Blacklink Privacy Policy
This policy explains what personal data Blacklink collects, why, who it is shared with, how long it is kept, and what rights you have. It covers the Blacklink app and the website at joinblacklink.com. We have written it in plain English on purpose. If anything is unclear, email us.
1. Who we are
Blacklink is operated by Kai O'Donnell, trading as Blacklink, based in the United Kingdom.
Contact address: 28 Cottesbrook Gardens, Northampton, NN4 0DE
Email: hello@joinblacklink.com
For data protection law, Kai O'Donnell is the "controller" of your personal data.
2. Who can use Blacklink
Blacklink is for people aged 16 and over. We ask for your date of birth when you create a profile and do not allow accounts for anyone under 16. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 16, we will delete it. If you believe a user is under 16, email us.
3. What we collect
When you create an account
- Email address and a password. Passwords are stored in hashed form by our authentication provider; we cannot see them.
- Date of birth (used only to confirm you are 16 or over).
- A record that you accepted our Terms, including the version and the time.
Your profile
- Username, profile photo, your role (for example Developer or Marketer), skills, and a short bio. Your profile is visible to other Blacklink members. Your email address and date of birth are not.
What you do in Blacklink
- Groups you join and requests to join groups or rooms.
- War rooms you enter, seats you take, and rooms you create (including a hashed password for locked rooms you create; we cannot read it).
- Messages you send in war-room chat, which other people in that room can see.
- Direct messages you send and receive, which only you and the other participant can see.
- Wins you post, including any revenue or milestone figures you choose to enter, and "respect" you give or receive. Figures are self-declared and shown as unverified.
- Users you block, and reports you make about other users or content.
- Rank and activity metrics: to run the rank system we record interactions such as respect received on your posts, replies to your messages, sustained conversations, activity in rooms you created, and daily login streaks. These are counts and timestamps, not the content of what you said.
Voice
- Voice chat in war rooms is transmitted live and is not recorded or stored by Blacklink. Our voice provider handles the live audio stream only.
Technical data
- A push notification token for your device, so we can send you notifications you have allowed.
- Basic device and app information (device type, operating system, app version) and IP addresses in server logs, used for security and to keep the service working.
Website (joinblacklink.com)
- If you join the waiting list, your email address.
- Our website does not use analytics or advertising cookies and does not run tracking pixels. Fonts and assets are served from our own site, so visiting it does not send your data to third parties for tracking.
Support
- Anything you send us by email, including reports, appeals, and data requests.
4. Why we use your data, and our legal basis
| Purpose | Data used | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Creating and running your account and delivering the service (groups, rooms, messaging, wins) | Account, profile, activity, technical data | Performance of our contract with you (the Terms) |
| Keeping members safe: moderation, handling reports and blocks, removing rule-breaking content, banning accounts | Activity data, reports, messages when reported | Legitimate interests (safety of members) and legal obligations, including UK online safety law |
| Security, fraud prevention, and keeping the service working | Technical data, logs | Legitimate interests |
| The rank system (calculating your rank from your activity) | Rank and activity metrics | Legitimate interests (running a feature of the service); you can object, see section 8 |
| Sending push notifications about messages, seat activity, and wins | Push token | Your consent via your device settings; you can turn them off at any time |
| Emailing the waiting list about early access to Blacklink and its launch | Waiting-list email | Consent; every email includes an unsubscribe link |
| Responding to your requests and legal obligations | Support correspondence, relevant records | Legal obligation and legitimate interests |
We do not sell your data. We do not show advertising. We do not use your data to make automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you.
5. Who we share your data with
We use a small number of service providers ("processors") to run Blacklink. They act on our instructions and are contractually bound to protect your data.
- Supabase — hosts our database, authentication, and file storage (profile photos). Our project is hosted in London, United Kingdom.
- LiveKit — carries live voice chat in war rooms. Audio is streamed live and not stored. LiveKit routes it through whichever of its cloud servers are nearest to the people in the room, which may be outside the United Kingdom.
- Apple — distributes the app through the App Store and delivers push notifications to iPhones.
- Expo — provides the tools we use to build the app and route push notifications.
- Brevo — sends emails to the waiting list (website only).
Other members see your profile, your presence at war-room tables, your room chat messages, your wins, and, if they message you, your direct messages.
Authorities: we may share data where the law requires it, for example to comply with a court order or a request from a regulator such as Ofcom or the Information Commissioner's Office, or where necessary to protect someone from serious harm.
We may transfer the business, including this data, if Blacklink is sold or restructured. We would tell you first.
6. International transfers
Your data is stored in the United Kingdom. Some of our providers (Apple, Expo, LiveKit) may process limited technical data in the United States or elsewhere. Where that happens we rely on the safeguards recognised under UK and EU law, such as adequacy decisions, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
7. How long we keep your data
- Your account, profile, and direct messages: for as long as your account exists.
- War-room chat: for as long as the room exists. When a room is deleted, its messages are deleted. User-created rooms with no activity for 14 days are deleted automatically.
- Voice: not stored at all.
- When you delete your account: your profile, photo, messages, wins, seats, memberships, rank data, and blocks are deleted from our live systems immediately. Copies in encrypted backups expire within 30 days.
- Reports and moderation records: we keep a record of reports and the action taken for up to 12 months after the case is closed, so we can identify repeat abuse and meet our online safety obligations. Where a report concerns illegal content we may keep records for longer if the law requires.
- Waiting-list emails: until you unsubscribe or until early-access and launch communications end, whichever is sooner, after which they are deleted from Brevo and from our database.
- Server logs: up to 30 days.
8. Your rights
Under UK GDPR and, for EU residents, the EU GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate data (you can edit your profile in the app at any time).
- Delete your data. Use Settings → Delete account in the app; this deletes your account and data as described in section 7. If you cannot access the app, email us and we will verify your identity and delete the account.
- Restrict or object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including the rank system.
- Data portability: receive a copy of the data you provided in a machine-readable format.
- Withdraw consent for push notifications (device settings) or waiting-list emails (unsubscribe link) at any time.
To exercise any right, email hello@joinblacklink.com from the address linked to your account. We will respond within one month. We may ask you to confirm your identity.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or, if you live in the EU, to your national data protection authority. We would appreciate the chance to resolve any concern first.
9. Security
Your data is stored in encrypted form at rest and in transit. Access to Blacklink's systems is limited to the operator and protected by two-factor authentication. Database access rules mean members can only read and write what they are entitled to; for example, direct messages are only readable by their two participants, and room passwords are stored as one-way hashes. No online service can promise perfect security. If we discover a breach that puts your data at risk, we will inform the ICO within 72 hours as the law requires and tell affected members without undue delay.
10. Changes to this policy
If we make significant changes, we will tell you in the app or by email before they take effect, and we will keep the previous version available on request. The version number and effective date at the top of this policy tell you which version applies.
11. Contact
Kai O'Donnell, trading as Blacklink
28 Cottesbrook Gardens, Northampton, NN4 0DE
hello@joinblacklink.com