Legal
Privacy Policy & Cookie Notice
We believe in being straight with you about how we use your data and what cookies we set. No legal jargon — just plain English.
Last updated: January 2025Who we are
BrightLocalSites (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a UK-based website and marketing agency specialising in the property, local business, and marketing and design sectors. Our registered address is BLS Lincoln House, 296–302 High Holborn, London WC1T.
We are the data controller for personal information collected through this website. If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please get in touch with us.
What information we collect
We only collect information that is necessary to provide our services or respond to your enquiries. This may include:
- Your name, email address, and phone number when you contact us via our contact form
- Your business name and sector, if you provide it
- The content of messages you send us
- Technical data such as your IP address, browser type, and pages visited (collected automatically via cookies — see our Cookie Notice)
- Any other information you choose to share with us directly
We do not collect any special category data (such as health information, ethnicity, or political opinions) and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under the age of 16.
How we use your information
We use the information we collect to:
- Respond to your enquiry and communicate with you about our services
- Provide the services you have requested from us
- Improve our website and understand how visitors use it
- Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations
- Send you information about our services, where you have given us permission to do so
We will never sell your personal data to third parties, and we will never use it for purposes other than those described above without first obtaining your consent.
Our legal basis for processing
Under UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. Depending on how you interact with us, we rely on the following bases:
- Legitimate interests — when you contact us with an enquiry, we process your data to respond to you
- Contract performance — when you become a client, we process your data to deliver the services you’ve agreed to
- Legal obligation — where we are required to process or retain data to comply with UK law
- Consent — for any marketing communications, which you can withdraw at any time
Sharing your data
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal data. We may share it with trusted third parties only where necessary to deliver our services — for example, our hosting provider or email platform. Any third party we work with is required to handle your data securely and in line with UK GDPR.
We may also disclose your data if required to do so by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of BrightLocalSites, our clients, or others.
How long we keep your data
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected. As a guide:
- Enquiry and contact form data — up to 2 years from last contact
- Client project data — up to 7 years for legal and accounting purposes
- Website analytics data — typically 26 months
After these periods, data is securely deleted or anonymised.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data (“right to be forgotten”)
- Object to or restrict how we process your data
- Request a copy of your data in a portable format
- Withdraw consent at any time, where consent is our legal basis
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us. We will respond within 30 days. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Our website uses HTTPS encryption, and access to personal data is restricted to those who need it to carry out their work.
No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. If you have concerns about the security of information you’ve sent us, please get in touch.
Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the “last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Questions about your data?
We’re always happy to explain how we use your information or help you exercise your rights.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work properly, remember your preferences, and give website owners information about how their site is being used.
Cookies are not harmful and do not give us access to your device. They simply help us understand how people use our website so we can make it better.
Cookies we use
We use a small number of cookies on this website. Here’s exactly what they are and what they do:
| Cookie Name | Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| _session | Maintains your session while browsing the site | Session | |
| _ga | Google Analytics — distinguishes unique users | 2 years | |
| _ga_XXXXXX | Google Analytics — maintains session state | 2 years | |
| _gid | Google Analytics — distinguishes users over 24 hours | 24 hours | |
| cookie_consent | Remembers your cookie preferences | 1 year |
We do not use advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not share cookie data with third parties for marketing purposes.
Third-party cookies
Some cookies on this site are set by third-party services we use. These include:
- Google Analytics — we use this to understand how visitors find and use our website. Data is anonymised and aggregated. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites using Google’s opt-out tool.
These third parties have their own privacy policies which govern how they use cookie data. We have no control over third-party cookies once they are set.
Managing and disabling cookies
You can control, restrict, or delete cookies at any time through your browser settings. Here’s how to do it in the most common browsers:
Please note that disabling essential cookies may prevent parts of this website from functioning correctly. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect your browsing experience.
If you have any questions about the cookies we use, please contact us.
Questions about cookies?
Not sure about something on this page? Drop us a message and we’ll explain it in plain English.