This policy explains what personal data Stourbridge Web Studio (“we”, “us”) collects when you use stourbridgewebstudio.co.uk, why we collect it, and what rights you have. We are the data controller for that data. You can contact us about anything in this policy at hello@stourbridgewebstudio.co.uk.
What we collect and why
Enquiries
When you use the contact form or email us, we collect the details you give us: typically your name, email address, business name, website, what you need, a budget range and a description of the project. We use this to reply to you and, if we work together, to deliver the work. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries and, where a contract follows, performance of that contract.
Questions to Ask SWS
When you ask a question in the Knowledge section, we send it to AI services to find the relevant articles and write an answer from them. We store the question, with email addresses and phone numbers removed, along with which articles were found and whether an answer was written, so we can see which questions our articles do not yet answer and improve them. We do not store your IP address or link the question to you. To stop the service being abused, we count how many questions each visitor asks using a scrambled code made from the IP address; the code changes every day, cannot be turned back into the address, and is deleted within two days. Please do not include personal details in a question. We are also sent an email copy of each question and its answer so we can check quality. The lawful basis is our legitimate interest in answering questions and improving the Knowledge section. If you mark an answer as useful or not, we store that rating with the question.
Analytics
With your consent we use Google Analytics 4 and, optionally, Microsoft Clarity to understand how the site is used: which pages are visited, how people arrive, and which links are clicked. These tools set cookies and process a truncated IP address and device information. Nothing loads until you accept analytics cookies, and you can change your mind at any time. See our cookie policy for the detail.
Server logs
Our hosting provider (Vercel) keeps short-lived request logs, including IP addresses, for security and reliability. This is necessary to run the service and is retained only briefly.
Who we share it with
We do not sell personal data. We share it only with the suppliers we need to run the site and the studio:
- Vercel, which hosts the website (data processed in the EU and US under standard contractual clauses).
- Postmark, which delivers contact form submissions and Ask SWS question alerts to our inbox (processed in the US).
- Google and, where enabled, Microsoft, for consent-based analytics.
- Microsoft Azure AI services, in Microsoft’s Sweden Central region, which process Ask SWS questions to search the Knowledge section, rank the results (using a Cohere model provided through Azure) and write answers.
- Supabase, which stores Ask SWS questions and ratings in a database in Ireland.
- Cloudflare Turnstile, which checks that enquiries and questions come from a person, not a bot.
We may also disclose data where the law requires it.
How long we keep it
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that do not lead to work | Up to 12 months, then deleted |
| Client project records | Duration of the relationship plus 6 years (accounting and legal obligations) |
| Ask SWS questions and ratings | Up to 12 months, then deleted |
| Ask SWS visitor counts (scrambled, daily-changing code) | Up to 2 days, then deleted |
| Analytics data | Up to 14 months in Google Analytics, in aggregated form |
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can ask us to access, correct, delete or restrict the use of your personal data, object to processing based on legitimate interests, and ask for a copy of data you gave us in a portable format. Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Email hello@stourbridgewebstudio.co.uk and we will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS only, with security headers set. Enquiries are transmitted encrypted and stored in access-controlled accounts. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable, proportionate steps to protect what you send us.
Changes
We will update this page if our practices change. The date at the top tells you when it was last revised.