Privacy policy

Last updated 21 October 2026

This page explains what personal information The York Brief collects, why we collect it, who helps us handle it, and what you can do about it. We've kept it in plain English.

Who we are

The York Brief (yorkbrief.com) is published by The Herb Pantry Ltd, trading as The Briefs. We are the "controller" of your personal information under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).

You can contact us about anything in this policy by emailing yorkbrief@protonmail.com. You can also reply to any York Brief email.

What we collect

  • Your email address, and your name if you give it, when you subscribe.
  • How you use our emails. Ghost, the platform we use to send the Brief, records whether our emails are opened and which links are clicked. We use this to see what readers find useful and to stop emailing addresses that never open.
  • How you found us. When you sign up, Ghost records the page or source you came from, for example a link in one of our Facebook or Instagram adverts.
  • Payment details, if you become a York Brief Member. Payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number. We only see limited details such as your plan, your payment status, your card type and the last four digits of your card.
  • Referrals. If you take part in our referral programme, Viral Loops processes your email address, your referral link and a record of who you've referred, so we can count referrals and send rewards.
  • How you use our website, including through cookies. See the next section.
  • Anything you send us, such as replies, story tips, corrections or comments.

Cookies and website analytics

  • Essential cookies. Ghost uses a cookie to keep you signed in as a member, and Stripe uses cookies during checkout for security and to prevent fraud. The site needs these to work, so we don't ask for consent for them.
  • Visitor statistics. We count visits using Ghost's built-in analytics and Plausible Analytics. Both are designed to work without advertising cookies and don't tell us who you are.
  • The Meta Pixel. We use the Meta (Facebook) Pixel to see which of our Facebook and Instagram adverts lead to sign-ups and memberships. It only loads if you click "Accept" on our cookie banner. If you click "No thanks", it isn't loaded. To change your mind, clear your browser's saved data for yorkbrief.com and the banner will appear again. Meta's cookie can last up to 90 days.
  • Google adverts. Some pages of our website load Google AdSense, which can show adverts and may use cookies or similar technology. You can read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.

Facebook and Instagram advertising (Custom Audiences)

We may upload a list of our subscribers' email addresses to Meta, using its Custom Audiences tool. The addresses are hashed (turned into scrambled codes) before Meta matches them against Facebook and Instagram accounts, and Meta deletes the hashed list once matching is done. Meta doesn't tell us which people matched, and we don't share anything else about you, such as what you read or click.

We do this to:

  • avoid showing our adverts to people who already subscribe or are already members;
  • show offers, such as membership, to people who already read the free Brief;
  • find people in and around York who are likely to enjoy the Brief (Meta calls these "lookalike audiences").

To opt out, email yorkbrief@protonmail.com with "Ads opt-out" in the subject line. We'll leave you out of every future upload. We refresh these lists about every two weeks. You can also manage the adverts you see in your Facebook or Instagram ad preferences.

Why we're allowed to use your information (lawful bases)

  • Consent: sending you the free Brief, which you asked for and confirmed by clicking the link in your sign-up email, and loading the Meta Pixel and any other non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time by unsubscribing or declining cookies.
  • Contract: running your York Brief Membership and taking payment, and the referral programme if you join it.
  • Legal obligation: keeping payment and tax records.
  • Legitimate interests: measuring opens and clicks, recording how you found us, essential cookies, and using Custom Audiences. Our interest is running and growing a small, reader-funded local news service. We've balanced this against your rights, kept it to the minimum and you can object at any time (see "Your rights").

Who helps us handle your information

We use these companies ("processors") to run the Brief. They only use your information to provide their service to us:

  • Ghost(Pro), run by the Ghost Foundation: hosts our website and member list, and sends our emails.
  • Stripe: takes membership payments.
  • Viral Loops: runs our referral programme.
  • Meta (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd): the Meta Pixel and Custom Audiences, as described above.
  • Plausible Analytics: cookie-free visitor statistics.
  • Google: AdSense adverts on some website pages.

We never sell your personal information. Some of these companies handle information outside the UK, for example in the EU or the USA. Where they do, the transfer is covered by safeguards recognised under UK law, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or the UK–US data bridge.

How long we keep it

  • Your subscriber details and email activity: for as long as you're subscribed. If you unsubscribe, we keep only what we need to make sure you aren't emailed again. If you'd like your record deleted completely, just ask.
  • Payment records: six years, because UK tax law requires it.
  • Custom Audience lists: we delete our copy of the file once it has been uploaded, and Meta deletes the hashed list after matching.
  • Emails you send us: for as long as we need them to deal with what you asked, then we delete them.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • access the personal information we hold about you and get a copy of it;
  • correct anything that's wrong;
  • delete your information;
  • object to us using your information, including for Custom Audiences and other marketing (if you object to marketing, we'll stop);
  • restrict how we use it, or ask for it in a format you can take elsewhere;
  • withdraw consent at any time, for example by unsubscribing or declining cookies.

To use any of these rights, email yorkbrief@protonmail.com. It's free, and we'll reply within one month.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we use your information, we'll update this page and the date at the top.