Privacy Policy

Compare My Area (“we”, “our”, or “us”) is a UK website operated by Callum Strong that provides comparisons of UK towns and cities using official open data. The site is accessible at www.comparemyarea.co.uk.

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights under UK data protection law, contact us at hello@comparemyarea.co.uk.

We don’t ask you to create an account, we don’t collect names or email addresses, and we don’t sell your personal data. For non-essential analytics (PostHog) and ad-related signals sent to Google, we ask you on a cookie banner first and remember your choice in your browser. The sections below explain what runs before and after you accept or reject, and how to opt out later.

The Compare My Area website itself does not require you to register, log in, or submit personal information. We do not run contact forms or newsletters at this time. If you email us directly, we will only use your email address to reply to your message.

We use PostHog to understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. PostHog is hosted in the EU/US (depending on configuration) and acts as our data processor. We configure PostHog so that analytics capturing and its usual persistence are off by default; they are only enabled after you choose Accept on our cookie banner (or when we still hold a previous accept, stored in your browser as described in our Cookie Policy).

PostHog typically collects:

• Pages you visit and the order you visit them in
• Approximate location derived from your IP address (country/city level)
• Device type, browser, operating system and screen size
• Anonymous events such as button clicks and search interactions
• A randomly generated identifier stored in a cookie or local storage

PostHog data is used in aggregate. We do not use it to identify you personally. For full details see the PostHog privacy policy.

We display advertising on the site through Google AdSense. Google is an independent data controller for the data it collects through AdSense.

We integrate Google Consent Mode so that ad-related consent signals are set beforethe AdSense script runs and updated when you accept or reject on our banner. What Google does with those signals (for example personalised vs non-personalised or limited ads) depends on Google’s current product rules and your region.

Google and its partners may:

• Use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites
• Process limited information such as your IP address, user agent and pages viewed
• Show personalised or non-personalised ads depending on your consent signals, region, and Google’s policies

You can opt out of personalised advertising at any time by visiting Google Ads Settings or youronlinechoices.eu. For more on how Google uses data from sites that use its services, see Google’s policies.

We use a small number of cookies and similar storage mechanisms (set by us and by the third parties listed above). For a full breakdown — including what each cookie does and how to disable it — see our Cookie Policy.

Where UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply: we rely on consent (given through our cookie banner) for non-essential PostHog analytics and for the ad-related processing covered by the Google Consent Mode signals we send when you accept. Storage used only to remember your banner choice, and strictly necessary operation of the site, may rely on legitimate interests or strict necessity under PECR, as appropriate. If you reject non-essential cookies, we do not enable PostHog analytics as described in section 4, and we send denied consent signals to Google for the categories we control through Consent Mode.

Analytics data is retained by PostHog according to our configured retention period (typically 12 months). Advertising data retention is governed by Google’s own policies. Email correspondence is retained for as long as is reasonably necessary to handle your enquiry.

Our processors (PostHog, Google) may store or process your data outside the UK. Where they do, they rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Request a copy of any personal data we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate data
• Ask us to delete your data, where applicable
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw consent for advertising cookies at any time
• Lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@comparemyarea.co.uk.

Compare My Area is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of the page reflects the most recent version. Material changes will be highlighted on the site.