Privacy Statement (UK)

Last Updated: December 2025

Privacy Statement (UK)

1. Introduction

Welcome to Inkbot Design. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you about how we handle your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you access it from) and explain your privacy rights and how the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) protects you.

The Data Controller: Inkbot Design is the “controller” and is responsible for your personal data.

In Plain English: We are the ones responsible for any data you give us. We are bound by strict UK laws to keep it safe, and we take that responsibility seriously.

2. The Data We Collect

We collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you:

  • Identity Data: First name, last name (if you email us).
  • Contact Data: Email address (if you email us).
  • Technical Data: Internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting, and operating system.
  • Usage Data: Information about how you use our website (via Google Analytics).

We do NOT collect:

  • Special Categories of Personal Data: We do not collect data regarding your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, political opinions, or health status.

3. Our “Lawful Basis” for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we are only allowed to use personal data if we have a “lawful basis” to do so. We rely on the following:

  1. Legitimate Interests: This is the most common. It means we use your data to run our business effectively (e.g., keeping the website secure, analysing which blog posts are popular). We make sure our interests don't override your fundamental rights.
  2. Contract: If you hire us for a design project, we need your data to fulfil that contract (e.g., to send you the design files and the invoice).
  3. Legal Obligation: If we are required by law (e.g., HMRC for tax purposes) to keep records.

In Plain English: We don't just use your data for fun. We only use it if we have a contract with you, if the law says we have to, or if we have a valid business reason (like making sure our website actually works).

4. International Transfers (The “Data Bridge”)

Inkbot Design is based in the UK, but we use third-party tools (like Google Analytics and YouTube) that are based in the USA.

When we transfer your personal data out of the UK, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it. As of 2026, we rely on the UK-US Data Bridge (the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework) and approved Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) / International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTA).

In Plain English: The internet is global. Sometimes your data hops across the ocean to a server in America (where Google is). We only work with big companies that have signed the necessary legal agreements to promise they will protect your data just as safely as if it were in London.

5. Data Retention

How long will you retain my personal data? We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected.

  • Marketing/Analytics Data: Retained for 12 months.
  • Client Data (Invoices/Contracts): By law, we are required to retain basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial, and Transaction Data) for six years after they cease being customers for tax purposes (HMRC).

6. Your Legal Rights (UK GDPR)

Under the UK data protection laws, you have rights in relation to your personal data:

  1. Request access to your personal data (a “Data Subject Access Request”).
  2. Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you.
  3. Request erasure of your personal data (the “Right to be Forgotten”).
  4. Object to the processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest.
  5. Request restriction of processing of your personal data.
  6. Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [Insert Email].

In Plain English: It is your data, not ours. If you want to see what we have, fix a typo, or have us delete you from our systems, just ask. We won't charge you a fee for this.

7. Third-Party Links

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy policies or practices.

8. Making a Complaint (The ICO)

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues.

We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.

In Plain English: If you think we are doing something shady with your data, you have the right to report us to the government regulator (the ICO). But please email us first—we promise to try and fix it!