Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated 15 September 2026
Hoopline is built to need very little about you. The Free plan works without an account, your pattern files are assembled in your own browser, and nothing you type is ever used to train AI models.
1. Who is responsible for your data
GNTS DESIGN LTD (trading as Hoopline) is the controller of your personal data. Company details are on the Legal Information page. For any privacy question or request, email support@gntsdesign.shop with “Privacy” in the subject line.
2. What we collect and why
| Data | Why we use it | Lawful basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| What you type into the generator: initials, theme, chosen style, thread count and lettering face | To make your pattern and to apply our content rules | Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| A generation record: reference number, time, settings, plan | To count your allowance, handle support requests and prevent abuse | Contract; legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Email address (if you create an account or subscribe) | To sign you in, send receipts, renewal reminders and important account notices | Contract; legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
| Subscription details: plan, status, billing dates, payment reference and the last four digits and brand of your card as reported by our payment provider | To provide your plan, handle refunds and keep tax and accounting records | Contract; legal obligation |
| Your consent records (terms accepted, request to start immediately) | To show what you agreed to and when | Legal obligation; legitimate interests |
| Technical data: IP address, browser type, pages requested, error logs | To keep the site secure, stop abuse and fix faults | Legitimate interests |
| Messages you send us | To answer you | Legitimate interests; contract |
| Anonymous analytics (only if you opt in) | To understand which styles and pages are useful | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) |
We do not ask for, and you should not enter, sensitive information. Hoopline does not accept photo uploads. We do not sell your personal data and we do not use it for advertising.
3. How patterns are made
When you press stitch, your settings are sent to our server, which prepares the decorative motif using an AI image model provider or our pattern library. Your browser then places the lettering, traces the line art, adds the AI label and creates the files you download. The finished preview and line art files are created on your device and are not uploaded back to us.
4. No AI training
We do not use your initials, themes, settings or patterns to train or improve AI models, and we instruct our AI model provider not to use them for training either.
5. Who we share data with
We use carefully chosen service providers who process data for us under written contracts:
- a cloud hosting provider that runs the website;
- a database and sign-in provider that stores accounts and generation records;
- an AI image model provider that receives style and theme settings (never your email address);
- a PCI DSS-compliant payment service provider that takes card payments and shares payment status with us;
- an email delivery provider for sign-in links, receipts and reminders.
A current list of these providers is available on request. We may also share data if the law requires it, to protect people from harm, or if our business is transferred to a new owner who will keep this policy.
6. International transfers
Some providers process data outside the UK. Where they do, we rely on UK adequacy regulations or on safeguards approved under UK data protection legislation, such as the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
7. How long we keep data
| Generation records and settings | 30 days, then deleted |
|---|---|
| Free plan counter cookie | Up to 40 days |
| Account email and plan | While your account is open, and 30 days after you close it |
| Payment and invoice records | 6 years after the end of the financial year they relate to, as UK tax law requires |
| Support emails | 2 years after the conversation ends |
| Security and error logs | 30 days |
8. Deleting your data
Email support@gntsdesign.shop from the address on your account and ask us to delete your account. We will cancel any subscription, delete your account and generation records within one month, and keep only what the law requires us to keep (such as payment records). Files you downloaded stay on your own device.
9. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of your personal data;
- ask us to correct data that is wrong;
- ask us to delete data;
- ask us to restrict how we use data, or object to uses based on legitimate interests;
- receive data you gave us in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, for example through Cookie settings in the footer.
We reply within one month. There is no charge. If you are in the European Economic Area you have equivalent rights under the EU GDPR.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please tell us. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113, or to the data protection authority where you live.
10. Automated decisions
Our content rules automatically refuse some requests (for example brand names or club crests). This only affects whether a pattern is made; it has no legal or similarly significant effect on you. If you think a request was refused wrongly, contact us and a person will look at it.
11. Children
Hoopline is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Cookies
See the Cookie Policy. Only strictly necessary cookies are used unless you opt in to analytics.
13. Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS), access is limited to people who need it, and card details are handled only by our payment service provider. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach is likely to put you at risk, we will tell you and the ICO as the law requires.
14. Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the date above and, if you have an account, email you before the change takes effect.