Privacy Policy

1. About This Policy

UK Local News ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use our news aggregation service.

This policy complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

2. Data We Collect

Location Data

With your consent, we collect your approximate geographic location to show relevant local news for your UK county. This is processed through:

• Browser geolocation API (latitude/longitude coordinates)
• Third-party geocoding services (postcodes.io) to determine your county

Usage Data

We automatically collect information about how you interact with our service:

• Articles you click on and read
• Time spent on our website
• Device type and browser information
• IP address (for security and analytics)

Cookies and Tracking

We use different types of cookies with your consent:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand website performance
• Advertising cookies: Enable personalized advertisements
• Preference cookies: Remember your county selection and settings

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes under these legal bases:

• Service provision (Contractual basis): To show relevant local news for your area
• Consent: Location detection and personalized advertising
• Legitimate interest: Website analytics, security, and service improvement
• Legal obligation: Compliance with UK data protection laws

4. Advertising and Third Parties

We work with advertising partners to show relevant ads and support our free service:

Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google may use cookies and similar technologies to show personalized ads based on your interests. You can control ad personalization through your Google Ads Settings.

Other Ad Networks

We may partner with other reputable advertising networks including Media.net. These partners have their own privacy policies and cookie practices.

Content Sources

We aggregate news content from RSS feeds of local UK news outlets. We don't store article content but display links to original sources. Each outlet has its own privacy policy for their content.

5. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Right to rectification: Correct inaccurate personal data
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data
• Right to restrict processing: Limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a portable format
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent for location and advertising

To exercise these rights, you can:

• Clear your browser cookies and local storage
• Change your cookie consent preferences
• Disable location services in your browser
• Contact us using the details below

6. Data Security and Retention

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
• Secure server infrastructure
• Regular security assessments
• Access controls and authentication

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy:

• Location data: Processed in real-time, not stored long-term
• Usage analytics: Aggregated data retained for 2 years
• Cookie consent: Stored locally in your browser

7. International Transfers

Some of our service providers (such as Google) may process data outside the UK/EEA. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place through:

• Adequacy decisions by the UK government
• Standard contractual clauses approved by the ICO
• Certification schemes and codes of conduct

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the updated policy on our website with a new "last updated" date.

9. Contact Information

For any questions about this privacy policy or to exercise your rights, you can:

• Clear your browser data to remove all stored information
• Disable cookies in your browser settings
• Use private/incognito browsing mode

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe we have not handled your personal data appropriately. Visit ico.org.uk for more information.

10. Cookie Details