Privacy

Privacy policy

Last updated: 4 November 2026

PostcodePing is a free, non-commercial service that emails you when official UK open data shows something new near the places you care about. We are responsible for your personal data. This page explains what we collect, why, and what you can do about it.

What we collect

When you sign up:

• your email address
• your first name, if you choose to give it
• your password, stored only in scrambled (hashed) form, so we can’t see it
• the date and time you agreed to this policy

When you use the service:

• the places you add: a label (such as “Home”), the postcode and the area you’ve chosen
• your alert settings, such as distance, rating threshold and how often you want emails
• a record of which alerts we’ve sent you, so you don’t receive the same one twice

Technical information:

• your IP address and browser details, used briefly to protect the site from abuse (see Cloudflare below) and to keep you logged in

We don’t collect your full address, phone number or payment details, and we never ask for them.

How we use it

• To run the service you signed up for: matching new data to your places and emailing you alerts. This is necessary to provide the service you asked for.
• To send account emails, such as setting or resetting your password. These are part of the same service.
• To keep the site secure, for example by blocking automated sign-ups. This is in our legitimate interest in running a safe service.

We don’t send marketing emails, we don’t sell or share your data for advertising, and we don’t build profiles about you.

Who else handles your data

We use a small number of trusted services to run PostcodePing:

• Brevo (Sendinblue SAS, France) sends our emails. It processes your email address and the content of the emails we send you. Brevo records whether our emails are delivered, opened and clicked, so we can make sure alerts are reaching people. We don’t use this for marketing.
• Cloudflare protects and delivers the website, including the security check on our sign-up form (Turnstile). It processes technical information such as your IP address. Cloudflare may process data outside the UK under appropriate safeguards.
• OpenStreetMap provides the map images on your My places page. Your browser loads these directly from OpenStreetMap’s servers, which see your IP address.
• Google Analytics (Google LLC) helps us understand how people use the site, such as which pages are visited and roughly where visitors come from. We only use it if you agree to analytics cookies. Google Analytics doesn’t store your IP address, and we don’t use it to identify you. Google may process data outside the UK under appropriate safeguards.

Everything else, including your account, places and alert history, is stored on our own servers in the UK.

How long we keep it

• Your account, places and settings: for as long as you have an account.
• Unfinished sign-ups: if you never set a password, your account is deleted automatically after 7 days.
• When you delete your account: your account, places and alert history are deleted straight away. Copies may remain in our encrypted backups for up to 3 days before they’re overwritten.
• Analytics data: the records Google Analytics holds about visits to the site are deleted automatically after 2 months.

Cookies

Essential cookies are needed for the site to work, so they don’t need your permission:

• WordPress login cookies, which keep you signed in
• Cloudflare security cookies, which help protect the site from bots

Analytics cookies are only set if you agree to them:

• Google Analytics (_ga and _ga_…), which tell us how the site is used. These cookies stay in your browser for up to 2 years, unless you clear them or withdraw your consent.

When you first visit, we’ll ask whether you’re happy to allow analytics cookies. You can change your mind at any time using the cookie settings link at the bottom of every page. Saying no doesn’t affect how PostcodePing works.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you can:

• see the data we hold about you
• correct it
• delete it: use “Delete my account” on your My account page, or ask us
• stop alerts at any time: use the Unsubscribe link in any alert email, or “Pause all alerts” on My account
• object to how we use it, or ask us to restrict it
• get a copy of it in a portable format

To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

Children

PostcodePing isn’t intended for anyone under 16.

The data in our alerts

Our alerts are built from official open data, such as Food Standards Agency hygiene ratings, published under the Open Government Licence. We pass this data on as published. It’s about businesses and places, not about you.

Changes to this policy

If we make important changes, we’ll update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use your data, we’ll email you first.