This privacy policy explains how UK Festival Guides ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects personal information when you use ukfestivalguides.com. We are committed to handling your data responsibly and in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

UK Festival Guides is the data controller for the personal information collected through this website. If you have any questions about how we use your data, contact our privacy team at privacy@ukfestivalguides.com.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information:

  • Account data — name, email address, and password if you create an account
  • Contact data — name, email address, and message content when you use our contact form
  • Newsletter data — email address when you subscribe to The Dispatch
  • Usage data — pages visited, search queries, and interaction data collected via analytics
  • Technical data — IP address, browser type, device type, and operating system
  • Cookie data — see our Cookie Policy for details

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

  • To operate and improve the website and its features
  • To respond to enquiries and support requests
  • To send you newsletters you have subscribed to
  • To serve relevant advertising (using anonymised or pseudonymised data)
  • To comply with legal obligations
  • To detect and prevent fraud or misuse

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data on the following legal bases:

  • Consent — for newsletters, cookies (where required)
  • Legitimate interests — for analytics, site security, and improving our services
  • Contract — for account management
  • Legal obligation — where required by law

5. Sharing Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with trusted third parties who help us operate the website, including:

  • Hosting and infrastructure providers
  • Email marketing platforms (for newsletter delivery)
  • Analytics providers (e.g. Google Analytics)
  • Advertising technology providers

All third parties are required to handle your data in accordance with UK data protection law.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary. Account data is retained while your account is active. Newsletter subscriptions are retained until you unsubscribe. Contact form data is retained for up to 2 years.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate data
  • Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
  • Object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • Request restriction of processing
  • Data portability (where applicable)
  • Withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@ukfestivalguides.com. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Complaints

If you believe we have handled your data unlawfully, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced on the website. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.