Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Brits in Tech ("we", "us", "our") is a community based in New York that brings together British startup founders, operators, engineers and investors. Brits in Tech is operated as a DBA of The Knowledge Shop LLC, a New York limited liability company.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect through britsintech.com and everything we offer through or alongside it — the member directory, events, programmes, newsletters and other communications, community channels we run, paid offerings, and any other features we make available now or in the future (together, the "Services", as defined in our Terms & Conditions) — how we use it, and the rights you have over it.

Data controller / business: The Knowledge Shop LLC (dba Brits in Tech), 44-70 21st Street #3235, Long Island City, New York 11101, USA. Telephone: (347) 460-8027.

For any privacy question or request: privacy@britsintech.com. General contact: info@britsintech.com.

This Policy applies to the Services operated under the Brits in Tech brand. It sits alongside the privacy practices of our parent entity, The Knowledge Shop LLC; where Brits in Tech data is processed, this Policy governs. It should be read together with our Terms & Conditions.

2. What we collect

We collect data you give us, data generated when you use the Services, and a small amount of data from third parties. Depending on which parts of the Services you use, this may include:

• Membership applications — name, email, location, LinkedIn, what you do, why you want to join.
• Investor programme applications — firm, role, investment focus, contact details.
• Sponsor enquiries — company, contact, message.
• Member directory profile — information you choose to publish to other members. Your directory profile is visible to other members of the community; you control what it contains and can update or remove it at any time.
• Event registrations and attendance — RSVPs and check-ins, usually via our event platforms (see Section 6), plus any dietary or accessibility information you choose to give us for a specific event (used only for that event).
• Event photography and video — images and recordings taken at our events (see Section 5).
• Community channels — content you post in group chats, messaging workspaces or similar channels we run. The platform provider's own privacy policy also applies to your use of their service.
• Newsletter and communications data — email address, opt-in timestamp, and basic engagement data our email providers generate (such as whether a message was delivered or opened).
• Payment and purchase data — if you buy something from us (membership, event ticket, digital content, merchandise or sponsorship): what you bought, amounts, billing details and, for physical goods, a delivery address. Card payments are handled by our payment providers; we never see or store your full card number.
• Account & authentication data — if you sign in: email, hashed credentials or OAuth identifiers.
• Technical data — IP address, browser type, timestamps and similar data needed to deliver the site securely.
• Contributions and feedback — content you submit for our publications, surveys you answer, or feedback you send us.

The Services are intended for adults aged 18 and over (see our Terms). We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided personal data to us, please contact privacy@britsintech.com and we will take reasonable steps to delete it from our records.

3. How we use it

• To review and respond to membership, investor and sponsor applications.
• To operate the member directory and community channels, and connect members with each other.
• To run events — managing registrations, entry, capacity, catering and accessibility, and following up afterwards.
• To process payments, deliver what you've bought (including shipping any physical goods), manage renewals and refunds, and keep required financial records.
• To send you service messages (application updates, account and billing notices, event confirmations, changes to our terms).
• To send our newsletter and other marketing communications, where permitted by law — for example where you have subscribed or opted in. Every marketing message includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time via privacy@britsintech.com. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop service messages.
• To take and use event photography and video for community and promotional purposes (see Section 5).
• To provide member perks, listings or introductions — where this involves passing your details to a third party, we do it only at your request.
• To share attendee details with the sponsors of sponsored events. Where an event is sponsored on this basis, we say so clearly on the event page, name the sponsor, and tell you what they will receive (typically your name, company and email) — registering for the event means your details will be passed to that sponsor, who may contact you about their products or services. If you'd rather attend without being included, contact us at privacy@britsintech.com before the event and we will leave you off the sponsor list; you can also unsubscribe from a sponsor's communications with them directly at any time.
• To keep the Services secure, prevent abuse and fraud, enforce our Terms and Code of Conduct, and comply with legal obligations.
• To understand and improve the Services, using aggregated or de-identified information wherever possible.

We never sell your data to data brokers or advertisers, and we do not use your personal data for third-party advertising. Other than sponsor sharing as described above, we do not pass your personal data to third parties for their own use. If we ever introduce a new use that is incompatible with the purposes above, we will update this Policy and, where the law requires, ask for your consent first.

4. Legal bases (UK / EU GDPR)

Where UK or EU data protection law applies, we rely on:

• Contract / pre-contract steps — processing your application or enquiry, providing your membership, fulfilling purchases, running events you register for.
• Consent — newsletter and marketing sign-ups, optional cookies or analytics, and any other processing where we ask first. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests — running, securing and improving the community; operating the directory for members; sharing attendee details with the sponsors of sponsored events, with clear notice at registration and the right to object (see Section 3); event photography for community and promotional use (balanced against your rights, with the opt-outs described in Section 5); enforcing our Terms; basic service analytics.
• Legal obligation — keeping tax and accounting records, responding to lawful requests.

5. Event photography and video

Photos and short video may be taken at our events for community and promotional use. Where photography is planned, we say so on the event page. If you would rather not appear, tell an organiser at the event and we will do our best to avoid featuring you. You can also ask us at any time to remove or stop using an image of you by emailing privacy@britsintech.com, and we will do so where reasonably possible (for example, we may not be able to recall printed materials or media already shared by others, but we will remove the image from channels we control).

6. Third parties (processors and partners)

We use a small number of vetted providers to run the Services. Those acting as our processors handle data only on our behalf and under contract, and fall into these categories:

• Hosting, database and authentication — running the site and securely storing member data.
• Network security and content delivery — DNS, protection against bots and abuse.
• Email — delivering transactional messages, newsletters and inbound community email.
• Event platforms — listings, RSVPs and check-ins. When you register for an event through a third-party platform, that platform also acts as an independent controller and its own privacy policy applies to the data you give it directly.
• Payment processing, e-commerce and shipping — taking payments and fulfilling orders, where we sell paid offerings.
• Community messaging platforms — where we run community channels on a third-party service, its own privacy policy also applies to your use of that service.
• Analytics and support tools — only with your consent where the law requires it.

Event sponsors. For sponsored events, the sponsor receives attendee details as described on the event page and in Section 3, and acts as an independent controller of them — its own privacy policy applies to what it does with them. Our sponsor agreements require sponsors to use attendee details only in connection with the event and their own related communications, to comply with applicable privacy and e-marketing law, to honour unsubscribe requests, and not to resell or share the list. You can ask to be left off a sponsor list before any event (Section 3).

We may add or change providers within these categories as the Services grow; any provider is held to the same standard. You can ask us who our current providers are at any time via privacy@britsintech.com.

We may also disclose personal data where required by law or legal process, to protect the rights, safety or property of us, our members or others, or as part of a corporate transaction (such as a merger or sale of the business), in which case this Policy will continue to apply to your data until you are told otherwise.

We never sell your data to data brokers or advertisers.

7. International transfers

We are based in the United States and most of our providers store data in the US or EU. Where personal data leaves the UK or EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards: Standard Contractual Clauses (with the UK Addendum or International Data Transfer Agreement where applicable), our providers' certification under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension where available, or other lawful transfer mechanisms. You can ask us for more information about the safeguards covering your data at privacy@britsintech.com.

8. Retention

We keep personal data only as long as we need it:

• Membership and account data — for as long as your membership is active, and up to 24 months after your last interaction with us.
• Unsuccessful applications — up to 12 months, in case you reapply or ask us to reconsider.
• Directory profiles — until you remove them or your membership ends.
• Newsletter records — until you unsubscribe (we keep a minimal suppression record afterwards so we don't contact you again).
• Purchase, payment and tax records — up to 7 years, as required by tax and accounting law.
• Event photography — for as long as it remains in community and promotional use, subject to your right to ask for removal (Section 5).
• Technical and security logs — short rolling periods appropriate to security needs.

Longer retention applies only where the law requires it or where data is needed for a legal claim. You can ask us to delete your data sooner — see Section 9.

9. Your rights

UK / EU. Under the UK and EU GDPR you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or port your data, to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to withdraw consent at any time (without affecting processing already carried out). Exercising your rights is free of charge. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) or your local supervisory authority — though we'd appreciate the chance to resolve any concern first.

California. Under the CCPA/CPRA you have the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it, to access or delete it, to correct inaccuracies, to opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, and to limit use of sensitive personal information. We do not "share" personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising, and we do not sell data to data brokers or advertisers. The one disclosure we make to third parties for their own use is attendee details provided to the sponsors of sponsored events, as described at registration and in Sections 3 and 6; to the extent this is a "sale" under the CCPA, you may opt out at any time by emailing privacy@britsintech.com or asking to be left off the sponsor list before an event. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights, and we honour opt-out preference signals (such as Global Privacy Control) where required.

Other US states. If you live in a state with its own privacy law (such as Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut or Texas), you may have similar rights of access, correction, deletion and opt-out. We will honour valid requests under those laws too.

To exercise any right, email privacy@britsintech.com from the address associated with your data (or provide enough information for us to verify it's you; you may use an authorised agent where the law allows). We respond within one month (UK/EU) or 45 days (US states), extendable where the law permits for complex requests — we'll tell you if so. If we decline a request, we'll explain why and how to appeal.

10. Cookies

We use a small number of strictly necessary cookies (authentication, session and security). We do not run advertising cookies. If we introduce optional analytics or other non-essential cookies in future, we will ask for your consent first and update this section with the details.

11. Security

Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest by our hosting providers. Access to member data is restricted to organisers who need it. Payment card data is handled by our PCI-compliant payment providers and never stored by us. No system is perfectly secure; please use a strong, unique password. If a data breach occurs that affects you, we will notify you and the relevant authorities where the law requires.

12. Changes

We may update this Policy from time to time, including to reflect new features of the Services or changes in the law. Material changes will be notified by email or via a notice on the site before they take effect where reasonably possible. The "Last updated" date above always reflects the current version.

13. Contact

The Knowledge Shop LLC (dba Brits in Tech)
44-70 21st Street #3235, Long Island City, New York 11101, USA
Telephone: (347) 460-8027
Privacy enquiries: privacy@britsintech.com
General enquiries: info@britsintech.com