Privacy Policy

This is our privacy policy. Unlike almost every other website you will visit we have decided to write a plain-speaking, simple to understand privacy policy. If we were to write a 3,000 policy (as we originally drafted up) then you would not read it. It would serve only to act as a legal buffer to cover our own arse. So we tore that one up, and wrote this one instead. If it seems a bit light to you then it must have worked, because it means you read it all. Job done.

If your attention span lasts just one paragraph then this is for you – we will only mail you if you say we can, we will not sell or share your data with anyone else, we are real people who are here to help you if you have any concerns about your data. Contact us if you do have concerns.

What is the purpose of a privacy policy? Quite simply it is a summary of what data we collect from you and why. Most websites are likely collecting data for either a) obvious reasons you would expect, or b) unnecessary reasons, but not cynical ones. Most businesses are just getting from A to B. A handful are up to no good (spammers) and in reality a 3,000 privacy policy isn’t going to stop them doing that. And the rest are so big and powerful that they also have dubious needs for collecting data but it is cloaked in them offering you something you want. You know who we mean.

Most businesses like us are offering a simple service and/or product, and need some of your data to achieve that.

Given that we are not an e-commerce business ourselves, we have a very simple need of your data. In fact, we don’t need it at all. So we don’t collect it. You could stop reading now if you want. Or you could find out a bit more about why.

We do offer the option of signing up for our newsletter. For us to send you a newsletter we need to know who you are and where to send it. In fact we only need to know where to send it (i.e. your email address). We ask for your name just to make it feel a bit more personal. You don’t have to leave your name if you don’t want to. You do need to leave an email address though if you want our newsletter. You can opt-out at any point as per GDPR using the unsubscribe links in each and every email.

Put simply, no. We will not sell or share your data with anyone else.

We will use it as we explain when you sign-up. We hope that our sign-up process is explicitly clear about what you are signing up for. If we are going to make a change to this then we would inform you, and give you the option to opt-out before any changes are made.

At the moment we don’t handle any e-commerce activity. If we promote a product it is because we are linking to someone else who will sell it to you. This is likely using affiliate marketing (see more on this in our disclaimer). It is then for that retailer to have their own privacy policy in place regarding the data they collect. We do vet people we link to but ultimately we are not responsible for them and what they do with your data. We would obviously stop linking to them if they mis-used your data though.

We only hold your email address and maybe your name, for our email marketing, which is handled by Mail Chimp. They are in turn responsible for holding your data safe and secure. You can read more about their role in this here, including a useful PDF link at the end.

So what about GDPR? Well, there was a lot of fuss when this new law came about last year. At the time we were running a retail business and were in danger of being caught up in the whirlwind. We then stopped, considered what GDPR was actually trying to achieve, and took a slightly different approach. And we still take that approach now. GDPR is meant to safeguard how businesses collect and use our data (our, not your). It was also meant to reinforce existing regulations. We have always collected personal data in the same way that we would want to give our personal data over ourselves. So that means collecting only what we need, being up front about the what, why and how. Giving people the easy option to change their mind. Having someone they can contact if it all goes wrong. And on that note, if you have any concerns you can contact either of us directly – you can find our details over on our contact page here.

Under GDPR you have the right to request any data that we may be holding about you, and to also request that we delete that data. If you have any such concerns please email us using hello@nanosphere.co.uk

Ah, the great hidden secret of data collection! There is no doubt that some people will use cookies for less-than-wholesome reasons. Most people, like us, use them to let the website function as you would expect it to do so. Cookies will anonymously track your activity via your website browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari etc). This allows our site to provide you with more relevant information (if we have the budget one day to do so), but more importantly it allows us to do the following:

1. Use Google Analytics so that we can better understand how people use our website, and thus improve it to make it better. Again, this is anonymous and does not contain your personal data.
2. To track you if you follow any affiliate link so that we can get rewarded by the retailer for having provided them with a sale. If you buy that is.