Data Retention Policy

This Data Retention Policy describes how Hometown Hub collects, stores, and removes personal data and other information in connection with its services. By using our platform, you acknowledge the practices described in this document.

This policy applies to all personal data and user-generated content processed by Hometown Hub through its online learning platform and related services. It governs how long different categories of data are retained and the procedures followed when data is no longer required.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that data is kept only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with applicable legal obligations, and to protect the rights of individuals whose data we hold.

This includes your name, email address, account credentials, profile preferences, and any information you provide when registering or updating your account. This data is retained for the duration of your active account and for a defined period following account closure.

This includes course progress records, lesson completions, quiz results, certificates earned, and interaction logs within the learning environment. This data is retained to support your learning history and to allow you to resume or reference past activity.

This includes messages sent through our platform, support requests, feedback submissions, and email correspondence with our team. Communication records are retained to provide consistent support and to maintain an accurate service history.

This includes log files, IP addresses, browser and device information, session data, and usage analytics. This data is collected automatically and is used to maintain platform security, diagnose issues, and improve service performance.

This includes transaction records, billing history, and payment confirmation details. Detailed payment card information is not stored directly by us and is handled by our payment processors. Billing records are retained as required for financial and legal obligations.

Retention periods vary depending on the category of data and the purpose for which it is held. The following general principles apply:

Data associated with an active account is retained for the full duration of the account's existence. This includes profile data, learning records, and communication history necessary to deliver our services.

When an account is closed or deleted, personal data is retained for a period of up to 90 days to allow for account recovery requests and to complete any pending processes. After this period, personal data is either deleted or anonymised, unless a longer retention period is required by law or for legitimate business purposes such as dispute resolution or fraud prevention.

Certain categories of data, including financial records and records related to legal claims or regulatory requirements, may be retained for longer periods as required by applicable law. In such cases, data is retained only to the extent necessary and is protected from further processing beyond the required purpose.

Server logs and technical usage data are typically retained for a period of up to 12 months. Aggregated and anonymised analytics data, from which individuals cannot be identified, may be retained indefinitely for service improvement purposes.

Records of your communication preferences and consent to receive marketing communications are retained for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period following account closure, in order to honour opt-out requests and maintain suppression lists.

When data reaches the end of its retention period, it is either securely deleted or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with any individual. Deletion processes are carried out in a manner that makes recovery of the data impractical.

Anonymised data that cannot be linked back to an individual is not subject to this policy and may be retained and used for research, analytics, and service development without restriction.

All retained data is stored using appropriate technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect against unauthorised access, loss, or destruction. Access to retained data is restricted to personnel and systems that require it to perform their functions.

We review our storage practices periodically to ensure that retained data remains adequately protected throughout its lifecycle.

You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you, to request correction of inaccurate data, and to request deletion of your data where there is no overriding legal basis for continued retention.

Requests for data deletion will be processed in accordance with this policy. Where a legal obligation requires us to retain certain data, we will inform you of this and explain the basis for continued retention.

To exercise your rights or to ask questions about how your data is retained, please contact us using the details provided at the end of this policy.

We work with third-party service providers who may process data on our behalf, including hosting providers, payment processors, and analytics services. These providers are required to handle data in accordance with our instructions and to apply retention and deletion practices consistent with this policy.

We do not authorise third-party processors to retain your data beyond the periods defined in this policy unless required by their own legal obligations.

We may update this Data Retention Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or service offerings. When material changes are made, we will notify users through the platform or by email prior to the changes taking effect. The date at the top of this document indicates when it was last revised.

Continued use of our services following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

If you have questions or concerns about this Data Retention Policy or about how your data is handled, please reach out to us: