Straits & Canton respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit our website, contact us, create an account, purchase a membership, use the private member platform, apply to become a creator or otherwise interact with Straits & Canton.

1. Who we are

Straits & Canton is a private, member-only media house providing access to creator videos, posts, comments, chat and related membership features.

The organisation responsible for your personal information is:

Straits Canton Helliwell Limited
Trading as Straits & Canton
Email: [support@straitsandcanton.com]

For the purposes of UK data protection law, we are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

2. Information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use Straits & Canton.

Information you provide to us

We may collect:

• your name;
• email address;
• account username and password;
• profile information and profile image;
• membership and subscription information;
• billing address and payment status;
• messages sent through our contact forms;
• support enquiries and correspondence;
• creator applications and information about your experience;
• creator profile, channel or social media details;
• referral information;
• tax and payment information required for creator payments;
• comments, chat messages, posts, videos and other content you submit;
• reports, votes, feedback and moderation appeals;
• any other information you choose to provide.

Payment information

Membership and creator payments may be processed by third-party payment providers.

We do not ordinarily receive or store your full payment-card number. We may receive limited transaction information such as:

• your billing name and email address;
• payment status;
• subscription status;
• payment-provider customer ID;
• transaction reference;
• refund or chargeback information.

Information collected automatically

When you access the website or member platform, we may collect:

• your IP address;
• browser and device type;
• operating system;
• login times;
• pages and content viewed;
• videos watched and viewing duration;
• posts, creators and features you interact with;
• referral source;
• cookie and consent preferences;
• security and technical logs;
• approximate location derived from your IP address.

We may use this information to operate the platform, protect accounts, understand usage and calculate creator payments where engagement forms part of the Creator Pool.

3. How we use your information

We may use your information to:

• create and manage your account;
• provide access to member-only content and features;
• process membership payments and cancellations;
• verify your membership status;
• provide videos, posts, comments and chat;
• personalise your account and content experience;
• allow you to follow and interact with creators;
• process creator applications;
• manage creator accounts and publishing access;
• attribute creator referrals;
• calculate and administer creator revenue shares;
• process creator payments;
• respond to enquiries and support requests;
• send essential account and service messages;
• send optional newsletters or marketing where permitted;
• moderate videos, posts, comments and chat;
• investigate reports, complaints, fraud or misuse;
• enforce our Terms of Membership, Creator Terms and Community Rules;
• protect the security and integrity of the platform;
• understand how members use the platform;
• improve our website, membership service and features;
• comply with tax, accounting, legal and regulatory obligations;
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Our lawful bases for processing

We rely on different lawful bases depending on why we use your information.

Contract

We process information where necessary to:

• create and manage your membership;
• provide paid platform access;
• process payments and cancellations;
• deliver member-only features;
• manage approved creator participation;
• administer creator referrals and payments.

Legitimate interests

We may process information where necessary for our legitimate interests in:

• operating and improving Straits & Canton;
• communicating with members;
• understanding platform use;
• preventing fraud, spam and misuse;
• protecting members and creators;
• moderating content and enforcing platform rules;
• maintaining accurate business records;
• developing the creator network.

We consider whether these interests are proportionate and whether your rights override them.

Consent

We may rely on consent for:

• optional marketing emails;
• non-essential analytics or advertising cookies;
• other optional processing where consent is requested.

You can withdraw consent at any time.

Legal obligation

We may process information where required to comply with:

• tax and accounting requirements;
• court orders;
• regulatory obligations;
• fraud-prevention requirements;
• other applicable laws.

5. Membership accounts

When you become a member, we use your personal information to provide and administer your account.

This may include:

• confirming whether your membership is active;
• granting or removing access;
• recording your membership start date;
• determining when you become eligible to apply as a creator;
• managing renewals and cancellations;
• communicating important changes to the platform;
• providing account and technical support.

Members are responsible for keeping their login details secure and should contact us if they believe their account has been accessed without permission.

6. Member-only content, comments and chat

Content you share inside Straits & Canton may be visible to other members, creators, moderators and administrators.

This may include:

• your display name;
• profile image;
• comments;
• chat messages;
• posts;
• uploaded videos;
• reactions, votes and reports;
• information you voluntarily include in your content.

Although the platform is member-only, you should not post information that you would not want other members to see.

You must not publish another person’s private information without an appropriate legal basis or permission.

We may access, review, retain, restrict or remove member content where reasonably necessary to:

• moderate the platform;
• investigate reports;
• enforce our rules;
• prevent harm or abuse;
• resolve disputes;
• comply with legal obligations.

7. Creator applications and creator accounts

Members may become eligible to apply for creator access after meeting the relevant membership requirements.

When you apply, we may process:

• your application answers;
• membership and participation history;
• examples of your work;
• existing channels or creator profiles;
• audience information you provide;
• previous moderation history;
• information needed to assess suitability;
• identity, tax and payment information where required.

If approved, we may use your information to:

• create and display your creator profile;
• publish and attribute your content;
• track referred memberships;
• measure eligible member engagement;
• calculate revenue shares;
• process creator payments;
• review your ongoing eligibility;
• investigate member reports or rule breaches.

Creator approval is not automatic and may be subject to the Creator Terms and Community Rules.

8. Creator referrals and revenue sharing

Where a member joins through a creator’s referral link or code, we may record the relationship between that membership and the referring creator.

We may use:

• referral links and identifiers;
• membership and payment status;
• refund and chargeback information;
• qualifying engagement information;
• creator eligibility status.

This information may be used to calculate:

• direct creator referral earnings;
• distributions from the shared Creator Pool;
• adjustments for refunds, failed payments or chargebacks.

Creators will not receive unnecessary personal information about referred members. They may receive aggregated information such as referral counts, active membership numbers and earnings.

9. Marketing and service communications

We may send essential messages relating to:

• your account;
• payments;
• membership access;
• security;
• platform changes;
• creator applications;
• moderation;
• legal or policy updates.

These messages are part of operating the service and may continue even if you opt out of marketing.

Where you have consented, or where otherwise legally permitted, we may also send newsletters, creator updates and promotional communications.

You can unsubscribe from optional marketing using the link in the email or by contacting us.

10. Cookies and similar technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• keep you logged in;
• maintain account security;
• remember your settings;
• process membership sessions;
• store cookie preferences;
• measure website and platform usage;
• improve performance;
• understand which pages or features are useful.

Strictly necessary cookies may be used without consent where they are required for the website or membership service to function.

We will request consent before using non-essential cookies where required by law.

You can manage your preferences through the cookie banner or your browser settings. Disabling some cookies may prevent parts of the platform from working correctly.

Further information may be provided in a separate Cookie Policy.

11. Who we share information with

We may share personal information with service providers that help us operate Straits & Canton, including providers of:

• website and cloud hosting;
• membership and account-management software;
• payment processing;
• video hosting and streaming;
• chat, comments and community functionality;
• email delivery;
• analytics and cookie management;
• customer support;
• security and fraud prevention;
• creator payment services;
• bookkeeping, accounting and legal services.

These providers may process information only as required to deliver their services and subject to appropriate contractual and security obligations.

We may also disclose information:

• where required by law or court order;
• to regulators, law enforcement or tax authorities;
• to investigate fraud, threats or illegal activity;
• to protect our rights, members, creators or the public;
• in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of the business.

We do not sell or rent member information to advertisers.

12. International transfers

Some of our service providers, creators or technical systems may be located outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will use appropriate safeguards where required, such as:

• a UK adequacy regulation;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
• the UK Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses;
• another lawful transfer mechanism.

13. How long we keep information

We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

Typical retention periods may include:

• active account information: for the duration of your membership;
• closed account information: generally up to six years where required for contractual, tax or legal records;
• payment and accounting records: generally six years after the relevant financial year;
• contact and support enquiries: generally up to two years after the enquiry is resolved;
• unsuccessful creator applications: generally up to twelve months;
• creator payment and tax records: generally six years;
• moderation and safety records: for as long as reasonably necessary to protect the platform and resolve disputes;
• server and security logs: for a limited period based on security requirements;
• marketing information: until you unsubscribe or the information is no longer required.

Some information may be retained for longer where required by law, to prevent fraud, enforce agreements or deal with legal claims.

We may anonymise information so it can no longer identify you. Anonymised information may be retained for statistical and analytical purposes.

14. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information, including where appropriate:

• encrypted connections;
• access controls;
• account authentication;
• limited staff access;
• secure hosting;
• monitoring and backups;
• security updates;
• contractual controls for service providers.

No online system can be guaranteed completely secure. You should use a strong password, avoid sharing login details and notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

15. Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your information;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to certain processing;
• request transfer of certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where processing relies on consent;
• complain about how your information is handled.

These rights are not absolute and may depend on our lawful basis and legal obligations.

To exercise a right, contact:

[support@straitsandcanton.com]

We may ask for information to verify your identity before responding.

16. Your right to object

You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests in certain circumstances.

You have an absolute right to object to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.

To object, contact us using the details below or use the unsubscribe link in a marketing email.

17. Children

Straits & Canton is not intended for children.

You must be at least 18 years old to purchase a membership, create an account or apply to become a creator.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

18. Third-party links and creator content

The platform may contain links to external websites, creator channels, payment providers or other third-party services.

Those organisations have their own privacy practices. We are not responsible for how an external service collects or uses information after you leave Straits & Canton.

19. Automated decision-making

We do not currently make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects using solely automated processing.

We may use automated systems to help identify spam, security threats, suspicious activity or content requiring human review.

20. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect:

• changes to the platform;
• new features or service providers;
• changes to creator payments;
• legal or regulatory developments.

The updated policy will be published on this page with a revised date.

Where a change is significant, we may also notify members by email or through the platform.

21. Contact us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your information, contact:

Straits Canton Helliwell Limited
Trading as Straits & Canton
Email: [support@straitsandcanton.com]

22. Complaints

Please contact us first if you have concerns about how we use your personal information.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
United Kingdom

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

You can find further information through the ICO’s official website.