Who this policy applies to
This policy covers the public ConsumerWise website at consumerwise.org.uk. ConsumerWise is an independent consumer-information website created and operated by Jack Whittle in the United Kingdom. It does not cover the separate privacy practices of a regulator, ombudsman, retailer, government body or other website that you choose to visit from an external link.
The public site is deliberately designed to work without a user account. You do not have to create a profile, give ConsumerWise your name, provide an email address or upload case documents in order to read guides, use ordinary search, open templates or use the current browser-based tools.
The short version: we minimise what we receive
The public site is designed primarily to publish information. Analytics is used only after permission and only to understand site use and improve the service, for example which pages are useful, how visitors move between pages, where people enter or leave, and whether the site works well across browsers and devices. It is not used for advertising, marketing profiles, behavioural targeting or selling audience data.
That does not mean that absolutely no technical data exists. A website request necessarily involves technical information such as an IP address, and optional analytics can create online identifiers. The ICO treats IP addresses and cookie identifiers as capable of being personal data in some circumstances. This policy therefore describes the technical processing rather than making the misleading claim that “no personal data is ever processed”.
What information can be processed
| Activity | Information involved | Why it is used | Basis / control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary page request | IP address, user-agent/browser information, requested URL, time, HTTP status and similar server data | Deliver pages, maintain security, detect abuse and diagnose faults | Legitimate interests in operating and securing the site; server-log retention follows the hosting/security configuration and should be limited to what is necessary. |
| Cookie preference | Your analytics choice and the time it was saved in local browser storage | Remember the choice so the banner does not ask on every page | Necessary to remember and respect the privacy choice; stored on your device until cleared or the preference format changes. |
| Optional Matomo analytics | Page path and title, referring page/site, visit/session information, first-party analytics identifier, browser/device information and outlink/download interactions | Measure page popularity, understand journeys through the site and diagnose content or compatibility problems | Consent. Matomo is not loaded by ConsumerWise until analytics is allowed. |
| Site search | The words you type into ConsumerWise search | Return relevant ConsumerWise pages and sections | Requested site functionality. The application does not deliberately write search queries to a user profile or search-history database. Server/security logs may still process request information. |
| Current tools and builders | Information you type into the tool in your browser | Calculate, organise or export the result you asked for | Current tool inputs are designed to be processed in the browser and are not intentionally submitted to ConsumerWise as case files. Some deadline tools fetch the public GOV.UK bank-holiday dataset. |
| Editorial contributions and corrections | Your email address, name if you provide it, message content and any attachments or supporting material you choose to send to contribute@consumerwise.org.uk | Review corrections, investigate updates, understand reader experiences, verify sources and improve ConsumerWise content | Legitimate interests in maintaining accurate, useful editorial content and corresponding about material you choose to send. Do not send more personal information than is needed for the editorial point. |
| Privacy enquiries and rights requests | Your contact details, the substance of the enquiry and information reasonably needed to identify or respond to the request | Answer privacy questions and deal with data-protection rights or legal obligations concerning ConsumerWise itself | Processing may be necessary to comply with legal obligations and to respond to the request. Additional identity evidence should only be requested where it is genuinely necessary and proportionate. |
Matomo analytics: what it is for, and what it is not for
ConsumerWise uses a self-hosted Matomo installation at analytics.jackwhittle.co.uk (Matomo site ID 6). The purpose is practical site measurement and diagnostics, which guides receive traffic, which routes visitors follow through the site, where visits begin and end, which external or download links are used, and whether browser/device patterns suggest a usability problem.
ConsumerWise does not configure Matomo to collect names, email addresses, account numbers, the text typed into templates or tools, advertising identifiers, marketing audiences or a ConsumerWise user account. No User ID is assigned. Query strings are removed from the URL supplied to Matomo so a search such as ?q=... is not intentionally recorded as the analytics page URL.
The Matomo server receives the analytics request over the internet and therefore necessarily receives network information such as the source IP address. ConsumerWise does not use that information to identify named visitors or to make decisions about them. Raw analytics retention and IP-anonymisation are server-side Matomo settings and should be configured in line with the data-minimisation purpose described here.
Search, tools and information you type
ConsumerWise search sends the search phrase to ConsumerWise’s own search endpoint so that the server can return matching pages. The search feature is not intended as a place to submit case files, passwords, account numbers, medical information or other sensitive material. Avoid putting unnecessary personal data into a search box.
The current calculators, checkers and builders are designed so the information you enter remains in the browser unless a tool expressly says otherwise. Export functions create files in the browser. The bank-holiday logic used by some deadline tools can request the public GOV.UK bank-holidays JSON feed; your browser therefore connects to GOV.UK to retrieve that public dataset, but ConsumerWise does not send the facts you typed into the tool to GOV.UK.
Cookies and browser storage
ConsumerWise uses local browser storage to remember your privacy choice. If you allow analytics, Matomo may set first-party cookies on consumerwise.org.uk so visits and page views can be grouped into a visit and, depending on the cookie, recognised across later visits. The exact names and normal lifetimes are explained in the Cookie and browser-storage policy.
The site does not use advertising cookies, social-media tracking pixels or Google-hosted web fonts. DM Sans is served locally by ConsumerWise.
Who receives information
Information is not sold to advertisers. ConsumerWise may rely on infrastructure providers needed to host, secure and serve the website, the service used to receive and store ConsumerWise email, and the operator-controlled Matomo service when you have allowed analytics. Those providers should receive only the information necessary to provide the relevant service.
External websites receive a request only when you follow a link to them or when a documented site feature, such as the GOV.UK bank-holiday feed, needs to obtain a public resource. ConsumerWise does not use analytics data to build advertising audiences or share individual browsing histories with retailers, lenders, ombudsmen or other organisations discussed in the guides.
Retention and deletion
The public application deliberately stores very little visitor data itself. The local privacy preference remains on the device until you clear site data or ConsumerWise replaces the preference format. Matomo cookie lifetimes are listed in the cookie policy. Matomo raw-data retention and web-server/security-log retention are controlled by the relevant server configuration; the retention criterion is that identifiable or individual-level technical information should be kept only for as long as it is needed for security, reliability, troubleshooting or the site-measurement purpose, after which it should be deleted or aggregated.
Email correspondence, contribution material and supporting attachments should be retained only for as long as reasonably needed to review the point, correspond with the sender, maintain an appropriate editorial/correction record or meet a legal obligation. Material that is not needed for those purposes should be deleted or, where useful editorial information can be kept without the identifying detail, minimised or anonymised.
If analytics permission is withdrawn, ConsumerWise tells Matomo to withdraw tracking consent and delete Matomo tracking cookies that it can remove from the browser.
Your choices and data-protection rights
You can reject analytics when first asked, allow it, or change the choice later through Cookie settings in the footer. Withdrawal does not affect processing that took place before withdrawal.
Where ConsumerWise is processing personal data about you, UK data-protection law may give you rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction and objection, depending on the circumstances. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. ConsumerWise does not carry out solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on visitors.
Privacy enquiries about ConsumerWise itself can be sent to privacy@consumerwise.org.uk. This address is for ConsumerWise’s own data handling, not for asking ConsumerWise to pursue a privacy complaint against another organisation. ConsumerWise should not ask visitors to send identity documents or sensitive case files unless they are genuinely necessary and proportionate for the request.
Children and sensitive information
ConsumerWise is a general information service, not a service designed to profile children or collect special-category data. The ordinary public site does not require a date of birth or age declaration. Users should avoid entering sensitive personal information into search boxes or general-purpose tools when it is not necessary.