Privacy Policy

Last updated: 4 April 2026. Review schedule: annually.

This Privacy Policy explains how Independent Local Newspapers Limited ("we", "us", "our"), the publisher of TechieSociety, collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you visit techiesociety.com. We are committed to compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

The data controller for techiesociety.com is Independent Local Newspapers Limited, registered in England and Wales (Companies House No. 03568843), with registered address at 1a Burgess Building, Eddystone Road, Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 7AL.

For data protection enquiries: privacy@techiesociety.com

2. What Personal Data We Collect

• Usage data: IP address, browser type, pages visited, time on site, referring URL — collected automatically via Google Analytics 4 when analytics consent is given.
• Newsletter subscription: Email address, consent timestamp, and IP address when you subscribe to our newsletter.
• Contact form submissions: Name, email address, and message content when you submit our contact form.
• Cookie data: See our Cookie Policy for full details of cookies we use and how to manage them.

3. Lawful Basis for Processing

• Consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR): Analytics and advertising cookies are only set with your explicit consent via our cookie consent banner. Newsletter subscription is consent-based. We do not rely on legitimate interests for advertising or analytics cookies.
• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR): We process certain data for fraud prevention and site security only, where this does not override your rights and freedoms. A Legitimate Interests Assessment (LIA) has been conducted for these activities. This basis is not used for tracking, advertising or analytics cookies.
• Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR): Processing your contact form submission to respond to your enquiry.

4. How We Use Your Data

• To operate and improve the techiesociety.com website
• To send our newsletter to subscribers who have consented
• To respond to contact form submissions and enquiries
• To serve relevant advertising (only with your consent via cookie preferences)
• To analyse site usage and improve our editorial offering (only with analytics consent)

5. Third-Party Services

We share data with the following third parties, subject to your cookie consent preferences:

• Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC / Google Ireland Limited): Website usage analytics. We have a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) in place with Google. Google Consent Mode v2 is implemented — analytics data is only collected when you grant analytics consent. IP anonymisation is enabled. Data transfer to the USA is covered by the UK-US Data Bridge (Google LLC is certified). See Google's opt-out: Google Analytics Opt-out.
• Formspree (Formspree, Inc.): Contact form submissions. Data is processed in accordance with Formspree's privacy policy and is covered by Standard Contractual Clauses for EU/UK data transfers.

6. International Data Transfers

Some of our third-party service providers process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where personal data is transferred internationally, we rely on the following UK-approved transfer mechanisms:

• UK-US Data Bridge (in force since 17 October 2023) — for transfers to certified US organisations including Google LLC.
• UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) — for transfers to organisations not covered by the UK-US Data Bridge, including Formspree.

In each case, your data is protected to a standard equivalent to UK GDPR requirements. You can obtain a copy of the relevant transfer mechanism by contacting us at privacy@techiesociety.com.

7. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

• Right of access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): Request deletion of your personal data where there is no compelling reason for us to continue processing it.
• Right to restriction: Request that we restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including for direct marketing.
• Rights related to automated decision-making: We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@techiesociety.com. We will respond within one month.

8. Cookie Policy Summary

We use essential, analytics, and advertising cookies. For full details, see our Cookie Policy. You can withdraw or modify your cookie consent at any time by clicking the "Manage Preferences" link in the footer.

9. Data Retention

Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. Contact form data is retained for up to 12 months for the purpose of responding to enquiries. Analytics data is subject to Google's data retention settings, configured to 14 months.

10. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — the UK supervisory authority for data protection:

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113

11. Changes to This Policy

We review this Privacy Policy annually and will update it when our data processing practices change significantly. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the site after a material change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.