This Privacy Policy explains how Socials BV ("Socials", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our website www.socials.homes, our student accommodation matching service ("Socials Housing"), and related services (collectively, the "Services"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal data.
Data Controller:
Socials BV
Wolstraat 70
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Company Registration Number: 1023312881
Email: hello@socials.homes
2.1 Information You Provide to Us
When you use our Services, we collect the following personal information that you voluntarily provide:
- Full Name: To identify you within our platform and personalise your experience
- Email Address: To communicate with you about our Services, send payment confirmations, housing match updates, and important account information
- Phone Number (WhatsApp): To deliver student accommodation listings via WhatsApp and verify your subscription
- Destination City: To match you with relevant student accommodation in your destination city
- Move-in Date / Intake Period: To find accommodation that matches your timeline
- Budget Range: To filter student accommodation listings within your price range
- University or Program (optional): To further personalise accommodation recommendations based on campus proximity
- Payment Information: When you subscribe to a paid plan, payment is processed securely by our payment provider Stripe. We do not store your full credit card details. We receive your name, email, and transaction confirmation from Stripe.
2.2 Information Automatically Collected
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical information:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device information
- Pages visited and time spent on pages
- Referring website addresses
- Interactions with forms
2.3 Cookies and Similar Technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience on our website. These include:
- Essential cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g., session management)
- Analytics cookies: To understand how visitors interact with our website (e.g., Google Analytics)
- Marketing cookies: To measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns (e.g., Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, Google Ads conversion tracking)
You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings or our cookie consent banner.
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
- Accommodation Matching: To search verified student housing platforms on your behalf and deliver curated listings that match your city, budget, and move-in date
- WhatsApp Delivery: To send you student accommodation matches, discount codes, and updates via WhatsApp
- Payment Processing: To process subscription payments and manage your account status
- Email Communications: To send you welcome emails, payment confirmations, housing search updates, and promotional content related to our Services
- Service Improvement: To understand how users interact with our Services and make improvements
- Partner Referrals: To track bookings made through our affiliate links with housing providers and landlords for the purpose of earning referral commissions and providing you with exclusive discount codes
- Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations
- Safety and Security: To protect against fraud, abuse, and maintain the security of our Services
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process your personal data based on:
- Consent: When you voluntarily provide your information through our forms to receive accommodation matches
- Contractual Necessity: When processing is necessary to perform our paid subscription services (delivering accommodation listings, providing discount codes, managing your subscription)
- Legitimate Interests: To operate and improve our Services, ensure security, analyse usage patterns, and communicate with you about relevant updates
- Legal Obligation: When required by law
5.1 Our Commitment
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for their independent marketing purposes.
5.2 Housing Providers and Landlords
When you use our accommodation matching service, we may share limited information with our housing providers and landlords to facilitate your housing search and enable affiliate commission tracking. We share only the minimum data necessary for the referral relationship to function. Your full personal details (name, phone number, budget) are not shared with housing providers unless you independently provide them when booking on the provider's website.
5.3 Service Providers
We use trusted third-party service providers to operate our Services:
- Stripe (payment processing): Processes your subscription payments securely
- Mailchimp / Intuit (email communications): Manages our email communications
- Supabase (database): Stores your account and preference data securely. Hosted in EU data centres
- Meta / WhatsApp Business (messaging): Delivers accommodation listings and messages to your WhatsApp
- Webflow (website hosting): Hosts our website
- Google Analytics (analytics): Analyses website traffic and user behaviour
- Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, Google Ads (advertising): Measures advertising effectiveness and enables retargeting
All service providers are bound by data processing agreements and process your data only on our instructions.
5.4 Other Circumstances
We may also share your information:
- Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or governmental authority
- Protection of Rights: To protect our rights, property, safety, or that of our users or the public
- Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (you will be notified of any such change)
- With Your Consent: When you explicitly consent to sharing for a specific purpose
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy:
- Subscriber account information: Retained while your subscription is active and for 12 months after expiry, unless you request earlier deletion
- Lead information (form completion without subscription): Retained for up to 12 months
- Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by Belgian tax and accounting law
- Communications records: Retained for up to 2 years
- Technical and analytics logs: Retained for up to 12 months
- WhatsApp message logs: Retained for up to 6 months for service quality purposes
You may request deletion of your personal data at any time.
As a data subject under GDPR, you have the following rights:
- Right of Access: Request a copy of your personal data we hold
- Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
- Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): Request deletion of your personal data
- Right to Restrict Processing: Request limitation on how we use your data
- Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@socials.homes. We will respond within 30 days.
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction, including:
- Encryption of data in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest
- Secure payment processing via Stripe (PCI-DSS compliant)
- Regular security assessments
- Limited access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
- Secure data storage within the European Economic Area where possible
Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). When transfers occur outside the EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission or adequacy decisions.
Our Services are intended for students aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 16 years of age. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete such information promptly.
Our Services contain links to third-party websites and services, including housing provider platforms and WhatsApp. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. When you click a link to a housing provider and book accommodation, you are subject to that provider's own privacy policy and terms.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:
- Posting the new Privacy Policy on our website
- Updating the "Last Updated" date
- Sending you an email notification (for material changes affecting your data rights)
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority:
Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (GBA) / Autorité de protection des données (APD)
Drukpersstraat 35
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Website: www.dataprotectionauthority.be
If you provide your mobile phone number and opt in to receive SMS/text messages from Socials, we collect and process your mobile number and related message metadata to deliver the service (housing match alerts, account notifications) and, where you have separately consented, promotional messages.
15.1 Information collected
- Mobile phone number (in international format)
- Opt-in timestamp and source (e.g., checkout form, signup flow)
- Message delivery status, timestamps, and carrier response codes
- Interactions with messages (opens, link clicks, reply keywords such as STOP or HELP)
15.2 How we use your mobile number
- To deliver housing listing alerts that match your preferences, through SMS or WhatsApp
- To send service-related notifications (account confirmations, payment receipts, subscription status)
- To send promotional messages, only if you have given separate, explicit consent for marketing
- To respond to HELP or support requests sent by SMS
15.3 Legal basis
We process your mobile number on the basis of your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) for marketing messages and on the basis of contract performance (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR) for service-related messages you need in order to use the Services you subscribed to.
15.4 Your right to opt out
You can withdraw your consent and stop receiving SMS messages at any time by:
- Replying STOP to any SMS you receive from us
- Clicking the unsubscribe link in any promotional message, where available
- Emailing hello@socials.homes and requesting removal from our SMS list
Opting out of marketing SMS does not affect service-related SMS necessary to fulfill your subscription. You may need to opt out of those separately where the law permits.
15.5 Carrier charges
We do not charge for the SMS service. Message and data rates may apply from your mobile carrier. Message frequency varies. Contact your wireless provider for details.
15.6 SMS service providers
We use third-party SMS and messaging service providers (data processors) to deliver messages on our behalf. These providers process your mobile number only to deliver messages and are contractually bound to confidentiality and data-protection obligations under Article 28 GDPR.
15.7 Retention
We retain your mobile number and opt-in record for as long as you are subscribed to the SMS program, and for a reasonable period after unsubscribe to honor your opt-out and for legal record-keeping obligations.
See our Mobile Terms of Service in the Terms and Conditions for the full SMS program terms.
By using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.