Counselling Matters must collect and process the personal data of people we work with to operate our website and provide our services. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our website visitors and service users. This Privacy Policy outlines who we are, the information we collect, how we use it, and how we protect it. The policy was last revised on 16 March 2024 and is effective from that date.
Table of Contents
Who we are
Counselling Matters is a trading style of Counselling Connections, a private limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 11564334. Our registered office is 26 Waterloo Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, United Kingdom, L22 1RF.
We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Our registration number is C1541097.
All our services are delivered in English (UK).
Definitions
We have capitalised some of the words in this Privacy Policy, indicating that they have specific meanings as described below:
Personal Data
Personal Data is data about a living individual identifiable from the data (possibly via other data we have or are likely to receive).
Usage Data
Usage Data (for example, your IP address and how long you remain on a web page) is generated through our service and automatically collected as you progress through our site.
Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of data stored by a website on a User’s device.
Data Controller
The Data Controller is the person responsible for controlling how and why we use any personal data.
Data Processors (or Service Providers)
Data Processor (or Service Provider) means anyone who processes data on behalf of the Data Controller. We use various Service Providers to order to process and deliver our Service.
Data Subject
A Data Subject is any living individual who is the subject of Personal Data.
User
The User is the person using our Service.
Service
The Service is this website, https://counselling-matters.org.uk
The types of data we collect
We collect the following types of data:
Personal Data
While using our Service, we might ask you to provide elements of Personal Data. Below, we have set out the places where we ask for your data; further details are available from our data protection policy.
Usage Data
We also collect data about how our Service is accessed and used. This autogenerated Usage Data includes your IP address, browser and version, device type, operating system and version.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics, Tag Manager, and Matomo to gather information about how users interact with our website, including the pages they visit and the time they spend on it. This information is anonymous, aggregated, and used to improve our website and user experience.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies, which are small text files stored on your device, to gather information about your preferences and browsing behaviour. This information helps us provide a better user experience, remembering your preferences for future visits. You can choose not to accept cookies and control how your browser processes cookies in your browser settings. However, if you do not accept cookies, some of our Services might be unavailable or not work as designed. Our cookie policy gives full disclosure of all the cookies we use.
The data we collect
Usage Data
Every time you interact with our Service, you generate Usage Data. We require this data to make the Service work, and we do not keep Usage Data except as below.
Website forms
When you submit a form from our website, the details you entered are sent to us by email and stored on the server. Email is sent and received using an encrypted connection to protect your data.
Comments
When you leave a comment on the Service, we collect and store the data entered in the comments form. We also need your IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.
Uploaded media
If you upload images to the website, avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors can download and extract any location data from images on the site.
Information Protection
We take appropriate measures to protect the information we collect, including using secure servers, encryption technologies, and secure email. However, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed 100% safe, so we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to our website.
Sharing Data
We may share information with third-party service providers, such as web hosting, analytics, and secure email providers, to assist us in operating our website and providing our services. These service providers can only use the information to provide these services to us. Full details of the services we use and the information we send them are given below.
We may also share information as required by law, such as in response to a subpoena or court order or to protect the safety, rights, or property of ourselves or others.
Krystal UK Web Hosting
We use Krystal UK, a UK-based hosting provider, to host this Service. While we do not explicitly share any data with them, they operate our website and hold and maintain the database upon which this Service relies. Krystal UK is fully GDPR compliant and has a privacy policy available at https://krystal.uk/legal/privacy-policy
Gravatar
The Gravatar service allows users to create a globally recognised avatar, which can be used across different websites. We send Gravatar a hash derived from the User’s email address and, if they are Gravatar users, receive back their custom avatar. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.
Google Analytics and Tag Manager
Google Analytics and Tag Manager tracks and reports how people interact with and use our Service. Google Analytics uses only Usage Data. We do not send any Personal Data to Google Analytics. Google’s privacy policy is available from https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/.
Google Fonts
Our site uses Google Fonts. These are downloaded when you visit our site, and Google can see your IP address. Google’s privacy policy is https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/.
Google Maps
We use Google Maps to display the location of our offices and provide directions. Your IP address is sent to Google when you visit our location pages. If you ask for directions, you are also sending location data to Google so they can give you the directions you requested. Google’s privacy policy is https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail is a secure email service that provides end-to-end encryption for email communication. It’s designed to protect the privacy of its users and ensure that their emails cannot be intercepted or read by unauthorized parties. When you submit a form from this Service, it sends the details to us by email. All emails are sent and received using encrypted connections to protect your data. Their privacy policy is https://proton.me/legal/privacy
MailerLite
We use MailerLite to manage our mailing list. We send your name, email address and subscription preferences to MailerLite whenever you subscribe to a mailing list. Their privacy policy is at https://www.mailerlite.com/legal/privacy-policy.
CleanTalk
We use CleanTalk anti-spam and firewall services to protect our site. We send your IP address to CleanTalk as part of this service. Their privacy policy is available at https://cleantalk.org/publicoffer#privacy.
WordFence
We also use WordFence to help protect our website from security threats like hacking attempts and malware infections. We need to send your IP address to WordFence to facilitate this. Their privacy policy is at https://www.wordfence.com/privacy-policy/.
Matomo Cloud
Matomo (previously known as Piwik) is an open-source web analytics platform that provides detailed insights into website traffic and user behaviour. Their GDPR policy is at https://matomo.org/gdpr-analytics/.
Smush
Smush is used to optimise images by compressing them without losing quality. This can help improve website performance and speed. If you unload an image containing personal data, it might be sent to WMPUDev (the developer) to allow them to compress the image. Their privacy policy is at https://wpmudev.com/privacy-policy/.
We accept messages using WhatsApp Messanger for Business. If you send us a message using WhatsApp, they will use your IP address and email address to process your message. The message body is end-to-end encrypted, so WhatsApp cannot read any of the messages you send. WhatsApp also has a privacy policy at https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/privacy-policy.
How long we keep your data
We keep the comment and its metadata indefinitely if you leave a comment.
If you create an account with our service, we store the information you provide in your profile for as long as you maintain your account. All Users can see, edit, or delete their data, although you cannot change your username. Service administrators can also see and edit that information.
If you submit a form, we store the information provided for as long as required to deliver the service requested.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this Service may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves as if the visitor has visited the other website. We have no control over how third-party sites collect or use your data.
Your rights under GDPR
Under GDPR, all individuals have rights over Personal Data. If you have an account on this Service or have left a comment on a post, you can request details of any data we hold. You can also request that we erase any Personal Data we hold about you. The right to erasure does not include any data we must keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Additional information
How we protect your data
We store and process your data on secure, UK-based servers without external access to your data. Our website is built using industry-standard software, automatically updated to the current release, to help prevent data breaches.
What data breach procedures do we have in place
We have never had a data breach. If we discover any infringement, we notify all affected parties per data protection legislation and best practices.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make any changes, we will update the Privacy Policy on this page and indicate the revision date. Your continued use of our website after any modifications indicates your acceptance of the new Privacy Policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or the information we collect, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
