Privacy Policy

Last updated: 9 August 2026

At Golden Era Piercing, I respect your privacy and take the protection of your personal information seriously.

This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit my website, contact me, make an appointment or receive piercing services from me.

Golden Era Piercing is a sole-trader business owned and operated by Marianne-Louise Cannock. I am the data controller responsible for the personal information I collect and use on behalf of Golden Era Piercing.

Information I Collect

Depending on how you interact with Golden Era Piercing, I may collect:

  • Your name

  • Email address

  • Telephone number

  • Date of birth or age-related information

  • Appointment and booking information

  • Information you provide when contacting me

  • Information provided as part of a consultation or consent form

  • Information required to verify your age and identity

  • Relevant health information that you provide as part of the piercing consent process

  • Information relating to your piercing, jewellery and aftercare

  • Payment and transaction information

  • Any other information you choose to provide to me

I only collect information that is relevant and necessary for providing my services, managing my business and meeting my legal, insurance and regulatory obligations.

How I Use Your Information

I may use your personal information to:

  • Respond to enquiries

  • Arrange and manage appointments

  • Send appointment confirmations and reminders

  • Provide piercing services safely and appropriately

  • Verify your age and identity

  • Obtain and maintain appropriate consent records

  • Carry out consultations and assess piercing suitability

  • Maintain records relating to your piercings and jewellery

  • Provide aftercare advice and support

  • Process payments

  • Maintain appropriate business and financial records

  • Deal with complaints or concerns

  • Meet legal, regulatory and insurance requirements

  • Protect my business and clients where necessary

I will not use your personal information for unrelated purposes.

Booking & Appointments - Acuity Scheduling

I use Acuity Scheduling to manage appointments and online bookings. Acuity is a Squarespace company and provides appointment scheduling, booking forms, automated reminders and payment integrations.

When you make an appointment through my booking system, Acuity may collect information such as your name, email address, telephone number, appointment details and information you provide through the booking form.

Acuity may also send appointment confirmations, reminders and other booking-related communications.

I use this information to manage your appointment and provide my services.

Payments - Stripe

Where payment is made through Acuity, payments are processed by Stripe.

I do not receive or store your full card number or card security information.

Stripe processes payment information in accordance with its own privacy and data protection policies. Further information is available through the Stripe Privacy Centre.

I may retain information about a payment or transaction where this is necessary for accounting, tax, refunds, chargebacks, disputes or other legitimate business purposes.

Website - Squarespace

My website is hosted and operated using Squarespace.

When you visit my website, Squarespace may automatically collect certain technical information, such as your IP address, browser and device information and information about how you interact with the website.

Squarespace also uses cookies and similar technologies to provide website functionality and, where enabled, analytics and other services.

Cookies

My website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function correctly. Other cookies may be used for analytics or other purposes where applicable.

Where required, I will ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie settings provided on my website. You can also control or disable cookies through your browser settings, although this may affect how some parts of the website function.

Consent Forms - StabPad

I use StabPad to create and provide digital piercing consent and release forms.

I do not use StabPad to store my client records or completed consent forms.

Clients complete the forms and the completed forms are sent to me by email. I then retain the completed forms in my Microsoft/Hotmail email account.

StabPad has its own privacy policy explaining how it processes information when its service is used.

Email & Client Records

Completed consent forms, along with relevant correspondence and information relating to your appointments and piercings, may be stored in my Microsoft/Hotmail email account.

This account is only accessible by me.

I use this information to:

  • Maintain appropriate client and consent records

  • Provide ongoing aftercare support

  • Refer to previous piercing or jewellery information where necessary

  • Respond to questions or concerns

  • Deal with complaints or disputes

  • Meet legal, insurance and business requirements

Microsoft provides information about how personal data is processed, stored and protected in its Privacy Statement.

Health Information

Some information provided during a consultation or consent process may relate to your health.

Health information is considered special category data under UK data protection law and receives additional protection.

I only collect and use health information where it is relevant and necessary to assess the suitability and safety of a piercing, provide appropriate aftercare or otherwise provide my services, and where an appropriate lawful basis and special category condition apply.

I do not use your health information for marketing or unrelated purposes.

Age & Identity Verification

Valid original photo ID is required for every client, regardless of age.

I will check your identification to verify your age and identity and to ensure that I comply with my age restrictions and consent requirements.

Clients are asked to upload a photograph of their ID as part of their consent form. If you are unable to successfully upload your own photograph of your ID, I may take a photograph of your ID during your appointment instead.

Any photograph of your ID that I take will be stored securely in my email account and/or on an external hard drive, both of which are accessible only by me.

ID photographs are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for age verification, consent, legal, insurance and legitimate business purposes, after which they will be securely deleted.

I will only collect and retain information necessary for these purposes and will not use photographs of identification documents for unrelated purposes.

Photography & Marketing

With your permission, I may take photographs of your piercing, jewellery or the surrounding area during or after your appointment.

Photography is optional and is not required to receive a piercing or any other service from me.

If you choose to give consent, your photograph may be used by Golden Era Piercing & Fine Jewellery for marketing and advertising purposes, including:

  • My website

  • Social media

  • Online portfolios

  • Promotional materials

  • Advertising

  • Other promotional content relating to Golden Era Piercing

I will only use photographs for these purposes where you have specifically consented to photography through my consent form.

Where possible, I will avoid including identifying information. However, depending on the photograph, you may be recognisable.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting me. If you withdraw your consent, I will stop using your photograph for future marketing and advertising purposes and will remove it from platforms and materials that I control where reasonably practicable. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of any use that took place before you withdrew your consent.

I will keep a record of whether you have consented to photography and, where applicable, whether that consent has subsequently been withdrawn.

Children & Young Clients

Golden Era Piercing offers some piercings to clients under the age of 16, subject to my age requirements and consent procedures.

Where a client is under 16, I may collect information about both the client and their parent or legal guardian where this is necessary for age verification, consent and the provision of my services.

I take particular care when handling information relating to children and only use it where necessary for these purposes or to meet legal, insurance or safeguarding requirements.

Lawful Basis for Processing Your Information

Under UK data protection law, I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may process your information because:

  • Contract: processing is necessary to arrange or provide the services you have requested.

  • Legitimate interests: processing is necessary for me to operate and manage my business, maintain appropriate records, communicate with clients and provide my services safely.

  • Legal obligation: processing is necessary for me to comply with a legal requirement.

  • Consent: where consent is the appropriate lawful basis for a particular use of your information.

Where I process health information or other special category data, an additional condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR must also apply.

Who I Share Your Information With

I do not sell or rent your personal information.

I may use the following third-party services to operate Golden Era Piercing:

  • Squarespace — website hosting and website services

  • Acuity Scheduling — appointment and booking management

  • Stripe — payment processing

  • StabPad — creation of digital consent and release forms

  • Microsoft — email services and storage of completed consent forms and client correspondence

I may also disclose information to professional advisers, such as my accountant or insurer, where necessary, or to relevant authorities where I am legally required to do so.

How Long I Keep Your Information

I only keep personal information for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

Client and consent records may be retained for a period of time after your appointment where this is necessary for:

  • Maintaining appropriate consent and client records

  • Providing ongoing aftercare

  • Dealing with complaints or disputes

  • Insurance purposes

  • Legal or regulatory requirements

  • Protecting my legitimate business interests

Different types of information may therefore be retained for different periods.

I regularly review the information I hold and will securely delete or dispose of information when it is no longer required.

Where there is an ongoing complaint, legal matter, insurance claim or other legitimate reason to retain information, it may be kept for longer than the usual retention period.

UK data protection law does not prescribe one universal retention period for personal information; I must be able to justify how long information is retained based on why it is needed.

Keeping Your Information Secure

I take reasonable steps to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Client information stored in my email account is accessible only by me.

I also use established third-party services to provide the services described in this Privacy Policy.

However, no electronic storage system or method of transmitting information over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information I hold about you

  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete information

  • Request erasure of your information in certain circumstances

  • Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances

  • Object to certain types of processing

  • Request data portability in certain circumstances

  • Withdraw consent where I rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing

These rights are subject to certain legal exceptions and may not apply in every situation.

If you would like to exercise one of these rights, please contact me using the details below.

Third-Party Websites

My website may contain links to third-party websites, including booking services, payment providers, social media platforms and other websites.

I am not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.

I recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party website before providing personal information to it.

Complaints

If you have any concerns about how I collect or use your personal information, please contact me first so that I have the opportunity to address your concern.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

Information Commissioner's Office — Make a complaint

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how I handle your personal information, please contact me:

Golden Era Piercing & Fine Jewellery
Email: info@goldenerapiercing.co.uk
Website: www.goldenerapiercing.co.uk

Changes to This Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my business, the services I use, how I process personal information, or changes in data protection requirements.

The latest version will always be published on this page together with the date it was last updated.