This privacy policy explains how Headlines UK (headlinesuk.uk) collects, uses and protects your personal data when you visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter or interact with us. It is designed to give you clear control over your information under UK data protection law (the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018). Please read it alongside our Cookie Policy for details on how we use cookies and similar technologies. If you have any questions, you can contact our data protection team at privacy@headlinesuk.uk.
What information do we collect?
We collect only the personal data that you voluntarily provide or that is necessary for us to operate our journalism and services. This includes your name and email address if you sign up for our newsletter, submit a tip via Tip Us, comment on articles or contact us through Contact. We also collect limited technical data automatically when you browse, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited and the date and time of your visit, through analytics tools and cookies.
If you engage with sponsored content or click on affiliate links, we may record that interaction for reporting purposes, but we never collect sensitive personal data such as health, political opinions or biometric information without your explicit consent.
Why do we collect your data and on what legal basis?
We use your data for specific, legitimate purposes and each purpose is supported by a lawful basis under UK GDPR. For example, we process your email address to send you the newsletter you have subscribed to, based on your consent. We use analytics data to understand how readers use our site and improve our content, relying on our legitimate interest as a publisher to deliver trustworthy journalism. If you contact us with a complaint or correction, we process your data to respond to your request, which is necessary for the performance of a contract or to comply with a legal obligation.
We also rely on legal obligation to retain certain records for regulatory or tax purposes. Sponsored or commercial content is clearly labelled, and your data is never used to target advertisements beyond what you have agreed to.
How long do we keep your data?
We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. Newsletter subscriber data is kept until you unsubscribe or request erasure. Analytics logs are anonymised after 26 months. Correspondence related to complaints or corrections is held for six years after the matter is closed, in line with legal retention requirements. You can request deletion at any time by emailing privacy@headlinesuk.uk.
Do we share your data with anyone?
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We share information only with trusted service providers who help us run the website, deliver emails (e.g., our email platform provider), process analytics (e.g., Google Analytics, with IP anonymisation enabled) and manage advertising or affiliate links – all under strict data processing agreements that comply with UK GDPR. We may also disclose data if required by law, such as to comply with a court order or request from a regulatory authority.
What are your rights over your data?
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure (“right to be forgotten”) – ask us to delete your data.
- Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
- Portability – receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
To exercise any of these rights, please email privacy@headlinesuk.uk. We will respond within one month. If your request is complex or you make multiple requests, we may extend that period by a further two months and will explain why.
How this works in practice
Imagine a reader named Jane signs up for our weekly newsletter using her email address. She later decides she no longer wants to receive it and unsubscribes using the link in every email. Her data is removed from the active mailing list within 48 hours. If Jane later wants to know exactly what information we still hold about her, she emails privacy@headlinesuk.uk with a subject line “Access request”. We verify her identity and send her a full copy of her personal data within the statutory one-month period. She can then ask us to delete it permanently, which we will do unless we have a legal reason to keep it (for example, if she had previously submitted a formal complaint that requires a six-year retention period).
Who is responsible for your data?
The data controller for Headlines UK is Sliema Media Limited, registered in Malta (Malta Business Registry number C 84217), with registered office at Level 3, Tower Business Centre, Tower Street, Swatar, Birkirkara BKR 4013, Malta. Although our parent company is based in Malta, we are fully committed to UK data protection standards and our editorial team, led by Editor-in-Chief David Harwood, operates from the UK. For any privacy-related matters, contact our data controller by email at privacy@headlinesuk.uk or by post at the Malta address above.
How to contact us or make a complaint
If you have a question about how we handle your data, please email privacy@headlinesuk.uk. You can also write to our UK editorial line: +44 20 4587 9485. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/ or by calling their helpline on 0303 123 1113.
In short
We collect only the personal data you give us or that is needed to run a secure, transparent news website. We never sell your data, and we keep it only as long as necessary. You have clear rights to access, correct or delete your information, and we are here to help – just email privacy@headlinesuk.uk.