Privacy Policy

Last updated: 21 August 2026

Your privacy matters to me. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information may be collected when you use Creative Fibro, why it is used, who may process it and the rights you have.

Who I Am

Creative Fibro is run by Susan Pearson.

The main website is creativefibro.uk. I also run the Digital World and Off Topic blogs under the Creative Fibro umbrella.

For data protection purposes, I am the data controller for personal information collected directly through these websites. This means I decide why and how that information is used.

If you have a question about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise one of your data protection rights or want to make a data protection complaint, please use the Contact Me page.

You can also read my Disclosure Statement for information about affiliate links, commercial relationships and my use of artificial intelligence.

What Personal Information I Collect

Most people can browse Creative Fibro, Digital World and Off Topic without giving me their name or contact details.

Personal information may be collected when you:

• subscribe to the newsletter;
• contact me directly;
• interact with certain website features; or
• visit the websites, where limited technical information may be processed by hosting, security and analytics services.

The information collected depends on how you use the websites.

Newsletter Subscribers

If you subscribe to the Creative Fibro newsletter, I currently ask for:

• your first name;
• your email address; and
• which blogs you would like to hear about: Creative Fibro, Digital World and/or Off Topic.

I use this information to send the newsletter and to make sure you receive updates from the blogs you have chosen.

The lawful basis I rely on for processing your information for newsletter emails is consent.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in newsletter emails. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that took place lawfully before you withdrew it.

Acumbamail

I use Acumbamail to manage newsletter subscriptions and send emails. This means subscriber information is processed through Acumbamail on my behalf.

Acumbamail may also provide information about newsletter performance, such as delivery, opens and link clicks, where those features are enabled. I may use this information to understand whether the newsletter is useful and to manage long-term inactive subscriptions.

I do not sell my mailing list or provide subscriber details to other organisations so they can market to you.

How Long Newsletter Information Is Kept

Your subscriber information is normally kept while you remain subscribed.

I periodically review long-term inactive subscribers and may remove them where there has been no meaningful engagement for an extended period.

If you unsubscribe, information needed to honour that request may be retained where necessary so that you are not accidentally added back to marketing communications.

Contacting Creative Fibro

If you contact me, I may receive information including your name, email address and anything you choose to include in your message.

I use this information to read, respond to and manage your enquiry.

The lawful basis I normally rely on is legitimate interests, specifically my legitimate interest in communicating with readers, dealing with enquiries and running the websites.

Please avoid sending detailed medical records or other highly sensitive personal information unless it is genuinely necessary.

I keep correspondence only for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with the enquiry, any follow-up and any relevant administrative or legal requirements. Routine correspondence may be deleted periodically, while information connected with an ongoing matter may need to be retained for longer.

Website Hosting, Security and Technical Information

The Creative Fibro websites are hosted by Krystal.

When you visit a website, hosting and security systems may automatically process technical information needed to deliver and protect the site. Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

• IP address;
• browser and device information;
• requested pages or files;
• date and time of requests;
• referral information; and
• information associated with security events or technical errors.

This information may be used to deliver the websites, maintain their security, diagnose technical problems, prevent abuse and investigate suspicious activity.

Where this information amounts to personal information, the lawful basis I normally rely on is legitimate interests, specifically my legitimate interest in operating secure and reliable websites.

Technical and security records are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for security, troubleshooting, legal or administrative purposes, taking account of the settings and retention practices of the relevant service provider.

Website Analytics

I use GoatCounter to understand how Creative Fibro, Digital World and Off Topic are being used.

GoatCounter provides aggregate statistics such as:

• which pages are visited;
• how visitors reached the websites;
• browser and operating-system information;
• screen size;
• country-level location; and
• general patterns in website use.

I use this information to understand readership, improve the websites and decide which content is useful.

How GoatCounter Protects Visitor Privacy

GoatCounter is configured to collect aggregate statistics rather than individual browsing histories.

Individual pageview storage is disabled.

GoatCounter does not store visitors' IP addresses, full user-agent headers or persistent tracking identifiers. It does not place analytics cookies, localStorage identifiers or similar tracking data in visitors' browsers.

To distinguish visits and avoid counting repeated page refreshes as separate visits, GoatCounter temporarily processes a combination of the website, IP address and user-agent information in memory. This temporary mapping lasts for no more than eight hours and is not stored to disk. The resulting information cannot later be traced back to the original IP address or user-agent.

Country information is derived during this processing, but the visitor's IP address itself is not retained by GoatCounter.

I do not use analytics to identify individual readers or to build profiles of their browsing behaviour.

Where analytics involves processing personal information before it is aggregated or anonymised, the lawful basis I rely on is legitimate interests, specifically my legitimate interest in understanding and improving the websites while minimising the amount of visitor information collected.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Websites can use cookies and other technologies that store information on, or access information from, your device.

GoatCounter does not use analytics cookies, localStorage or persistent identifiers on visitors' devices.

Other website features may use storage or access technologies where they are necessary to provide a feature you have requested, remember a preference or operate the website securely.

UK law allows certain technologies to be used without prior consent where a legal exception applies, including technologies that are strictly necessary to provide a requested service.

Certain technologies used solely for statistical purposes or to remember appearance and functionality preferences may also qualify for an exception, provided the relevant legal conditions are met.

Where a technology does not qualify for an exception and consent is legally required, it should not be used for that purpose unless consent has been obtained.

Accessibility and Language Features

The Creative Fibro websites may include accessibility and language tools designed to make them easier to use.

Some of these tools may store information on your device to remember choices you make, such as accessibility adjustments, display preferences or language settings.

Where such storage is used solely to provide or remember a feature you have requested, it may fall within an applicable exception from the requirement for prior consent.

Embedded and Third-Party Content

Some pages may contain content or services provided by another website, such as an embedded video, image or other interactive content.

When you interact with third-party content, the provider may receive technical information about your device or visit and may use cookies or similar technologies according to its own privacy practices.

Where possible, third-party content should be configured in a privacy-friendly way.

If a third-party service requires non-essential storage or access technologies that do not qualify for a legal exception, consent may be required before those technologies are activated.

When you follow a link from one of my websites to another website, that website's own privacy policy applies.

Who I Share Personal Information With

I do not sell personal information.

I use trusted service providers to operate the Creative Fibro websites. Depending on how you use them, these may include:

• Krystal, for website hosting and related technical services;
• Acumbamail, for newsletter subscriptions and email delivery;
• GoatCounter, for privacy-focused website analytics;
• technical, security or website-support providers where access is genuinely necessary to diagnose or resolve a problem; and
• providers of third-party content or functionality that you choose to use.

Where a service provider processes personal information on my behalf, I expect it to process that information only for the purposes for which its services are being used and subject to appropriate data-protection arrangements.

I may also disclose information where I am legally required to do so, or where this is reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights, protect the websites or respond to lawful requests from an appropriate authority.

International Data Transfers

Some service providers used by the Creative Fibro websites are based outside the UK or may use infrastructure, subprocessors or support services located in other countries.

For example:

• Acumbamail is based in Spain.
• The hosted GoatCounter service is operated from Ireland and stores data on servers in Finland and Germany.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, the transfer must be made in accordance with UK data protection law. This may include relying on UK adequacy regulations or other appropriate safeguards.

Service providers may change their infrastructure or subprocessors over time. Their current privacy and data-processing information should be consulted where you want more detailed information about their processing arrangements.

How I Protect Personal Information

I take reasonable steps to protect information handled through the Creative Fibro websites.

These include using password-protected devices and accounts, secure website connections and appropriate hosting and security measures.

Access to administrative systems and personal information is limited to people or service providers who genuinely need that access.

Trusted technical support providers may occasionally require temporary access to a website to investigate or resolve a technical issue. Access should be limited to what is necessary for that purpose.

No website or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but I aim to use reasonable measures appropriate to the information being handled.

How Long I Keep Personal Information

I do not keep personal information simply because it might be useful one day.

How long information is retained depends on why it was collected, including:

• whether you remain subscribed to the newsletter;
• whether an enquiry or conversation is still active;
• whether information is needed to maintain website security;
• the retention settings and practices of service providers;
• whether information is needed to establish or defend legal rights; and
• whether I am legally required to retain it.

Where information has been genuinely anonymised so that it no longer identifies or relates to an identifiable person, it is no longer personal information for data protection purposes and aggregate statistical information may be retained for longer-term comparison.

Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, UK data protection law gives you rights over your personal information.

These may include the right to:

• ask whether I am processing your personal information and receive a copy of it;
• ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;
• ask for personal information to be erased in certain circumstances;
• ask for processing to be restricted in certain circumstances;
• object to certain processing;
• receive certain information you provided in a portable format where the right to data portability applies; and
• withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and do not all apply in every situation.

Your Right to Object

Where I rely on legitimate interests to process your personal information, you have the right to object to that processing in certain circumstances.

Where your information is used for direct marketing, you can object at any time. For the newsletter, the simplest way to do this is to unsubscribe using the link in an email.

To exercise a data protection right, please contact me through the Contact Me page.

I may need enough information to confirm your identity and understand your request before I can act on it.

Data Protection Complaints

If you believe I have not handled your personal information properly, you can raise a data protection complaint with me through the Contact Me page.

Please make it clear that your message concerns a data protection complaint so that it can be dealt with appropriately.

I will acknowledge a data protection complaint within 30 days and will take appropriate steps to investigate it and respond without undue delay.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

You do not have to raise the issue with me before contacting the ICO.

Children

Creative Fibro, Digital World and Off Topic are written for a general audience and are not specifically directed at children.

I do not knowingly ask children to provide personal information through the websites or knowingly use children's personal information for marketing.

If I become aware that personal information about a child has been collected in circumstances where it should not have been, I will take appropriate steps to deal with it.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy when the websites change the way they collect or use information, when service providers change, or when relevant privacy law or guidance changes.

The current version will be published on this page and the Last updated date at the top will be changed when there is a material update.