Privacy policy

Last updated: 23 October 2026

This policy explains what personal data Gear World Hub (gearworldhub.com) and the Gear World app for Android and iPhone use, why, and your rights under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018) and, where it applies to you, the EU GDPR.

Who is responsible

The data controller is Gear World. Contact: contact@gearworldhub.com.

What we use and why

• Search. When you search, your search words, and your delivery country if you choose one, are sent to the Gear World sites to find matching products. Searches in a language other than English may be translated into English by Cloudflare Workers AI, inside our hosting provider. We do not store your searches or link them to you. We do this to give you the results you asked for (legitimate interests).
• Voice search. If you use the microphone button, your browser turns your speech into text with its own speech service (for example Google in Chrome or Apple in Safari). Your browser asks for permission first. We receive only the text, never the recording.
• Newsletter. If you sign up, we keep your email address, your language, the date and the version of the consent text you agreed to. We use them only to send Gear World updates (consent). You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing us, and we will delete your address.
• Analytics, only if you allow it. If you select "Allow analytics", we use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which parts of the Hub are used (consent). Google Signals and ad personalisation are switched off, and Google Analytics does not store IP addresses. If you select "Reject", Google Analytics is not loaded at all. You can change your choice at any time on the cookies page.
• Hosting, security and visit counts. The Hub is hosted by Cloudflare, which processes technical data such as IP addresses to deliver the site and protect it from attacks. Cloudflare Web Analytics also counts page visits and measures loading speed without cookies and without following you across other websites (legitimate interests).

The Gear World app

The Gear World app shows the same Gear World sites and products as the Hub. It has no accounts, no ads and no analytics.

• Search. Searches in the app work like searches on the Hub (see above). The app does not store your searches.
• Voice search. If you tap the microphone button, the app asks for permission to use the microphone (and, on iPhone, speech recognition). Your phone's own speech service, Google on Android or Apple on iPhone, turns your speech into text under Google's or Apple's privacy terms. The app uses only the text, as your search. The app does not record or keep audio. You can turn microphone access off at any time in your phone's settings.
• Newsletter. Signing up in the app works exactly like signing up on the Hub (see above).
• Stored on your phone. The app keeps your chosen language and a copy of the list of Gear World sites on your phone, so it starts quickly. This stays on your phone and is deleted when you uninstall the app.
• Retailer links. When you tap "View at", the retailer's website opens in your phone's browser through the Gear World site and the Awin affiliate network (see "When you leave the Hub" below).

Cookies

See the cookies page for the full list and to change your analytics choice.

When you leave the Hub

The Hub links to the Gear World specialist sites, which have their own privacy policies. Links to retailers on those sites, and partner links on the Hub, go through the Awin affiliate network. Awin and the retailer may set their own cookies to record that you came from Gear World. Their privacy policies apply on their websites, for example the Awin privacy policy.

Sharing and transfers

We do not sell personal data. Our service providers, Cloudflare and, only if you allowed analytics, Google, may process data outside the UK. Where they do, they use the safeguards required by law, such as standard contractual clauses.

How long we keep data

• Newsletter: until you withdraw your consent.
• Analytics: for the retention period set in our Google Analytics account, at most 14 months.
• Searches: not stored by us.

Children

The Hub and the app are a shopping directory for adults. They are not aimed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Your rights

You can ask for access to, correction or deletion of your data, ask us to restrict or stop using it, object to its use, and ask for a copy. Email contact@gearworldhub.com. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or to the data protection authority in your country.

Changes to this policy

When we change how we use personal data, we will update this page and the date at the top.