The short version

Who runs this site

Happy English UK (“we”, “us”, “our”) is operated by an independent publisher based in the United Kingdom. For data-protection enquiries, contact us at henqcy@gmail.com.

What data we collect, and why

1. Site analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 with IP anonymisation enabled. This collects:

• Anonymised IP address (last octet zeroed) — used to estimate country/region only.
• Browser type, screen size, language.
• Pages you viewed, in what order, and for how long.
• Referring page (which site sent you here).

This data lets us see which articles are useful and which need to be improved. It is never linked to your name, email or any other identifier.

2. Cookies

We set or accept three categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary (always on) — WordPress session cookies, the cookie consent banner state.
• Analytics (opt-in) — Google Analytics’ _ga and _gid cookies. Set only if you accept them in the consent banner.
• Affiliate (set by third parties when you click an outbound link) — e.g. Amazon’s ubid-* cookies. We do not control these; they are governed by the destination retailer’s privacy policy.

Manage your choices anytime via the “Cookie settings” link in the footer.

3. Newsletter (when you subscribe)

If you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address and the date you subscribed. The list is managed by a GDPR-compliant email service and is used only to send you our newsletter. You can unsubscribe in one click via the link at the bottom of every email.

4. Contact form / email

When you message us via the contact form, we collect your name, email address and message contents so we can reply. We retain these messages for 24 months for follow-up purposes, then delete them.

5. Comments

If you leave a comment on an article, your name, email (not displayed publicly) and comment text are stored in our database. We use Akismet to filter spam; Akismet may receive your IP and email for spam-detection purposes (see Akismet’s privacy policy).

What we do not do

• We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data.
• We do not share your email with marketers, partners or anyone else.
• We do not run third-party display ads (no Google Ads, Outbrain, Taboola, etc.) — so no behavioural ad tracking from us.
• We do not use fingerprinting, session recording or other invasive tracking.

Affiliate disclosure summary

When you click a “Buy” or “View on Amazon” link on our site and complete a purchase, the retailer pays us a small commission. This does not change the price you pay. Full details on the Affiliate Disclosure page.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR and the EU GDPR, you have the right to:

• Request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Ask us to delete your data (“right to be forgotten”).
• Object to or restrict processing.
• Lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).

To exercise any of these rights, email henqcy@gmail.com. We respond within 30 days.

Data retention

• Analytics data — 14 months, then automatically deleted by Google.
• Newsletter subscribers — until you unsubscribe.
• Contact form messages — 24 months.
• Comments — indefinitely (you can request removal anytime).

Children

This site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has submitted information to us, please contact us and we will delete it immediately.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page if our data practices change. The “Last updated” date at the top will reflect the most recent revision. Significant changes will also be announced in our newsletter.