Privacy Policy

How we collect, use, and protect your personal information

Last updated: 10 September 2025

Who We Are

Stowmarket Life ("we", "us", or "our") operates the website stowmarket.life (the "Service"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we collect, use, and share your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal data when you use our website and services, in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Data Controller: Stowmarket Life

Contact: For any privacy-related questions, please contact us using the details at the end of this policy.

What Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

  • Email Address: When you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address to send you updates about local events and community news in Stowmarket.

Information Collected Automatically

  • Technical Data: We collect IP addresses temporarily for security purposes, including rate limiting to prevent abuse of our systems.
  • Website Analytics: We use privacy-focused analytics to understand how visitors use our website. This service collects only anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify individual users or track them across websites.
  • Performance Data: We collect website performance metrics to improve your browsing experience.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

Newsletter Communications (Legal Basis: Consent)

  • Send you updates about Stowmarket Life website launch
  • Share information about local events and community activities
  • Provide news and updates related to Stowmarket

Website Security (Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests)

  • Prevent spam and abuse of our newsletter signup
  • Protect against automated attacks and misuse
  • Maintain the security and integrity of our systems

Website Improvement (Legal Basis: Legitimate Interests)

  • Understand how visitors use our website
  • Improve website performance and user experience
  • Analyze traffic patterns and popular content

Legal Compliance (Legal Basis: Legal Obligation)

  • Comply with applicable laws and regulations
  • Respond to legal requests and prevent illegal activities
  • Maintain unsubscribe records to prevent accidental re-addition and ensure email marketing compliance

How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We only share your data with trusted service providers who help us operate our website:

Service Provider Categories

Database Hosting Provider: Securely stores your newsletter email addresses and website data.

Email Delivery Service: Handles sending newsletters and marketing communications to subscribers.

Web Hosting and Analytics Provider: Hosts our website and provides privacy-focused, anonymized usage analytics.

Security and Rate Limiting Service: Protects against spam and abuse by temporarily storing IP addresses for rate limiting.

All our service providers are required to maintain appropriate security measures and only process your data as instructed by us.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

How We Protect Your Information

We implement several security measures to protect your personal information:

Encryption: All data transmission is encrypted using industry-standard SSL/TLS protocols
Access Controls: Only authorized personnel have access to your data
Rate Limiting: We implement rate limiting to prevent spam and abuse
Secure Infrastructure: Our data is stored on secure, professional hosting platforms
Regular Updates: We keep our systems updated with the latest security patches

Important: While we implement robust security measures, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to protecting your data using industry best practices.

Your Privacy Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to Erasure: You can request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances
Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data
Right to Data Portability: You can request your data in a portable format
Right to Object: You can object to our processing of your data, particularly for marketing purposes
Right to Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw your consent at any time where we rely on consent

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided at the end of this policy. We will respond to your request within one month.

Unsubscribe from Marketing

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by:

  • Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email we send you
  • Contacting us directly using the contact details below

How Long We Keep Your Information

Newsletter Subscriptions: Active subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe or request deletion. If you unsubscribe, we retain your email address with unsubscribe status for 3 years to prevent accidental re-addition from imports or admin errors, while still allowing you to voluntarily resubscribe if you choose.

IP Addresses: Temporarily stored for rate limiting (typically 1 hour) then automatically deleted

Analytics Data: Our analytics service collects only anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify individuals. This data is retained for website improvement purposes.

Review Process: We regularly review our data retention practices and delete data when it's no longer needed.

Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed to children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will delete such information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will:

Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy
Notify newsletter subscribers if the changes significantly affect how we handle their data
Post the updated policy on our website

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

Stowmarket Life

Website: https://stowmarket.life

Response Time: We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 48 hours and fulfill data protection requests within one month as required by UK GDPR.

Complaints

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK's data protection supervisory authority:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Phone: 0303 123 1113