Privacy Policy

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FromSeat ("FromSeat", "we", "us") operates a platform that connects event guests, organisers, and the businesses organisers bring in to run their event — starting with caterers, ordering food and drinks from your seat. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, and what rights you have over it. FromSeat is currently operated as a trading name ahead of formal incorporation; this policy will be updated to reference the registered company once that's complete, without changing the commitments below.

1. Who this applies to

FromSeat is used by several kinds of people: guests ordering at an event (no account required), organisers who create events, the businesses and staff who fulfil orders, and administrators who support the platform. What we collect depends on which of these applies to you.

2. What we collect

If you order as a guest (no account needed): the table and seat you select (or the name you type, if the event asks for names instead of seat numbers), the items you order, whether each plate is for an adult or a child, and your device's location at the moment you place an order. That location is saved with the order as part of its record. If you happen to be logged in at the time, your order is also linked to your account.

Why we need your location: we check your device's current location to confirm you're actually at the venue — this stops orders being placed by people who aren't at the event, including someone who leaves partway through their visit. We check it fresh each time you place an order, add to or change an order, or ask for a plate that never arrived to be sent again, rather than once per visit, and the check is done on our servers by comparing it with the venue's position. We don't track your location continuously or in the background, and we don't use it for anything beyond that verification. The location saved with an order is part of that order's record, which the event's organiser, the business serving the event and FromSeat administrators can access.

A device identifier, if you order without logging in: the first time you use FromSeat in a browser, it creates a random identifier (it isn't based on your name, phone number or any details of your device) and keeps it in that browser's local storage. When you place an order while you're not logged in, that identifier is saved with the order. We use it to make sure only the phone or browser that placed an order can change it, cancel it, confirm it arrived, or report a missing plate; to apply fair-ordering limits, such as recognising repeat orders from the same seat; and, if you later log in, to offer to link that phone's recent orders (from the last 24 hours) to your account — which only happens if you choose it. If you're logged in when you order, your account is used instead and no device identifier is saved with the order. Clearing your browser's data removes the identifier from your device; orders already placed keep it, but you'll no longer be able to change them from that browser.

Why we ask for camera access: on a phone or tablet, attending an event offers to scan the QR code on your table using your camera, so you don't have to type a code by hand. The camera image is only ever decoded on your own device to read the code — it's never uploaded, recorded, or stored anywhere, by us or anyone else. You can decline camera access at any time and enter the event code shown next to the QR code instead.

If you create an account (to organise events, run a business, or manage staff): your name, email address, and password (stored securely by our authentication provider, never in plain text). If you register a business, we also hold its name, address, and (for caterers) menu information, plus any supporting documents you upload so the business can be approved — those are kept private and can only be opened by the business's owner and FromSeat administrators. If you rate a business, we store your rating with your account.

If you organise an event, we hold its details, including its venue address and the map location used for the location check. If you choose "Current location" when setting up a venue, we read your device's position once and save it as that event's map location (not as a record of you); it is also sent to Google to look up the address, as described in section 5.

Photos you upload — such as an event background or a picture of a dish — are stored so they can be shown to guests, and can be seen by anyone who has the link, so only upload images you're happy to have public.

Organisers and business managers can search for registered people by name to add them as organisers or staff. Search results show names only, never email addresses, and someone's email address only finds them when the whole address is typed.

Order and event history is kept as a record of what happened — item names and prices are captured at the time of each order and don't change afterwards even if a menu is later updated, so reports and receipts stay accurate to what was actually ordered.

If someone invites you to FromSeat via a referral link, we record that you signed up through their link, so we can recognise successful invitations.

On your own device, we also store a small amount of technical information in your browser's local storage — such as your current table/seat selection and cart, references to your recent orders, and the device identifier described above — so an in-progress order survives a page reload. If you log in, we also use a cookie to keep you logged in. Apart from the device identifier, this information stays on your device and isn't something we collect on our servers.

3. Why we process this data

To run the platform itself: taking and fulfilling orders, coordinating staff, showing organisers and businesses reports about their own events, keeping orders secure (so only the person who placed an order can change it), and preventing abuse (like the location check above). We don't sell personal data, and we don't use it for advertising.

4. Allergen and dietary information

Allergen labels shown to guests are generated from the ingredients caterers select for each dish. We do our best to make this accurate, but it depends entirely on the information caterers provide. If you have a serious allergy, please confirm directly with catering staff before ordering — don't rely solely on what's shown in the app.

5. Who else sees this data

We use a small number of service providers to run FromSeat, and your data passes through them as part of that: a database, login and file-storage provider, a hosting platform for the website itself, and an email delivery service for account and order-related emails. None of these providers are permitted to use your data for their own purposes.

Google is involved in two limited ways, and handles that information under its own privacy policy. First, address lookup: when an organiser or business types or searches for an address, that text is sent to Google's address search; and if an organiser uses "Current location" to set a venue, that device's position is sent to Google to find the matching address. Guests' order locations are never sent to Google. Second, help videos: they are played from YouTube, which Google runs, and nothing is loaded from YouTube until you open a video — when you do, YouTube may collect information about your viewing under its own privacy policy.

6. How long we keep it

Order records — including the location saved with each order and any device identifier — are kept as part of an event's history, so reports and receipts stay accurate. We don't currently delete event records automatically; they are kept until the event, business or account they belong to is deleted. When you or an organiser deletes an event, business, or account, we first mark it as removed rather than erasing it immediately — this is so that other people's order history and reports that reference it stay intact and accurate — and it is then permanently erased automatically a few days later. If you'd like something removed sooner, contact us using the details below.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you're located, you may have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, correct it, ask us to delete it, or receive a copy of it. To exercise any of these, email us at privacy@fromseat.com — we'll respond as quickly as we can.

8. International data

Our service providers may process data in countries other than your own. Where this happens, we rely on those providers' own safeguards for handling data responsibly across borders.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as FromSeat grows — including once our company is formally registered. We'll update the date shown alongside this page when we do.

10. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data: privacy@fromseat.com