Privacy & Cookies Policy

1. Who we are

FarageWatch Civic Media Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) is an independent UK publisher operating the website faragewatch.media. We sell printed newsletters and related physical products, and we provide online spaces for community participation.

We are committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy in line with UK GDPR.

Contact: office@faragewatch.media
Registered office: Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, BH16 6FA
Company number: 16838574

2. Information we collect

We collect information in three main ways:

(a) Information you provide directly

When you:

  • place an order
  • create an account
  • join our voluntary BuddyPress community space
  • contribute to the print pool
  • contact us for support

We may collect:

  • name
  • postal address
  • email address
  • phone number
  • order details
  • delivery preferences
  • location preference for sponsored bundles
  • any messages you submit for volunteers
  • your account username and profile information

We do not collect political opinions or voting intentions.

(b) Information collected automatically

Like most websites, we collect limited technical data:

  • IP address
  • browser type
  • pages visited
  • time spent on site
  • referral source

We use this to improve website performance and security.

(c) Payment information

All payments are processed securely through Stripe.

We do not see or store:

  • full card numbers
  • CVV codes
  • bank authentication information

Stripe handles these directly under its own privacy policy and security rules.

3. How we use your information

We use personal data to:

  • fulfil and deliver your orders
  • process payments
  • send order updates and confirmations
  • administer sponsored print allocations
  • run our online community features
  • improve our website
  • provide customer support
  • meet legal obligations (e.g., financial reporting)

We do not use your data to conduct political campaigning, profiling, or targeted political messaging.

4. Legal basis for processing

We process your data under the following lawful bases:

  • Contract: to fulfil orders or services you request.
  • Legitimate interests: to run our website, prevent fraud, secure accounts, and operate a civil online community.
  • Consent: for optional features such as email updates or community profiles.
  • Legal obligation: for accounting, tax, or regulatory compliance.

5. Sharing your information

We only share data where necessary:

  • With service providers
  • Stripe (payment processing)
  • Courier services (delivery)
  • Web hosting providers
  • Email service providers

All providers are bound by data processing agreements and may not use your data for their own purposes.

With community spaces

If you create a profile in our BuddyPress community, your name, photo, and messages may be visible to other logged-in users.
You control what you publish.

We do NOT:

  • sell personal data
  • share data with political parties
  • share data with campaign groups
  • use data for targeted political advertising.

6. How long we keep data

We retain:

  • order records: 6 years (legal requirement)
  • account details: until you request deletion
  • community posts: until deleted by you
  • email enquiries: up to 12 months (we may retain correspondence longer where required for legal, operational or customer service reasons)
  • analytics logs: 14–26 months depending on provider

If you delete your account, we remove all personal data except what we must keep for legal or accounting purposes.

7. Cookies

7.1 What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.

They help websites remember your actions and preferences (like your shopping cart or login status).

Cookies can be:

  • Essential – needed for the site to function
  • Functional – improve features
  • Analytics/Performance – help us understand site usage
  • Marketing/Advertising – track behaviour across sites (we do not use these)

7.2 Types of cookies we use

We use a minimal set of cookies, focused on essential functionality.

Here’s the breakdown:

(a) Strictly Necessary Cookies (always active)

These enable core site features such as:

  • shopping cart and checkout
  • WooCommerce order processing
  • security protections
  • account login
  • BuddyPress community access

You cannot disable these because the site won’t work without them.

Examples include:

  • woocommerce_cart_hash
  • woocommerce_items_in_cart
  • wp_woocommerce_session_*
  • WordPress session cookies
  • login tokens (for registered users)

(b) Functional Cookies

These remember small preferences like:

  • keeping you logged in
  • remembering what you last viewed
  • maintaining session states in BuddyPress

These do not track you across other sites.

(c) Analytics Cookies (optional – only with consent)

We may use privacy-friendly analytics tools (such as Plausible, Matomo, or privacy-mode Google Analytics) to understand:

  • how many people visit each page
  • which devices are used
  • how people navigate through the site

Analytics cookies are only activated if you accept them through the cookie banner.

No advertising IDs, cross-site tracking, or profiling are used.

(d) No advertising or tracking cookies

We do not use:

  • third-party advertising cookies
  • behavioural tracking
  • Meta Pixel
  • Google Ads tracking
  • cross-site marketing scripts

Your visit is not monetised or used to build any advertising profile.

7.3 Cookie consent

When you arrive on the site, you will see a cookie banner.

You can:

  • Accept all cookies
  • Reject non-essential cookies
  • View or change your settings

The banner controls activation of analytics cookies.

Essential cookies are always enabled because the site cannot operate without them.

7.4 How to manage cookies

You can disable or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time.

Instructions for common browsers:

  • Chrome: Settings → Privacy and Security → Cookies
  • Firefox: Options → Privacy & Security → Cookies
  • Safari: Preferences → Privacy
  • Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions

Blocking essential cookies will prevent checkout, login, and community features from working.

7.5 Third-party cookies

Some trusted service providers may place cookies to deliver essential functions, including:

  • Stripe – secure payment processing
  • WooCommerce – cart and checkout
  • BuddyPress/WordPress – account management and community functions

These cookies do not allow those providers to use your data for advertising or tracking unrelated to this website.

8. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • access your data
  • correct inaccurate information
  • request deletion
  • restrict processing
  • object to processing
  • withdraw consent
  • request a copy of your data.

To exercise any of these rights, contact: office@faragewatch.media

We respond within 30 days.

9. Data security

We use:

  • SSL encryption
  • secure hosting
  • hardened WordPress configuration
  • limited access controls
  • Stripe’s PCI-compliant payment rails.

No system is 100% secure, but we take appropriate steps to protect your information.

10. International transfers

Some third-party providers (e.g., cloud or email services) may process data outside the UK/EU.
Where this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards such as UK GDPR-compliant contracts or standard contractual clauses.

11. Children’s data

Our site is not intended for children under 16.

We do not knowingly collect data from minors.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy & Cookies Policy from time to time.
The latest version will always be available at faragewatch.media/privacy-cookies-policy.

13. Contact

For privacy questions or requests contact FarageWatch Civic Media Ltd at office@faragewatch.media.