Privacy Policy — Liam Stanley

Last updated: 15 June 2026

This privacy policy explains how your personal data is collected, used and protected when you visit liamstanleybooks.com (the “site”) and sign up to the newsletter. It is written to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who is responsible for your data

The data controller for this site is Liam Stanley, operating as a sole trader.

If you have any questions about this policy or about your personal data, you can contact:

liamstanleybooks@proton.me

To complete before launch: if you are required to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller, add your ICO registration number here. Most sole traders running a simple mailing list fall under an exemption, but confirm your position at ico.org.uk. You may also add a postal contact address if you wish (not legally required for a sole trader, but some readers expect one).

2. What data is collected

This site collects a deliberately small amount of personal data:

Your email address, when you choose to submit it through one of the newsletter signup forms.
Optionally, your first name, if a signup form asks for it (so emails can be addressed to you personally).
Basic technical and engagement data generated by the email service when newsletters are sent — for example whether an email was opened or a link clicked. This is standard mailing-list functionality.

The site does not ask you to create an account, does not take payments, and does not knowingly collect data from anyone under the age of 16.

To complete before launch: if you add website analytics later (e.g. Plausible, Fathom or Cloudflare Web Analytics), describe it here. If you use a privacy-respecting, cookie-free analytics tool you can say so; if you use Google Analytics you must disclose its cookies and add a cookie banner.

3. Why your data is used, and the legal basis

Your email address is used for one purpose: to send you the newsletter and related updates about the book Stolen Minds and the author’s writing.

The legal basis for this processing is your consent, which you give by submitting your address through a signup form. You can withdraw that consent at any time (see section 6).

4. Who your data is shared with

Your email address is stored and processed by the third-party email service used to run the newsletter. That provider acts as a data processor on the controller’s behalf and processes your data only to deliver the newsletter.

To complete before launch: name your email/newsletter provider here (for example Substack, ConvertKit, Buttondown or Mailchimp) and link to their own privacy policy. If your provider stores data outside the UK/EEA (most US providers do), add one sentence stating that international transfers are covered by the provider’s standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards — this information is in your provider’s own privacy/DPA documentation.

Your data is never sold, rented or traded. It is not shared with anyone else except where required by law.

5. How long your data is kept

Your email address is kept for as long as you remain subscribed to the newsletter. If you unsubscribe, your address is removed from the active mailing list. Some records may be retained for a short period afterwards by the email provider for technical and suppression purposes (to ensure you are not re-added in error).

6. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

access the personal data held about you;
have inaccurate data corrected;
have your data erased (“the right to be forgotten”);
restrict or object to how your data is processed;
request a copy of your data in a portable format;
withdraw consent at any time.

The simplest way to exercise most of these rights is to click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any newsletter, which removes you from the list. For any other request, email liamstanleybooks@proton.me and it will be actioned without undue delay and within one month.

If you believe your data has been mishandled, you have the right to complain to the UK’s supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office, at ico.org.uk.

7. Cookies

This site itself does not set tracking or advertising cookies. Newsletter emails may contain a standard tracking pixel that records opens and clicks; this is provided by the email service and is common to virtually all mailing lists.

To complete before launch: if you add any analytics or embedded third-party content (e.g. a Substack signup widget, embedded video) that sets cookies, update this section and add a cookie consent banner. As currently built, the site sets no cookies of its own.

8. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised “last updated” date. Material changes affecting how your data is used will, where practical, be notified through the newsletter.

Read the Terms of Service →