Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

BLine is a driving-school management service operated by Ian Ford, trading as BLine (“BLine”, “we”, “us”), a sole trader based in the United Kingdom.

For any privacy questions or requests, contact us at admin@blinedriving.co.uk.

For the purposes of UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), Ian Ford (trading as BLine) is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy.

2. The data we collect

Depending on how you use BLine, we may collect:

From instructors (our direct customers):

  • Account details: your name, email address, driving-school name, login credentials.
  • Billing information: subscription status and payment records. We do not store your card details — card payments are handled securely by Stripe (see section 5).
  • Usage data: basic technical information such as IP address and browser type, and records of your activity within the service.

Data instructors enter about their pupils (and parents):

  • Pupil details: name, contact information, lesson history, progress and skill records, lesson notes, and scheduling information.
  • Parent/guardian contact details, where provided.
  • Payment records for lessons (processed via the instructor’s own Stripe account — see section 5).

3. Children’s data 

Some pupils using a driving school are under 18. We take the protection of children’s personal data seriously and handle it in line with the UK GDPR and the ICO’s Age Appropriate Design Code.

  • Pupil records are entered and managed by the instructor, who is responsible for having an appropriate lawful basis (and, where required, parental consent) for the data they record about pupils.
  • Pupil data is used only to provide the driving-instruction management service (tracking lessons, progress and payments) and is not used for marketing.
  • We do not knowingly use children’s data for any purpose beyond delivering the service to the instructor.

4. How we use your data

We use personal data to:

  • Provide and operate the BLine service.
  • Manage your subscription and process payments.
  • Provide customer support and resolve problems.
  • Send service-related communications (e.g. account, billing, security).
  • Improve and maintain the service and keep it secure.

We do not sell your data, and we do not use pupil data for marketing.

5. Payments (Stripe)

Payments — both instructor subscriptions to BLine and pupils’ payments to their instructor — are processed by Stripe. We do not store full card details. Stripe acts as an independent data controller/processor for payment data and may transfer data internationally under its own safeguards. See Stripe’s privacy policy at https://stripe.com/privacy.

6. Support access

To resolve technical problems or provide support, we (as the site administrator) may access your account and the data within it — including pupil records — and may log in to your account (“impersonate” it) to investigate or fix issues. We only do this where necessary to operate the service or assist you, we limit such access to what is needed, and we treat any data accessed as strictly confidential. Because this access can include pupil data, and some pupils are minors, we handle it with particular care (see section 3).

7. Who we share your data with

We share data only with:

  • Stripe, for payment processing (section 5).
  • Hostinger, our hosting provider, whose UK-based servers store the data.
  • Service providers strictly necessary to run BLine (e.g. email delivery).
  • Authorities or third parties where we are legally required to do so.

We do not sell or rent personal data to anyone.

8. Where your data is stored

Your data is hosted on Hostinger’s servers located in the United Kingdom. Some service providers (such as Stripe) may process limited data outside the UK under appropriate legal safeguards.

9. How long we keep your data

We keep personal data for as long as your account is active and as long as needed to provide the service. We retain your data for up to 90 days after your account is closed, after which it is deleted or anonymised — except where we are legally required to keep certain records (for example, payment and tax records, which we keep for 6 years as required by UK law).

10. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict the use of your personal data, to object to processing, and to data portability. To exercise any of these, contact admin@blinedriving.co.uk.

(Instructors and pupils whose data is held can request an export or erasure of their personal data. Note that some data may be retained where we are legally obliged to keep it.)

You also have the right to complain to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

11. Cookies

BLine uses only the cookies necessary to operate the service — for example, to keep you logged in and remember your preferences. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. 

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the “last updated” date.

13. Contact

Questions or requests: admin@blinedriving.co.uk Ian Ford, trading as BLine, United Kingdom.