scotlands.info is a free, publicly accessible reference website providing verified statistics and data about Scotland. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling any personal data you provide with care and transparency, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how it is used, and your rights regarding that data.
1. Who We Are
scotlands.info is operated as an independent informational website. We are not affiliated with The Scottish Government, any Scottish public body, or any other government organisation. You can contact us at [email protected] with any questions about this policy or your personal data.
2. What Data We Collect and Why
Contact Form
When you submit the contact form on our Contact page, we collect:
- Full name — to address your reply correctly
- Email address — to respond to your enquiry
- Enquiry type — to route your message appropriately
- Message content — the substance of your enquiry
The lawful basis for processing this data is your consent, given explicitly by ticking the consent checkbox before submitting the form. You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing [email protected] and requesting deletion of your data.
We use this data solely to respond to your enquiry. We do not use it for marketing, profiling, or any other purpose, and we do not share it with third parties except as described in section 4 below.
Analytics and Usage Data
We use Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors use the site. These services collect anonymised usage data including pages visited, time on page, approximate geographic location (country/region level), device and browser type, and how you arrived at the site. Microsoft Clarity also records session replays and heatmaps to help us identify usability issues.
This data is collected on the basis of legitimate interests in understanding and improving the site. You can opt out at any time using your browser's cookie settings or by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Details of the specific cookies set are in section 3 below.
scotlands.info does not set any additional first-party cookies beyond those described in this policy.
3. Cookies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser. scotlands.info does not set any first-party cookies. Third-party analytics services we use set the following cookies. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Removing analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use the site.
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
| Cookie | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga |
Registers a unique ID used to generate statistical data on how you use the site. Distinguishes unique users. | Analytics | 2 years |
_ga_XXXXXXXX |
Used by Google Analytics 4 to persist session state and distinguish users across sessions. | Analytics | 2 years |
_gid |
Registers a unique ID to generate statistical data. Resets each day to identify new visits. | Analytics | 24 hours |
Microsoft Clarity
| Cookie | Purpose | Type | Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
_clck |
Persists the Clarity User ID and preferences, unique to that site, on the browser. Ensures that behaviour in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. | Analytics | 1 year |
_clsk |
Connects multiple page views by a user into a single Clarity session recording. | Analytics | 1 day |
CLID |
Identifies the first time Clarity saw this user on any site using Clarity. | Analytics | 1 year |
MUID |
Identifies unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. Used for advertising, site analytics, and other operational purposes. | Analytics | 1 year |
Microsoft Clarity may also record session replays and heatmaps. Recorded sessions are anonymised and used solely to identify usability improvements. No personally identifiable information is included in session recordings. See Microsoft's Privacy Statement for full details.
4. Third-Party Services
To deliver the website, we load resources from the following third-party providers. Each has its own privacy policy, linked below.
| Service | Purpose | Data transferred | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Fonts | Loads the Inter and Playfair Display typefaces used across the site | Your IP address is sent to Google's servers when fonts are requested | Google Privacy Policy |
| n8n (mgibb.app.n8n.cloud) | Receives contact form submissions via a secure webhook, validates them, and delivers them to us by email | Name, email address, enquiry type, message content, consent record, and submission timestamp submitted via the contact form | n8n Privacy Policy |
| jsDelivr CDN | Delivers Chart.js and D3.js JavaScript libraries used for charts and the interactive map | Your IP address is sent to jsDelivr's CDN servers when these scripts are loaded | jsDelivr Privacy Policy |
| ONS Open Geography Portal | Provides boundary GeoJSON data for the interactive Scotland council area map | Your IP address may be sent to the ONS API when the map section is scrolled into view | ONS Data Protection |
| GitHub (raw.githubusercontent.com) | Fallback source for map boundary data if the ONS API is unavailable | Your IP address may be sent to GitHub's servers as a fallback request | GitHub Privacy Statement |
| Google Analytics | Provides anonymised data on how visitors use the site: pages visited, session duration, device type, approximate location, and traffic source. Used to understand and improve site content. | IP address (anonymised), browser and device type, pages visited, session data. No personally identifiable information is collected. | Google Privacy Policy |
| Google Tag Manager | Tag management system that loads and manages third-party scripts (including Google Analytics and other tags) without requiring direct code changes to the site. GTM itself does not collect personal data but enables other services that do. | No personal data collected directly by GTM. Data collection is determined by the tags it fires. | Google Privacy Policy |
| Google Search Console | Webmaster tool used to monitor the site's presence in Google Search results, identify crawl errors, and understand which search queries bring visitors to the site. Search Console does not set cookies on visitors' browsers and does not collect personal data from site visitors. | Aggregate search performance data only (query impressions, clicks, rankings). No individual visitor data is collected or processed. | Google Privacy Policy |
| Microsoft Clarity | Behavioural analytics tool that records anonymised session replays and generates heatmaps showing how visitors interact with pages. Used to identify usability issues and improve the site experience. Clarity automatically redacts form fields and sensitive input from recordings. | Anonymised clickstream data, scroll depth, mouse movement, and session recordings. No passwords or payment data are ever recorded. IP addresses are used to derive approximate location and then discarded. | Microsoft Privacy Statement |
All third-party services listed above are used for legitimate operational purposes only. We do not sell or share your data with any third party for commercial or marketing purposes.
5. Data Retention
Contact form submissions are processed via our secure n8n automation workflow and delivered to us by email. We retain your data only as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry, and for a reasonable period thereafter in case of follow-up. If you wish to request deletion of your data, email [email protected].
6. Your Rights Under UK GDPR
If we hold personal data about you (via a contact form submission), you have the following rights:
- Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate data
- Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your personal data
- Right to withdraw consent — you can withdraw consent at any time; this does not affect processing carried out before withdrawal
- Right to complain — you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.
7. Children's Privacy
scotlands.info is a general informational website with no age restrictions. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13. If you believe a child has submitted a contact form without parental consent, please email [email protected] and we will delete the data promptly.
8. Links to Other Websites
This site contains links to external websites (government publications, source databases, etc.). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We recommend reviewing their privacy policies before providing any personal data.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the site after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact
For any questions about this privacy policy or our data practices, contact us at [email protected] or use our contact form.