Privacy Policy for Flip Flops & Raincoats

Last updated: July 30, 2026

At Flip Flops & Raincoats (flipflopsandraincoats.co.uk), accessible from https://flipflopsandraincoats.co.uk, protecting the privacy of our readers and community is one of our main priorities.

This Privacy Policy document details the types of personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who We Are

Flip Flops & Raincoats is a UK-based personal travel blog operated by [Your Name / Company Name].

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, you can contact us at:

• Website: flipflopsandraincoats.co.uk
• Email: ffandrc@flipflopsandraincoats.co.uk

2. Personal Information We Collect

We only collect personal information that is necessary to run our website and engage with our audience. This includes:

A. Information You Provide Voluntarily

• Comments & Contact Forms: When you leave a comment on a blog post or reach out via a contact form, we collect the details you enter, such as your name, email address, website URL, and your IP address / browser user agent string (to assist with automated spam detection).
• Uploaded Media & Images: If you choose to upload images to accompany your comments or guest submissions, we collect and store those image files on our server.
  • Important Note on Photo Metadata: If you upload images that contain embedded location data (EXIF GPS), site visitors may be able to download the photo and extract location information. We strongly advise stripping location data from your photos prior to uploading.

B. Information Collected Automatically

• Log Files & Device Data: Like most websites, we collect technical data when you visit. This includes your IP address, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamps, referring/exit pages, and the pages viewed.
• Cookies: We use cookies to improve user experience, remember your details when commenting, and analyze traffic. For full details, please refer to our dedicated [Cookie Policy].

3. Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal grounds to process your personal data:

1. Consent: When you voluntarily submit a comment, contact form, or image upload, you give us permission to display and process that data.
2. Legitimate Interests: To protect our website against spam, fraud, and cyber attacks, and to analyze traffic to improve our travel content.
3. Legal Compliance: Where required by law to retain certain records.

4. How We Use Your Data

We use the information we collect to:

• Publish and display your comments and submitted photos on our blog.
• Screen submissions for spam and malicious abuse (e.g., via anti-spam plugins like Akismet or reCAPTCHA).
• Respond to your inquiries, emails, or comments.
• Monitor and analyze trends to optimize our travel guides and improve performance.
• Ensure the technical security of our website.

5. Third-Party Data Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. However, we may share non-personally identifiable or system data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our blog, such as:

• Web Hosting Providers: To securely store our website data and uploaded images.
• Spam Prevention Services: An automated spam detection service may check user comments and metadata.
• Analytics Providers: Services like Google Analytics to help us understand site usage (data is aggregated and anonymized).

6. How Long We Retain Your Data

• Comments & Images: If you leave a comment or upload a photo, the comment, its images, and associated metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
• Contact Forms: Inquiries sent via contact forms are kept for as long as necessary to resolve your request, up to a maximum of 12 months, after which they are deleted.

7. Your Data Protection Rights (UK GDPR)

As a UK resident, you have specific rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of Access: You can request copies of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You can request that we erase your personal data, including removing your uploaded comments and photos. (Note: This does not include any data we are required to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes).
• Right to Restrict or Object: You can object to our processing of your personal data under certain circumstances.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [Your Contact Email Here]. We will respond to your request within one month.

8. Children’s Privacy

Protecting children’s online safety is important. Flip Flops & Raincoats does not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 (or 16 under certain regional guidelines). If you believe your child has provided personal information or uploaded images on our website without consent, please contact us immediately and we will promptly remove it.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.