and will not process your personal data in ways that disproportionately impact your freedoms.
6. Who May Access Your Data
Access to your personal data is limited to specific parties with a lawful reason.
Personnel at Budviews may access your data only to the extent necessary to operate, support, and maintain the service. We employ strict role-based access controls to minimise exposure.
Service providers engaged by Budviews (such as hosting platforms, messaging gateways, and analytics SDK vendors) may access your data solely to provide services on our behalf and are bound by confidentiality and data protection contracts.
We may disclose your data to public authorities when required to comply with legal obligations, such as a valid court order or request from a law enforcement agency.
In the event of a corporate merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale, your data may be shared with successors or potential acquiring entities, provided that such transfers are in accordance with data protection laws.
We do not disclose your data to independent third-party marketing partners.
7. International Data Transfers
Budviews primarily stores your data within data centres located in Western Europe. However, in certain cases, your data may be transferred to countries outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA).
When such transfers occur, we rely on legally recognised safeguards, including the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) and the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC 2021 modules), along with any supplementary measures required by applicable law. These mechanisms are designed to ensure that your data remains protected to a standard essentially equivalent to that of the UK or EEA.
8. Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including contractual obligations, our legitimate interests, or legal requirements.
Once data is no longer needed, we will either securely delete it or irreversibly anonymise it, rendering it non-identifiable. We do not commit to a fixed retention period, as this will depend on the nature of the data, ongoing user engagement, and legal obligations.
9. Security Measures
Protecting your data is a top priority. We implement robust organisational and technical security measures, including:
Encryption of data both in transit and at rest;
Least-privilege access for internal systems;
Real-time monitoring and regular backups to support data integrity and resilience;
These measures are reviewed and updated regularly to stay aligned with industry best practices.
10. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
If you visit our website, we may use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, monitor its performance, and enhance your browsing experience. Detailed information is available in our Cookie Policy, which can be accessed via the footer of our website.
Within the mobile app, we deploy analytics SDKs for the sole purpose of improving user experience and ensuring product reliability. These tools are used only where permitted by law and consistent with your privacy preferences.
11. Your Rights
You have a set of privacy rights that vary depending on your country or region. These may include the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict how your data is processed.
If you are based in the UK or EU, your rights include access to your personal data, correction of inaccuracies, erasure (the right to be forgotten), data portability, restriction of processing, objection to processing, and the right to withdraw consent. You may also lodge complaints with the ICO or another supervisory authority.
For residents of certain U.S. states, including but not limited to California (CCPA/CPRA), Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), and Utah (UCPA), you have the right to request access, correction, deletion, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data. Budviews voluntarily extends these rights in alignment with those granted under these laws.
To exercise your rights, please email us at support@budviews.com. We will take steps to verify your identity before acting on your request.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements, technology, or our service. In the case of material changes, we will notify you by email or via prominent in-app messages. Continued use of the app following any updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
13. Contact
If you have any questions, feedback, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at support@budviews.com.