This privacy policy explains how UKBullet.uk handles your personal data when you visit our site, subscribe to our newsletter, contact us or use our services. It is designed to help you understand your rights and our responsibilities under UK data protection law. Please read it alongside our Cookie Policy and Terms of Use.
What personal data do we collect?
We collect only the personal data that you choose to share with us, and the technical data generated when you access UKBullet.uk. This includes your email address if you subscribe to our newsletter or contact us, and standard analytics and advertising data gathered through cookies and similar technologies.
Specifically, we may collect: your name and email address when you sign up for the UKBullet newsletter or email our editorial team; any information you voluntarily provide in correspondence, tips or complaints; and technical data such as IP address, browser type, device identifiers and browsing behaviour collected via first‑party and third‑party cookies. Advertising and affiliate‑tracking cookies are used to support our funding model – detailed information can be found in our Cookie Policy. We never ask for sensitive categories of data unless required by law or with your explicit consent.
Why do we process your data and on what legal basis?
We process your personal data only for specific, legitimate purposes: to deliver our journalism, to communicate with readers and sources, to maintain security, and to sustain our publication through advertising and affiliate revenue. Each processing activity has a clear lawful basis under UK GDPR.
For newsletter subscriptions and direct correspondence, we rely on your consent – you can withdraw it at any time by unsubscribing or contacting privacy@ukbullet.uk. Analytics and audience measurement are processed on the basis of legitimate interests, balanced against your privacy rights. Advertising and affiliate‑tracking cookies are placed with your consent (via our cookie banner) or, where strictly necessary for functionality, on the basis of our legitimate interest in providing a working site. We do not use your data for automated decision‑making that produces legal effects.
How long do we keep your data?
We retain personal data only for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected. Subscriber email addresses are kept until you unsubscribe, after which they are deleted within 30 days. Correspondence and tip‑related data are held for up to two years, unless a longer period is required for legal or editorial‑standards purposes (for example, to investigate a complaint).
Analytics and cookie‑derived data are anonymised or deleted after 26 months. Our retention schedules are reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with the UK GDPR principle of storage limitation.
Do we share your personal data?
We never sell your personal data to third parties. We share it only with trusted processors who help us operate UKBullet.uk – for example, our email‑delivery platform, cloud hosting provider and analytics service – each bound by a data‑processing agreement that meets UK GDPR requirements.
In very limited cases we may disclose data if required by UK or Maltese law, or to protect the safety of our readers, staff or the public. Source confidentiality is treated separately: see the Tip Us page for how we protect whistleblowers and confidential sources.
What are your rights under UK GDPR?
You have the right to access, rectify, erase or port your personal data, and to restrict or object to its processing. You also have the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent, and to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
These rights are not absolute – for example, we may need to retain certain data to comply with legal obligations or to defend against legal claims – but we will honour them whenever possible. You can make a request at any time and we will respond within one calendar month, free of charge, unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
How can you exercise your rights?
To exercise any of your data‑protection rights, simply email our Data Protection point of contact at privacy@ukbullet.uk. We will ask you to verify your identity before processing your request to ensure your data is not disclosed to unauthorised parties.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to escalate your complaint to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. You can contact the ICO via their website at https://ico.org.uk/ or by calling their helpline. We encourage you to contact us first so we can resolve any issue directly.
How this works in practice
Here is a concrete example: a reader, Sarah, signs up for the UKBullet newsletter using her email address sarah@example.com. We store that email in our consent‑based mailing list. Six months later Sarah unsubscribes. Within 30 days her email is automatically removed from our active database and is permanently deleted from backups within 90 days. We do not share Sarah’s address with any advertiser or partner. If Sarah later emails privacy@ukbullet.uk asking for a copy of her data, we will provide it within one month, free of charge.
This same approach applies to data collected through cookies on our site. When you visit UKBullet.uk, a cookie banner records your consent choices. If you later change your mind, you can adjust your preferences via the cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.
Who is responsible for your data?
The data controller is Valletta Wharf Media Limited, a private company limited by shares registered in Malta (company number C 85603), with its registered office at Office 12, Valletta Buildings, South Street, Valletta VLT 1103. Although the company is registered in Malta, UKBullet.uk is editorially focused on UK audiences and is subject to UK data protection law for readers in the United Kingdom.
If you are a journalist, contributor or source submitting sensitive information, please read our Tip Us page for details on how we handle source confidentiality. General editorial queries about data practices can be directed to privacy@ukbullet.uk.
Contact us
If you have any questions, concerns or requests regarding this privacy policy or our data practices, please email privacy@ukbullet.uk. For general enquiries, you can also use info@ukbullet.uk or write to our registered office in Malta.
Our editorial team can be reached through the Contact page, and our Editor‑in‑Chief Eleanor Price is available at eleanor.price@ukbullet.uk for matters relating to editorial standards and corrections.
In short
UKBullet.uk collects only the personal data you give us and the technical data needed to run our site. We never sell your information, we keep it only as long as necessary, and you can exercise your UK GDPR rights at any time by emailing privacy@ukbullet.uk. This policy is a living document – we will update it as our practices or the law evolve, so please check back occasionally.