What we hold about you, and what you can ask us to do with it
Who we are
The Quernal is published by Matthew Brazil, who is the data controller for the personal information described on this page. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under reference ZC207522.
Our postal address is Suite A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Suffolk IP28 7DE. The quickest way to reach us about anything on this page is hello@thequernal.com.
The short version
- We hold the least we can to send you the paper, run your account, and take payment if you pay us.
- We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for advertising.
- This website runs no analytics or advertising trackers.
- You can ask to see what we hold, have it corrected, or have it deleted, and you can stop the emails at any time.
What we hold, and why
| If you | We hold | Why, and on what basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up for the paper by email | Your email address, when and how you agreed to receive it, and a private code that lets you unsubscribe in one click | To send you the editions you asked for. The basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. |
| Receive our emails | A record of each email we sent you and whether it was delivered or bounced | So we can tell whether the paper is reaching you and stop sending to addresses that no longer work. The basis is our legitimate interest in running the service properly. |
| Create an account | Your email address and any display name you choose. If you choose to answer our optional reader questions, your answers. | To let you sign in and use what your account gives you. The basis is providing the service you signed up for. The reader questions are optional, and you can ask us to delete your answers. |
| Pay us | Reference numbers from our payment provider linking your account to your subscription or purchase. We never see or store your card details. | To give you what you paid for, and to keep the financial records the law requires. The bases are providing the service and our legal obligations. |
| Take part in Voices, our recorded contributions | Your recording, its transcript, and a record of the consent you gave | Only as set out in the consent you give before you record, which explains what we will do with your contribution and how long we keep it. The basis is your consent. |
| Deal with us as a business contact | Your name, role, work email and, where you have given them, a phone number or professional profile | To correspond with you about our work and services. The basis is our legitimate interest, and you can ask us to stop. |
When we report on you, or ask you for comment
The Quernal is a newspaper. In the course of reporting we write about organisations and people in public life, and we write to organisations and their press offices asking for comment. We keep a record of those enquiries, including who we wrote to and what they said, because accuracy and fairness depend on it.
Data protection law treats journalism differently from other processing, so that the press can report on matters of public interest. We still handle this information with care, and we keep it only as long as the reporting needs it.
Who processes it for us
We use a small number of companies to run the paper. They process your information on our instructions and not for their own purposes.
- Supabase, which hosts our database and runs sign-in. Our database is hosted in the European Union, in Ireland.
- Cloudflare, which hosts and protects this website.
- Resend, which sends our emails.
- Stripe, which takes payments. Stripe handles your card details directly, and they never reach us.
Some of these companies are based in, or process data in, the United States. Where your information leaves the UK, it does so only with the safeguards UK data protection law requires.
What this website stores on your device
We do not use advertising cookies or analytics cookies, and this site does not track you across other websites.
The site does store a small amount in your browser, all of it needed for something you asked it to do:
- whether you prefer the light or dark design;
- while you are signing up, a note that you asked to receive the paper, so the request is not lost between steps;
- when you are signed in, a token that keeps you signed in.
Cloudflare may set a cookie that is strictly necessary to protect the site from attack. When you pay, Stripe's own pages set Stripe's cookies, under Stripe's policy.
How long we keep it
- Email sign-up: until you unsubscribe. After that we keep only your address on a do-not-email list, so we never send to you again by mistake.
- Email delivery records: for twelve months.
- Your account: until you ask us to delete it.
- Payment records: for as long as tax law requires us to keep financial records, currently up to six years.
- Voices contributions: as set out in the consent you give when you record.
- Business contacts: while we are in contact, reviewed at least once a year.
What you can ask us to do
You have the right to ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, to have it corrected if it is wrong, to have it deleted, to limit how we use it, to object to how we use it, and to have it given to you in a form you can take elsewhere. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, and that does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.
Write to hello@thequernal.com. We will reply within one month. There is no charge.
Every email we send has a link to unsubscribe in one click.
If you are unhappy
Tell us first and we will try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
Children
The Quernal is written for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.
Changes to this page
If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and the date at the top. If the change is significant and affects you, we will tell you by email.