Privacy Policy

Scope

This policy explains what Cumbernauld Media collects when you read cumbernauld-media.com, why, who else sees it and what you can do about it. Our readers are international and so are the laws that protect them, so this policy is written to work wherever you are, and it does not claim a base in any one jurisdiction.

What we collect when you read

Reading the site produces the records any website produces: your IP address, the page requested, the time, the referring page, and the browser and device type your software reports. These logs exist so the site can be served and defended against abuse. They are kept for a short, fixed period and then discarded. They are not joined to any identity.

We use an analytics tool to count visits and to see which stories are read, for how long and on what kind of device. It is configured to shorten IP addresses and not to build profiles of individual readers. The result is aggregate: this many readers, this many on phones, this many in each region.

What we collect when you write to us

When you email support@cumbernauld-media.com we receive what you send: your address, your name if you sign it, and the content. Mail is kept as long as it is useful for the purpose you sent it. A correction request stays with the correction record. A tip stays until the story is finished or abandoned. Messages from confidential sources are handled under the stricter rules on the contact page and are not stored in shared systems.

If you subscribe to a newsletter or alert, we store the address you gave us and a record of the subscription. Every message we send carries an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing removes the address from the active list.

Cookies

We set a small number of cookies ourselves, to remember preferences and to keep the analytics count honest. The advertising network may set cookies of its own and may use them to select ads based on your browsing across other sites. The cookie policy lists the categories and explains how to refuse them. Where the law where you live requires consent for non-essential cookies, they are not set until you give it.

Advertising

Cumbernauld Media is funded by display advertising served through an advertising network. That network receives technical information about each ad request, such as the page address, device type, approximate location derived from your IP address and a cookie identifier, so it can choose which banner to show and record that it was shown. It may use that information to build interest profiles across the many sites it serves. We do not send it your name, your email or the content of your messages.

You can limit interest-based advertising through the consent controls on the site, your browser’s settings and the opt-out tools the advertising industry operates in your region. Doing so does not remove ads; it makes them less targeted.

How we use what we hold

We use reader data to serve the site, measure it, keep it secure, answer your mail, send messages you asked for and comply with law. We do not sell it, we do not use it to make automated decisions about individuals, and we do not use it for anything unrelated to publishing this site.

The laws that may protect you

Readers in the European Union and the European Economic Area are protected by the General Data Protection Regulation, usually called GDPR. Readers in the United Kingdom are protected by the UK GDPR. Both require a lawful basis for every use of your data and give you the rights described below. Our bases are: our legitimate interest in operating, securing and measuring the site; your consent for non-essential cookies and newsletters; the need to answer you when you write and expect a reply; and legal obligation for the narrow remainder.

Readers in California are protected by the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, usually written CCPA/CPRA. It gives you the right to know what personal information is collected, to delete it, to correct it, and to opt out of its sale or sharing for cross-context advertising. We do not sell personal information. Advertising cookies set by the network may count as sharing under that law, and the consent controls and the Global Privacy Control signal are how you opt out. Readers in other US states with similar laws are treated the same way.

We are not claiming to be established in any of those places. We describe these laws because our readers live under them, and we honour reasonable requests from anyone, wherever they are.

Who else receives data, and where

Our hosting, email and analytics providers, and the advertising network, each process some data on our behalf or, in the case of the network, for its own purposes. Some of these providers are outside the country you live in; where a transfer is subject to rules such as those in the European Union or the United Kingdom, we rely on the safeguards those rules recognise, including standard contractual terms.

We disclose data to law enforcement or courts only when legally compelled, and we challenge requests that seek to identify sources or that look overbroad. We tell you about a request for your data unless we are prohibited from doing so.

Your rights and how to use them

You can ask what personal data we hold about you, ask for it to be corrected or deleted, ask us to stop a particular use, object to processing based on legitimate interest, and ask for a copy. Readers under GDPR and UK GDPR may also complain to their supervisory authority. Readers under CCPA/CPRA may act through an authorised agent. We will not treat you differently for exercising any right.

Write to support@cumbernauld-media.com with PRIVACY in the subject line. We confirm receipt within two business days and answer within the period the applicable law allows, usually sooner. We may need to verify that you are the person the data concerns before acting.

We honour the Global Privacy Control signal as an opt-out of sale or sharing where the law recognises it, and we treat it everywhere as a request to disable non-essential cookies.

Children

This site is written for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or under the higher age that applies where you live. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, write to us and it will be deleted.

Retention and security

Server logs are kept for weeks, not years. Analytics data is retained in aggregate. Mail is kept for as long as the purpose it serves lasts. Subscriber addresses are kept until you unsubscribe. We use encryption in transit, and restrict access to systems holding reader data to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data, we notify you as the law requires and, in practice, sooner.

Changes

When this policy changes in a way that matters, the change is noted at the top of the page with the date, and it is announced on the site before it takes effect, not after.

Last updated: September 2026