Last updated 22 October 2026. This policy explains what Hire The Creatives does with personal information when you use this website, ask us for a quote, join our list or buy from us. It is written to be read, not to be survived.
Who we are and how to reach us
Hire The Creatives is a web design and development studio, founded and run in Lancashire, working with clients across the UK and the US. We are the data controller for the information described here.
For anything about your data, including a request to see it, correct it or delete it, email admin@hirethecreatives.com. We answer these ourselves, usually within one working day, and always within the one month the law allows.
What we collect, and why
When you use the contact or quote form
Your name, email address, and whatever you write in the message, including the service you select. We use it to answer you and to quote for the work. The form is delivered to our own inbox by email. Our lawful basis is taking steps at your request before entering a contract, and our legitimate interest in replying to enquiries.
When you ask for a free website review
Your name, email address and the website address you give us. We use it to write the review and send it to you. Nothing else happens to it.
When you join our email list
Your email address only. We use it to send occasional articles about web design and search. Our lawful basis is your consent, and you can withdraw it at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by emailing us.
When you buy a package
Your name, email address and billing details. We never see or store your card number. Payment is taken by Stripe, which processes the card itself and tells us only whether the payment succeeded. Our lawful basis is performance of a contract, and we keep the record for six years because tax law requires it.
When you join the affiliate programme
Your name, email address, payout details and the referrals attributed to you, so we can track and pay commission.
What this website does not do
Worth saying plainly, because most policies bury it.
- There is no analytics on this site. No Google Analytics, no Meta pixel, no advertising tags. We do not track you around the web and we do not build a profile of you.
- We do not sell, rent or share your data with anyone for their own marketing. Ever.
- We do not use your information to train AI models, our own or anyone else’s.
- There is no automated decision making and no profiling that produces legal effects.
Cookies
This site sets a cookie to remember your cookie choice, and WordPress sets a session cookie if you log in to an account with us. The consent banner lets you decline anything non-essential. Because we run no analytics or advertising, declining costs you nothing.
Who else touches your data
Only the services we need to run the studio, and each one only sees what it needs:
- Brevo (Sendinblue), for sending email, including quote replies and list emails.
- Stripe, for taking payment.
- Namecheap, who host this website and our mailboxes.
All of them act on our instructions under a contract. Some process data outside the UK, which is covered by the safeguards in UK data protection law, such as approved standard contractual clauses.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that do not become work: two years, then deleted.
- Client records and invoices: six years after the last transaction, because HMRC requires it.
- Email list: until you unsubscribe, and we remove inactive addresses periodically.
- Free website reviews: twelve months.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can ask us to give you a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, restrict what we do with it, or send it to someone else. You can object to processing we do on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent at any time. We do not charge for any of this.
Email admin@hirethecreatives.com and we will deal with it.
You have the right to complain to us first. Since 19 June 2026 that is a formal right under the Data Protection Act 2018, not just a courtesy. Send a complaint to the same address and we will acknowledge it within 30 days, investigate it, and tell you the outcome.
You can also complain to the regulator. That is the Information Commission, which replaced the Information Commissioner on 30 September 2026 and still operates at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, telephone 0303 123 1113.
Children
This site is for businesses and is not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect information about anyone under 13.
Changes to this policy
If we change what we do with data, we change this page and move the date at the top. There is no archive of old versions, so if the date matters to you, keep a copy.
Related: do you need a cookie banner, what a privacy policy must say in 2026.