StayTorbay

Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

StayTorbay (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to it. We operate in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

StayTorbay is an independent travel and tourism guide covering the Torbay area of Devon, UK. Our website is located at staytorbay.co.uk. For data-related enquiries, please contact us at our contact page.

2. Information We Collect

We collect limited personal information in the following circumstances:

  • Contact form submissions: Your name, email address, and the content of your message when you use our contact form.
  • Visitor reviews: Your name, email address, and the content of any review or comment you submit on a venue page. Your name will be displayed publicly; your email will not.
  • Usage data: We use analytics tools to collect anonymised information about how visitors use our site, including pages visited, time on site, device type, and approximate location (country/region level). This data does not identify you personally.
  • Cookies: See Section 7 below for full details.

We do not collect payment information. We do not sell your personal data.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Respond to enquiries submitted via our contact form.
  • Display visitor reviews on venue pages to help other users.
  • Understand how our website is used so we can improve it.
  • Maintain the security and performance of our website.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:

  • Legitimate interests — for analytics and website improvement, where this does not override your rights.
  • Contract / taking steps prior to a contract — when responding to enquiries you have initiated.
  • Consent — for optional cookies (you can withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your browser settings).

5. Third-Party Services

Our website uses the following third-party services that may process data on your behalf:

  • Google Maps & Google Places API — used to display venue locations and source business information. Governed by Google’s Privacy Policy.
  • Google Analytics — used for anonymised website analytics. We have enabled IP anonymisation. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
  • Hostinger — our website hosting provider, based in the EU, who store our data on European servers.

We do not share your personal information with any third party for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

  • Contact form messages: Retained for up to 12 months, then deleted unless there is an ongoing reason to keep them.
  • Visitor reviews: Retained indefinitely as part of the venue record unless you request removal.
  • Analytics data: Retained for 26 months by Google Analytics in anonymised form.

7. Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use the following types:

  • Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the website to function (e.g. session cookies set by WordPress). These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics cookies: Set by Google Analytics to help us understand site usage. These help us understand site usage. You can disable them via your browser settings.
  • Preference cookies: Used to remember settings such as your planner selections. These are stored locally on your device.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect your use of the site.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification of inaccurate data.
  • Erasure (“right to be forgotten”) of your data, where no legitimate reason to retain it exists.
  • Restriction of how we process your data.
  • Portability of your data in a commonly used format.
  • Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
  • Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via our contact page. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

9. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. Our website uses HTTPS encryption for all data transmission.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version. Continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.