Privacy Policy

Effective date: 10 November 2026

For details about the cookies we use, see our Cookie Policy. If you list a business, our Business Listing Terms also apply.

1. Who we are

Leinster Local (leinsterlocal.ie) is an online directory of businesses in the 12 counties of Leinster, Ireland. It is operated by Leinster Local ("we", "us"). We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. If you have any questions, Contact us.

This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with and the rights you have under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. The personal data we collect

When you browse the site

Technical data: IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, referring website, and the date and time of your visit.
Search data: the words, categories and locations you search for.
Cookie data, as described in our Cookie Policy.

When you create an account

Your name, email address and password (stored in encrypted, hashed form; we never see it).
Your saved businesses and account preferences.

When you send an enquiry to a business

Your name, email address or phone number, the type of enquiry and your message.
Your consent to share these details with the business.

When you write a review

Your display name, rating, review text, the business reviewed and the date.
Information we use to check the review is genuine, such as your account details and IP address.

When you list, claim or manage a business

Your name, role, email address and phone number.
Business details you provide, such as address, Eircode, opening hours, descriptions, photos, logos and social media links.
Evidence that you are entitled to manage the business, such as a business email address, utility bill or registration document.
Your first name, last name and role at the business, which we use to verify that you are a genuine business operator. This information is not shown on your public listing.
If you use the "verify with a code" feature, the URL where you placed the code and the result of our check. For website checks, we fetch the page you provide to confirm the code is present. For social media, an admin reviews the page manually.
Billing details for paid plans. Payments are processed by Stripe; we receive confirmation of payment, the last four digits of your card and your billing address, but never your full card number.

When you contact us or join our mailing list

Your name, email address, the content of your messages and your email preferences.
Whether you open our emails and click on links, so we can improve them.

3. Why we use your data and our legal basis

Purpose	Legal basis under GDPR
Running the website and keeping it secure	Legitimate interests (operating a safe, working service)
Creating and managing your account	Contract (providing the service you signed up for)
Forwarding your enquiry to the business you chose	Consent, which you give on the enquiry form
Publishing and moderating reviews	Contract and legitimate interests (keeping reviews genuine)
Publishing business listings	Contract (for listing owners) and legitimate interests (providing a useful directory)
Taking payments and keeping financial records	Contract and legal obligation (tax and accounting law)
Sending service emails, such as receipts, renewal reminders and listing updates	Contract
Sending marketing emails to business customers about our plans and features	Legitimate interests, with an unsubscribe link in every email
Sending marketing emails to members of the public	Consent
Measuring how the site is used	Consent, through our cookie banner
Preventing fraud, fake reviews and misuse	Legitimate interests
Responding to legal requests and enforcing our terms	Legal obligation and legitimate interests

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This won't affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

4. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only as follows.

Businesses you contact. When you send an enquiry, we pass your details and message to that business. The business then becomes responsible for how it uses your data, under its own privacy policy.
Our service providers process data for us under contract in the areas of database, user accounts, file storage, website hosting, payment processing, email and customer relationship management, website statistics, and Google Maps (only when you click "Show map").
Others, where required. We may share data with professional advisers, An Garda Síochána, regulators or courts where the law requires it, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.
If Leinster Local is sold or restructured, data may transfer to the new owner under the same protections.
Public information. Business listings and published reviews, including a reviewer's display name, are visible to anyone who visits the site.

5. Transfers outside the EU

Some of our providers process data in the United States. Where this happens, we rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, where the provider is certified, or on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, with extra safeguards where needed.

6. How long we keep your data

Data	How long
Account data	Until you delete your account, then removed within 30 days
Enquiries	24 months, then deleted
Published reviews	For as long as the review is shown; anonymised if you delete your account
Business listing data	For as long as the listing is live, then 12 months after removal
Payment and invoice records	6 years after the end of the financial year, as Irish tax law requires
Marketing email data	Until you unsubscribe, plus a suppression record so we don't email you again
Server and security logs	Up to 12 months
Analytics data	Up to 14 months

7. Your rights

You have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Correct data that is wrong or incomplete.
Delete your data, where there is no reason for us to keep it.
Restrict how we use your data in certain cases.
Object to us using your data based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
Portability: receive data you gave us in a common electronic format.
Withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on it.

To use any of these rights, Contact us. We will reply within one month. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.

8. Automated decisions

We do not make decisions about you using only automated means that have legal or similarly significant effects. How businesses are ordered in search results is explained in our Ranking and Featured Listings statement.

9. Children

Leinster Local is not aimed at children. You must be 16 or over to create an account, write a review or send an enquiry. If we learn we have collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it.

10. Security

We use encryption in transit (HTTPS), hashed passwords, access controls and reputable providers to protect your data. No system is completely secure. If a breach is likely to put you at risk, we will tell you and the Data Protection Commission as the law requires.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make significant changes, we will tell account holders by email.