Your privacy

Who is responsible

Canine Groom School Ltd is responsible for the personal information used to run this service. Contact us with a privacy question or request using these details.

Canine Groom School Ltd, Howgill Farm, Howgill Lane, Rimington, Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 4EF. Email info@caninegroomschool.co.uk or call 01200 445795.

Information you provide

Depending on your role, this may include:

• Account and contact details: your name, email, account credentials and phone number.
• Apprentice profile: date of birth, address, postcode, profile photo, qualifications, experience, interests, chosen programmes, education and work-eligibility answers, availability, travel range and application answers.
• Business profile: business and contact names, contact details, premises, services, team size, vacancies and funding-readiness answers.
• Optional funding review: provider-review consent and eligibility information, which can include an Education, Health and Care plan or care experience recorded by the school during a consented funding review.
• Member activity: applications, connection and call-request decisions, support requests, reports, blocks and records of accepting our terms.

Please avoid adding sensitive personal information to free-text answers unless it is necessary for your request.

Why we use it

We use account and profile information to provide the service you request: registering and reviewing membership, showing suitable nearby opportunities, handling applications and providing support. We use safety reports, account security records and limited diagnostics to protect members and maintain a reliable service. These uses support performance of our agreement with you and our legitimate interests in operating and safeguarding the network. Where we rely on consent for an optional feature, you may withdraw it.

Required fields are necessary to create or review your profile. If you do not provide them, we may be unable to offer that part of the service. Our team reviews membership and apprenticeship decisions. Distance filtering helps select results; it does not itself decide whether you get a job or an apprenticeship.

Age and membership

App membership is for people aged 18 or over. We use an Apprentice’s date of birth to check this requirement and calculate the age shown on relevant profile and application views. Nearby-member results do not show the full date of birth. Business members must also confirm that they are 18 or over.

Location and visibility

We use the address or postcode you enter to calculate a search location and show results within your chosen radius. The app does not require your device’s GPS location. An approximate map pin can still be based on a saved address, so this is location information.

Approved members can see appropriate profiles and vacancies. Within an application, the apprentice and business can see each other’s address and postcode. Phone contact details are shared after an application or connection is accepted. Business names and premises details can also be visible according to the vacancy’s visibility setting. Our authorised team can access records needed for review, support and safeguarding.

Photos, notifications and technical data

The photo picker shares only the image you select. We upload that image to provide your profile photo. On Android, Google Firebase Cloud Messaging creates an app installation identifier for its notification service. This can happen even if you decline notification permission, which controls whether notifications can be displayed. If you allow notifications, the app also sends an Expo push token to our service to route updates through Expo and Apple or Google. You can turn notifications off in your phone settings.

Turning off notifications or deleting your app account does not automatically delete the Firebase installation identifier. Google retains FCM installation identifiers until its customer requests deletion through Firebase. After that request, removal from live and backup systems may take up to 180 days.

Sentry processes crash and error diagnostics when configured. This can include an account identifier, app and operating-system versions, device information and limited error context. The store release does not initialise product analytics or session replay. Internal test versions may use PostHog for app usage events and masked session recordings. Passwords, contact fields and selected profile images are excluded or masked by the app’s telemetry controls. Technical services may process network addresses when handling requests.

Service providers and sharing

We use Convex for account, database and file services and Resend for service emails. MapTiler provides map tiles using OpenStreetMap data; Geoapify provides address suggestions and Nominatim geocodes saved addresses for location matching. Map display and address services receive the request information needed to provide those features. Expo routes push requests, with Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google) on Android and Apple Push Notification service on iOS. Sentry and PostHog support diagnostics and analytics when configured. These providers process information to deliver their services. We do not sell personal information or use it for third-party advertising.

Service providers may process information outside the UK. Where required, we use appropriate transfer safeguards such as an adequacy arrangement or approved contractual protections. Contact us for details of the safeguards and providers that apply to your information.

Keeping and deleting information

We keep account and member records while they are needed to provide your membership and handle your applications. You can request deletion in the app or through our account deletion page. Deletion removes your account, profile content and associated app records. Operational copies held by service providers and backups may take longer to expire or be erased.

Where the school must retain a separate training, employment, funding, safeguarding or legal record, the period depends on the applicable obligation or unresolved matter. Access is restricted and the record is not kept as an active app profile. We will explain any applicable exception when handling your request. Contact us for the retention criteria applying to a specific record.

Your choices and rights

You can ask to access or correct your information, request deletion or restriction, and request a portable copy where applicable. You may withdraw consent for processing based on consent.

Your right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests by contacting us. We will consider your circumstances and explain our response.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you can contact us and you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.