Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This website is operated by Northern Design and Marketing Ltd (Company No. 16850400), a company registered in England and Wales. Our registered office is at Business & Innovation Centre, Sunderland SR5 2TA. You can contact us at hello@northern.digital.

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, Northern Design and Marketing Ltd is the data controller.

2. What Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following personal data:

• Contact information — name, email address, phone number, and company name when you submit a contact or audit form.
• Technical data — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, time zone, and device information collected automatically when you visit our website.
• Usage data — pages visited, time spent on pages, click paths, and referral sources collected via Google Analytics 4.
• Communication data — any information you provide in emails, phone calls, or messages sent to us.
• Marketing data — UTM parameters and campaign source information captured when you arrive via a marketing link.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiries and provide the services you have requested.
• To send you information about our services where you have given consent or where we have a legitimate interest to do so.
• To improve our website, services, and user experience through analytics.
• To comply with legal obligations and protect our legitimate business interests.
• To administer and protect our business and this website, including troubleshooting, data analysis, and system testing.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We rely on the following legal bases under UK GDPR:

• Consent — where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose (e.g. subscribing to marketing communications).
• Contractual necessity — where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.
• Legitimate interests — where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
• Legal obligation — where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

5. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when browsing and also allows us to improve our site. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, please see our Cookie Policy.

6. Third Parties

We may share your personal data with the following categories of third parties:

• Google — Google Analytics 4 for website analytics and Google Ads for remarketing. Data is processed in accordance with Google's privacy policy.
• Meta (Facebook/Instagram) — for social advertising and tracking via the Meta Pixel where consent has been given.
• Make.com — for processing form submissions and automating workflows.
• Hosting providers — for the secure hosting of our website and data storage.
• CRM systems — to manage client relationships and communications.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes.

7. Data Retention

We will retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Contact form submissions are retained for up to 24 months. Analytics data is retained for 14 months as configured in Google Analytics 4.

8. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

• Right of access — you can request a copy of your personal data.
• Right to rectification — you can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — you can request that we delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing — you can request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability — you can request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to object — you can object to the processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@northern.digital. We will respond within one month of receiving your request.

9. Data Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, and partners who have a business need to know. All data transmitted via our contact forms is encrypted using SSL/TLS.

10. International Transfers

Some of our third-party service providers are based outside the United Kingdom. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, including standard contractual clauses approved by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) or adequacy decisions.

11. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Telephone: 0303 123 1113

We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you contact the ICO, so please do get in touch with us first.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Northern Design and Marketing Ltd · Business & Innovation Centre, Sunderland SR5 2TA · northerndigital.uk