Rapid Chain · Bike Shop Finder

Privacy policy

Last updated: 27 October 2026

Rapid Chain · Bike Shop Finder is a free app that helps cyclists find bike shops. It is run by Dove Developments UK Ltd (trading as Rapid Chain), The Courtyard, London Rd, Worcester, WR5 2DL, UK ("we"). We are the data controller. Contact: contactus@rapidchain.co.uk.

What we collect, and why

Without an account. You can browse shops, search and use SOS without signing in. Your location is used on your phone to find nearby shops and is not sent to us. When you search for a town, the text you type is sent to our server, which asks OpenStreetMap's search service (Nominatim); we do not store it.

With a confirmed email. To add a shop, report a problem, claim a shop or email closed shops, you confirm your email with a 6-digit code. We store your email address, a signed sign-in token on your phone, and the content you submit. Legal basis: performing the service you asked for, and our legitimate interest in preventing abuse.

Security. To stop floods of requests we keep a one-way hash of your IP address (not the address itself) with the requests you make, for a short time.

Emailing closed shops. If you use the SOS option to ask nearby closed shops to confirm their hours, we email the nearby shops. Your email address is set as the Reply-To of that message, so a shop that can help can answer you directly; we tell you this in the app before you send, and we do not include your name. Where we may not email a shop ourselves, the app opens your own mail app instead. We keep a one-way hash of your email, with the shop and date, so we can apply a daily limit and show a shop how many cyclists we have sent its way; we do not store your address with that record.

Shops. Shop details (name, address, phone, website, opening hours, services) come from OpenStreetMap contributors and public sources such as shop websites, and from shop owners. We hold some shops' business email addresses to invite them to confirm their listing. They are never published. Every email has a one-click opt-out. Shops can ask us to correct or remove a listing at any time.

Photos. If you own or work at a shop, you can add photos of it. We store the photo you upload, remove its hidden location and camera data, and show it with a credit line. You can remove it at any time. If you choose "show the main picture from my website" we check that image once and then show it straight from your website (we do not keep a copy), credited to the shop and linking to your page; if you remove it from your site, it disappears from the app.

Problem reports. If you send a report from the app we store your message, the app version and phone model, and any screenshots you attach, so we can fix the problem. Screenshots are private and only we can see them; please don't include anyone else's personal details. Reports are deleted if you delete your account.

Who sees your data

We do not sell personal data or use it for advertising or tracking. We use these processors: our hosting provider (Vultr, Amsterdam) and our email provider (Brevo) to send codes and emails. Published content (a shop you added, a review) does not show your email address.

How long we keep it

Sign-in codes expire after 10 minutes and are then deleted. Your email and submissions are kept until you delete your account. Rate-limit hashes are kept briefly.

Your rights

Under UK and EU data protection law you can ask to see, correct or delete your data, object to processing, and complain to your regulator (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office, ico.org.uk). To delete everything we hold linked to your email: in the app go to Settings → Delete my account, or visit https://api.rapidchain.co.uk/account/delete. Or email contactus@rapidchain.co.uk.

Children

The app is not aimed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will say so in the app.