Our Privacy Policy
PRIVACY POLICY
Essence Pilates
Last updated: August 2026
Essence Pilates respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, who we may share it with, and the rights you have in relation to your information.
This policy applies when you use our website, make a booking, attend our classes or sessions, contact us, join our mailing list or otherwise use our services.
Our website is:
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is used, please contact:
Essence Pilates
Email: tamsin@essencepilates.co.uk
1. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
Depending on how you interact with Essence Pilates, we may collect and process information including:
- your name;
- email address;
- telephone number;
- booking and attendance information;
- details of classes, sessions, packages or other services you purchase;
- payment and transaction information;
- communications you have with us;
- marketing preferences;
- information you provide when completing forms or questionnaires;
- health, injury or physical condition information where this is relevant to providing Pilates instruction safely;
- technical information about your use of our website, such as your IP address, browser and device information; and
- information collected through cookies or similar technologies where applicable.
We only collect information that is reasonably necessary for running Essence Pilates and providing our services.
2. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION
We may collect personal information directly from you when you:
- book a class or session;
- create or use a Gymcatch account;
- complete a registration, health or other form;
- contact us by email, telephone, our website or another method;
- attend a class or session;
- purchase a class, package or other service;
- subscribe to our mailing list; or
- otherwise provide information to us.
We may also receive information relating to your bookings and use of our services through Gymcatch.
Some technical information may be collected automatically when you use our website through cookies and similar technologies.
3. WHY WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may use your personal information to:
- provide our Pilates classes, sessions and other services;
- process and manage bookings;
- manage cancellations and waiting lists;
- administer purchases and payments;
- communicate with you about bookings, classes or changes to our services;
- maintain customer and attendance records;
- respond to questions and enquiries;
- help us provide Pilates instruction safely and appropriately;
- maintain appropriate business, financial and tax records;
- operate and improve our website and services;
- prevent misuse, fraud or security problems;
- comply with our legal obligations; and
- send you marketing communications where we are permitted to do so.
We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the reasons for which it was originally collected unless permitted or required by law.
4. OUR LAWFUL BASES FOR USING YOUR INFORMATION
Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information.
Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on:
Contract – where processing your information is necessary to provide a service you have booked or purchased, or to take steps at your request before providing that service.
Legitimate interests – where processing is reasonably necessary for the operation and administration of Essence Pilates, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests. This may include responding to enquiries, maintaining appropriate business records, managing our services and protecting our business and website.
Legal obligation – where we need to process or retain information to comply with a legal requirement, such as accounting or tax obligations.
Consent – where you have given us permission to use your information for a particular purpose, such as certain forms of direct marketing or use of non-essential cookies.
Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
5. HEALTH AND INJURY INFORMATION
When providing Pilates instruction, we may need to know about relevant health conditions, injuries, pregnancy, physical limitations or other information that could affect your ability to participate safely.
Health information is considered special category personal data under UK data protection law and receives additional protection.
We will only collect health information that is relevant to providing our services safely and appropriately and will only process it where we have both a lawful basis and an appropriate condition for processing special category data under applicable data protection law.
Please only provide health information that is relevant to your participation in our services.
Where appropriate, you should inform your instructor of any new injury, health condition or change in circumstances that may affect your participation.
6. GYMCATCH – ONLINE BOOKINGS
We use Gymcatch to provide and manage our online booking system.
The Gymcatch booking system may be embedded within the Essence Pilates website, allowing you to view, book, purchase and manage classes and services.
When you use Gymcatch, information may be collected and processed through the Gymcatch platform. This may include:
- your name;
- email address;
- telephone number;
- account information;
- booking and attendance information;
- purchases and transaction information; and
- other information that you provide through the service.
We may receive and use information from Gymcatch where necessary to manage your bookings and provide our services.
Gymcatch Limited operates the Gymcatch platform and is responsible for its own processing of personal information in accordance with its privacy policy.
For further information about how Gymcatch collects, uses and protects personal information, please see the Gymcatch Data and Privacy Policy.
7. PAYMENTS
Where payments are made through an online booking or payment provider, payment information may be processed directly by the relevant payment provider.
We do not need to receive or store your complete payment card details where these are handled securely by the payment provider.
Payment and transaction records may nevertheless be retained where necessary for booking administration, accounting, tax or other legal purposes.
8. EMAIL MARKETING AND MAILCHIMP
We may use your email address to send you information about Essence Pilates classes, services, news, events or offers where you have consented to receive these communications or where we are otherwise permitted to contact you under applicable law.
We currently use Mailchimp as an email marketing service provider.
Information such as your name, email address, marketing preferences and information about your interaction with marketing emails may therefore be processed through Mailchimp.
Marketing emails may contain technologies that enable us or our email service provider to understand whether an email has been opened or whether links within it have been clicked.
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link contained within the email or by contacting us at:
Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending you essential communications relating to a booking or service you have purchased.
9. COOKIES AND WEBSITE TECHNOLOGIES
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.
Cookies are small files or pieces of information stored on or accessed from your device when you visit a website.
Some cookies may be strictly necessary for the website or embedded services to function. Other cookies may be used for purposes such as analytics, preferences or understanding how visitors use the website.
Where consent is required for a cookie or similar technology, it will not be used until you have provided the necessary consent through our cookie controls.
You can also control cookies through your browser settings, although blocking certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.
Third-party services embedded in or accessed through our website, including our booking system, may operate their own technologies in accordance with their respective privacy policies.
10. WEBSITE ANALYTICS
We may use website analytics tools to help us understand how visitors use our website.
Depending on the tools being used, information collected may include pages visited, approximate location, browser and device type, IP address and information about how visitors navigate the website.
Where analytics technologies require consent, they will only be activated after the necessary consent has been obtained.
We use analytics information to understand website performance and improve our website and services.
11. WHO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH
We do not sell your personal information.
We may share personal information with trusted third parties where this is reasonably necessary to operate our business or provide our services.
These may include:
- Gymcatch and providers involved in our booking system;
- payment-processing providers;
- Mailchimp or another email marketing provider;
- website hosting and technology providers;
- professional advisers such as accountants;
- IT and security service providers; and
- government bodies, regulators or law-enforcement authorities where we are legally required to provide information.
Where another organisation processes personal information on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate data protection arrangements are in place.
Some service providers may also process your information as independent data controllers and will have their own privacy notices.
12. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
Some of the service providers we use may process or store personal information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate mechanism or safeguard recognised under UK data protection law applies where required.
Third-party providers may provide additional information about international transfers in their own privacy policies.
13. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION
We will not keep personal information for longer than is reasonably necessary.
The length of time we retain information will depend on:
- why the information was collected;
- whether you continue to use our services;
- whether we need the information to provide or administer our services;
- legal, tax and accounting requirements;
- health and safety considerations;
- the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; and
- any other applicable legal requirements.
When information is no longer required, we will delete it or securely dispose of it where reasonably practicable.
We may retain certain transaction and financial records for longer periods where required for accounting and tax purposes.
14. KEEPING YOUR INFORMATION SECURE
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Where we use third-party providers, we take reasonable steps to select reputable services and to ensure appropriate data protection arrangements apply where required.
15. YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS
Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which your information is processed, you may have rights including:
- the right of access – to ask for a copy of personal information we hold about you;
- the right to rectification – to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- the right to erasure – to ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances;
- the right to restrict processing – to ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances;
- the right to object – to object to certain uses of your personal information;
- the right to data portability – to receive certain information in a portable format or ask for it to be transferred to another organisation where applicable; and
- the right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
These rights do not apply in every situation and exemptions may apply under data protection law.
To exercise a data protection right, please contact:
We may need to ask for information to confirm your identity before dealing with a request.
YOUR RIGHT TO OBJECT
Where we process your personal information on the basis of our legitimate interests, you have the right to object to that processing in certain circumstances.
You also have the right to object at any time to the use of your personal information for direct marketing.
16. COMPLAINTS
If you have a concern about how we use your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address it:
You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator.
Further information about making a complaint is available on the ICO website at www.ico.org.uk.
17. EXTERNAL LINKS
Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.
If you follow a link to another website or service, that organisation may collect and use your information in accordance with its own privacy policy.
Essence Pilates is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.
We recommend reviewing the privacy information provided by any third-party website or service you use.
18. SOCIAL MEDIA
Essence Pilates may maintain profiles or pages on social media platforms.
If you interact with us through a social media service, the operator of that service may collect and process information about you in accordance with its own privacy policy.
Information you choose to post publicly on social media may be visible to other users, so you should avoid publishing information that you do not wish to make public.
19. CHILDREN’S INFORMATION
Our services are not intended to collect personal information from children through this website without an appropriate reason.
Where we provide services to a child or young person and need to collect their personal information, we will take appropriate steps having regard to their age, the nature of the information and applicable data protection requirements.
Where appropriate, information may be obtained from or provided to a parent or guardian.
20. AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING
Essence Pilates does not currently use personal information to make solely automated decisions about individuals that have legal or similarly significant effects.
If this changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any additional information required by law.
21. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, the technology we use or applicable legal requirements.
The latest version will be published on our website and the date at the top of this policy will show when it was last updated.
Where a change materially affects how we use personal information, we will take appropriate steps to bring the change to the attention of affected individuals.
22. CONTACT US
For questions about this Privacy Policy, how we use your information or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:
Essence Pilates
Website: www.essencepilates.co.uk
Email: tamsin@essencepilates.co.uk
Last updated: August 2026