Privacy Policy
Last updated: 23 October 2026
The Noir ("we", "us") is an independent web design studio based in the West Midlands, UK. This policy explains what information we collect through thenoir.co.uk, why we collect it, and the choices you have. We collect the minimum needed to respond to you and run the studio — no more.
What we collect, and why
- Enquiry form. If you use our contact form, we collect your name, business name, email address, your message, and any project scope you built in our estimator. We use this to reply to your enquiry and prepare for a call. Lawful basis: taking steps at your request before entering a contract.
- Bookings. If you book a call, scheduling is handled by Cal.com's EU platform (cal.eu), which collects your name, email, and chosen time. Lawful basis: taking steps toward a contract.
- Chat concierge. When the AI concierge on our homepage is switched on, the messages you type (and the last few turns of the same chat, for context) pass through our hosting provider's server function to Anthropic, which runs the Claude AI model that writes the reply. We don't store the conversation; it lives in your open tab and is cleared when you close it. Anthropic processes the messages to produce the reply under its commercial terms. Please don't type sensitive personal details into the chat. If the AI is unavailable, the chat answers from scripted replies on the page and nothing is sent. Lawful basis: legitimate interests in answering your questions.
- WhatsApp. If you tap our WhatsApp button, you leave this site and message us through WhatsApp, which is operated by Meta under its own privacy policy.
- Visitor statistics. To see which pages and sections are useful, each page view sends one anonymous record to our own database (Google Firebase): the page, the website that linked you here (if any), whether you're on a phone, tablet or computer and your screen width, your device's time zone and language, how far down the page you read, which of our buttons you used (for example "WhatsApp" or "Get an estimate"), how long the page was open, and how quickly it loaded. We set no cookies and store nothing on your device for this, we don't record your IP address or any identifier that links one visit to another, and we never combine it with anything you send us. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, nothing is recorded. Only The Noir can read these records, and they are deleted after 13 months. Lawful basis: legitimate interests in understanding how the site is used.
- Technical basics. Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs (such as IP addresses and pages requested) for security and reliability. Lawful basis: legitimate interests in running a secure website.
What we don't do
- We don't use advertising or analytics tracking cookies by default.
- We don't sell, rent, or trade your information — ever.
- We don't send marketing emails unless you've explicitly asked for them.
The site uses one piece of strictly-necessary browser storage: a session flag that prevents the loading animation replaying as you navigate. It identifies nothing about you and disappears when you close the tab.
Who we share information with
Only the service providers needed to operate the site, acting on our instructions: Formspree (delivers contact-form messages to our inbox; based in the United States, with appropriate safeguards for international transfers), Cal.com (EU-hosted scheduling), Google (Firebase, for the Noir Arcade and the Client Portal — see below), Anthropic (the AI model behind the chat concierge; based in the United States, with appropriate safeguards for international transfers), and our hosting provider, Netlify. We may also disclose information if the law requires it.
The Noir Arcade
The Noir Arcade (thenoir.co.uk/arcade) is a set of browser games we run for venues. Playing needs no account: your progress, scores and settings are kept in your own browser's storage on your device and never leave it unless you choose to sign in.
- Leaderboards (optional). If you sign in with Google or an email address to join a leaderboard, we store the display name you choose, your scores and an account identifier in Google Firebase (Firestore), on The Noir's project. Lawful basis: your consent, which you can withdraw by signing out and asking us to delete the account.
- Venue prize draws. If you enter a venue's weekly prize draw you give a name, a mobile number or email address, and tick a consent box allowing that venue to contact you about prizes and offers. The venue is the data controller for those entries; The Noir stores them in Firebase on the venue's behalf as its processor, and only the venue owner (and The Noir, to administer the service) can read or export them. Ask the venue, or us, to delete your entry at any time.
- Play events. Venue arcades record which game was opened and when, so the venue can see busy hours. No name, number or location is attached unless you are signed in.
- Vouchers. Reward codes issued to you are stored with the label, the date and, if you gave one, your display name, so staff can redeem them once.
Arcade data is kept while the venue remains a client and for the period required afterwards for legal and accounting purposes, then deleted. Firebase is a Google service; data may be stored in the United States under Google's standard contractual safeguards.
How long we keep it
Enquiry and booking information is kept for as long as needed to handle your enquiry and, if you become a client, for the duration of our work together plus the period required for legal and accounting purposes. If you'd like your enquiry deleted sooner, just ask.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to correct it, to have it erased, to restrict or object to our use of it, and to data portability. To exercise any of these, email d@thenoir.co.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk), though we'd appreciate the chance to resolve any concern first.
Contact
The Noir, West Midlands, UK · d@thenoir.co.uk
