Privacy Policy.

Who we are

Property Around London ("PAL", "we", "us", "our") operates the website propertyaroundlondon.com. For the purposes of UK data protection legislation (the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018), we are the data controller.

If you have questions about this policy or your personal data, contact us at hello@propertyaroundlondon.com.

What data we collect

Data you provide directly

• Email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter or use the email gate to unlock full guide content.
• Name and message — when you contact us via our contact form.

Data collected automatically

• IP address and browser information — collected by our web server (LiteSpeed) for security and performance purposes.
• Pages visited and interaction data — if analytics tools are active, we may collect anonymised usage data to understand how visitors use our guides.

Data we do not collect

We do not collect payment information, government identification numbers, health data, or any special category data as defined under UK GDPR.

How we use your data

• Newsletter delivery — your email address is used to send you neighbourhood guides, updates, and occasional PAL news. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in every email.
• Responding to enquiries — your name and email are used to reply to messages you send through our contact form.
• Site improvement — anonymised usage data helps us understand which guides are most useful and where we can improve.
• Security — IP addresses are used to prevent abuse (e.g., rate-limiting newsletter signups).

We process your data on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)) — for newsletter subscriptions.
• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) — for site security, analytics, and responding to enquiries.

Third-party services

We use the following third-party services that may process your data:

• Instantly.ai — email marketing platform. Processes email addresses for newsletter delivery. Their privacy policy.
• Starter Sites / LiteSpeed — web hosting. Server logs may contain IP addresses. Hosted in the UK/EU.
• WordPress.org — content management system. Core WordPress does not send data externally, but installed plugins may.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

Cookies

PAL uses a minimal number of cookies:

• Essential cookies — WordPress session cookies required for the site to function. These cannot be disabled.
• Email gate cookie — a localStorage flag (pal_gate_unlocked) that remembers if you've already unlocked guide content, so you aren't asked again. This is stored in your browser only and is not sent to our servers.

We do not currently use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies. If this changes, we will update this policy and implement a cookie consent mechanism.

Data retention

• Email addresses — retained for as long as you remain subscribed to our newsletter. Deleted within 30 days of unsubscribing.
• Contact form messages — retained for up to 12 months, then deleted.
• Server logs — retained for up to 90 days for security purposes.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data (Subject Access Request)
• Rectify inaccurate personal data
• Erase your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Restrict processing of your personal data
• Port your data to another service
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw consent at any time (for newsletter subscriptions)

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@propertyaroundlondon.com. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk.

Children

PAL is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Material changes will be noted at the top of this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.