Privacy Policy

Civic Insight Media Ltd. (company no. 16184729, registered address 22 Red Lion Square, 4th Floor, London WC1R 4QH) is the data controller responsible for personal data collected via CivicInsight.uk. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

What personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Contact form and email correspondence: when you use the contact form on our Contact page or send an email to any of our team members (e.g. editorial, newsdesk, corrections, press), we receive your name, email address and any information you voluntarily provide in your message.
Newsletter subscription: when you sign up via our Newsletter page, we collect your email address. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in each newsletter.
Technical data and cookies: we automatically collect certain technical information when you visit our website, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs and pages visited. For details about how we use cookies and similar technologies, please see our Cookie Policy.

Purposes and lawful bases

We process your personal data only for specific, legitimate purposes:

To respond to your enquiries and communications: we use the information you provide via contact forms or email to address your request, provide information or handle complaints. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (to operate our journalism and respond to readers).
To send newsletters (if you have subscribed): we use your email address to deliver editorial updates. Lawful basis: consent (you actively opt in).
To ensure website security, performance and analytics: we use technical data and cookies to maintain the site’s functionality, prevent abuse and improve user experience. Lawful basis: legitimate interests (to operate a secure and effective website).
To comply with legal obligations: we may process data where necessary to meet statutory duties, such as responding to lawful requests from regulators or law enforcement.

Data retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected:

Correspondence and contact form submissions: retained for up to two years after the last communication, unless a longer period is required for legal or editorial reasons (e.g. a complaint or legal claim).
Newsletter email addresses: retained until you unsubscribe or we discontinue the newsletter service.
Technical data and cookie-related data: retained in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Sharing your data

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share it with trusted data processors (e.g. email service providers, web hosting and analytics platforms) who act on our instructions and are contractually bound to comply with UK GDPR. We never allow commercial partners or advertisers to access your personal data for their own purposes unless you have given explicit consent and the content is clearly labelled as sponsored. For more about our funding and editorial independence, see Ownership & Funding.

Your rights under UK GDPR

As a data subject, you have the following rights:

Right of access: you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”): you can request deletion of your data where there is no compelling legal or legitimate reason to keep it.
Right to restriction of processing: you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: you can receive your data in a structured, commonly used format and ask us to transmit it to another controller.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including for direct marketing (we do not engage in marketing beyond our own newsletters, which you may opt out of).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@civicinsight.uk. We will respond within one month. If we need more time, we will inform you. There is no charge unless your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are not processing your data lawfully, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK’s independent data protection authority. Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) via their website at ico.org.uk.

Source confidentiality

We are committed to protecting the identity of individuals who provide information for journalistic purposes. If you wish to share a news tip or sensitive information, please consult our Tip Us page, which explains how we handle securely submitted material and the steps we take to preserve confidentiality. We do not disclose the identity of sources without explicit consent, except where compelled by a court order or other legal obligation.

Contact us

For any questions about this privacy policy or to exercise your data rights, please contact our privacy team:

Email: privacy@civicinsight.uk
Post: Data Protection Officer, Civic Insight Media Ltd., 22 Red Lion Square, 4th Floor, London WC1R 4QH, United Kingdom

You may also refer to our About Us page for general information about the organisation, or see our Sources & Standards page, Editorial Policy, Corrections Policy and Fact-Checking Policy for further detail on our editorial processes.