Privacy Policy
Acuity Institute · acuity.institute
Effective date: [DATE OF PUBLICATION]
This policy explains what personal data is processed when you visit acuity.institute, read texts in the Acuity Library, or write to us through the forms on the site, and what choices you have.
1. Who we are
The controller of your personal data is Acuity.Institute. It is based in the United Kingdom ("we", "us"), and the person responsible for data protection is Ethan James Farrell. Postal address: Acuity.Institute, Bridge Grove, PR8 5AA, United Kingdom.
Contact for any privacy matter: [email protected]
We process personal data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. Summary
- You can read and download everything in the Library without an account, and we do not identify you while you read.
- We use no analytics, no advertising and no tracking cookies.
- We only receive personal data that you choose to send us through a form.
- The e-book reader can remember your place, but only in your own browser. That information never leaves your device.
3. What we collect and why
3.1 Contact form ("A quiet inquiry")
| What | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Name, email address and your message | To read and reply to your enquiry | Legitimate interests (replying to people who contact us); where you ask about working with us, steps taken at your request before a contract |
| A random submission reference, the time of submission and the page it came from | To avoid recording the same message twice and to keep an accurate record | Legitimate interests |
3.2 Waitlist registration form
| What | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Name and email address | To record your place on the waitlist and email you on the launch date to tell you the service has launched | Consent, given when you submit the form, which you can withdraw at any time |
| An optional note on what you would like to explore | To understand interest and prioritise invitations | Consent (you choose whether to provide it) |
| Whether you ticked "Also send me occasional Acuity Institute updates" | To send updates only if you asked for them | Consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
| A random submission reference, the time of submission and the page it came from | Record-keeping and avoiding duplicates | Legitimate interests |
Please don't include sensitive information (for example about your health or religious beliefs) in a message or note unless you want us to use it in replying. Given the subject matter of the Library, a note may reveal something about your beliefs; if it does, we use it only to respond to you, relying on your explicit choice to share it. [LEGAL REVIEW: special category data, Art. 9(2)(a)]
3.3 Technical data when you visit
When your browser requests a page, Cloudflare (which sits in front of the site) and our hosting provider process your IP address, browser type, the address requested and the time of the request, so it can deliver the site and keep it secure. We do not use this data to profile you.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests (operating and securing the website).
4. Data stored on your own device
We set no cookies of our own, and no analytics or advertising cookies. Cloudflare, our network and security provider, may set a strictly necessary security cookie (such as __cf_bm) to tell people from automated traffic; it is short-lived and is not used to track you. The site also uses your browser's own storage for the following purposes. None of this browser storage is sent to us or to anyone else.
| Storage | Key | What is stored | When | How long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local storage | acuity.ebook.v1.<book-id>.<edition> |
Your chosen font size and your position in that e-book (an EPUB location reference) | Only if you tick "Remember my place on this device" in the e-book reader | Until you untick the option (which deletes it) or clear your browser's site data |
| Local storage | acuity.ebook.appearance.v1 |
Your chosen e-book page colour (White, Soft white or Warm) | When you change the page colour | Until you clear your browser's site data |
| Session storage | acuity-contact-submission-id, acuity-agent-waitlist-submission-id |
A random reference number for a form you are filling in, so that a retried submission isn't recorded twice | When you send a form | Removed after a successful send, or when you close the tab |
The PDF reader doesn't store anything on your device. Because these items are strictly necessary for features you request, or are set only at your explicit choice, no cookie consent banner is required. [LEGAL REVIEW: confirm under PECR reg. 6]
To clear them: untick "Remember my place on this device" in the reader, or delete this site's data in your browser settings (for example, Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → View permissions and data stored across sites → acuity.institute → Delete data).
5. Who processes your data for us
| Provider | What they do | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Railway Corporation | Hosts the website and our self-hosted n8n automation service, which receives form submissions | EU (Amsterdam, Netherlands) region; Railway Corporation is a US company |
| n8n (self-hosted on our Railway service) | Checks each form submission and passes it to our records. n8n GmbH, the software's maker, does not receive your data | As above |
| Notion Labs, Inc. | Stores form submissions in our private enquiries database, which we use to reply | United States / global |
| Google (Google Fonts) | Serves the site's typefaces. Your browser sends your IP address to Google when the fonts load | Global |
| Google (YouTube) | Shows video thumbnails in the Webinars and Shorts panels and, if you press play, the YouTube player. Google may then set cookies under its own privacy policy | Global |
| Cloudflare, Inc. | Sits in front of the site as a content delivery and security proxy. Processes your IP address and request data to deliver pages and block abusive traffic, and may set security cookies such as __cf_bm |
Global network; Cloudflare, Inc. is a US company |
We don't sell your personal data or use it for advertising.
6. International transfers
Cloudflare, Railway and Notion are US companies, and some of these providers are based in, or may process data in, the United States or elsewhere outside the UK. Where this happens, we rely on recognised safeguards: the UK–US data bridge (the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework) where the provider is certified, or otherwise the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses in the provider's data processing terms. Although our website and form service are hosted in Railway's EU region, form submissions are stored in Notion, which may hold data in the United States. [LEGAL REVIEW: verify each provider's certification and data processing terms.]
7. How long we keep it
- Enquiries: kept for 30 days, then deleted.
- Waitlist registrations: kept until launch. On the launch date (not yet fixed) we email everyone on the waitlist to tell them the service has launched, and we delete waitlist data 30 days after launch. You can ask to be removed at any time before then.
- Updates preference: until you unsubscribe.
- Hosting and security logs: the short periods set by Cloudflare and Railway under their own terms.
8. Your rights
You have the right to access your data, have it corrected or erased, restrict or object to its use, and receive it in a portable format where that applies. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting earlier processing. To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. We will reply within one month, normally free of charge.
9. Complaints
Please contact us first so we can try to put things right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, telephone 0303 123 1113.
10. Children
The site is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. [LEGAL REVIEW]
11. Changes
We may update this policy. The current version, with its effective date, is always on this page.