Last updated: October 2026
1. Who we are
1.1 The Travel Magazine Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates www.thetravelmagazine.net (the “Site”). We are a company registered in England and Wales under company number 06028541, with our registered office at Office 9, First Floor, 241 High Street, Walthamstow, London, E17 7BH.
1.2 We are the data controller for personal data collected through the Site.
1.3 This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who we share it with, and your rights. It should be read alongside our Terms of Use and Cookie Policy.
1.4 We do not sell your personal data.
2. What we collect and why
2.1 Contact forms. When you contact us through the Site, we collect your name, email address, any other details you provide, and the content of your message. We use this to respond to your enquiry.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests (responding to enquiries).
2.2 Comments. When you leave a comment, we collect your name, email address, any website you choose to provide, your comment, your IP address and your browser details. Your name, website and comment are published; your email address is not. We use your IP address and browser details to help detect spam.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests (running and moderating a public comments section).
2.3 Avatars. An anonymised string created from your email address (a “hash”) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you have a profile picture. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at automattic.com/privacy.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests.
2.4 Competitions. Competitions are run through Gleam. When you enter, we receive the details requested on the entry form, usually your name and email address. We use these to run the competition and to contact and announce winners. Further details are set out in each competition’s terms.
Lawful basis: performance of a contract (the competition terms).
2.5 Newsletter. If you sign up to our newsletter, we collect your email address and any other details you provide. We send our newsletter using Mailchimp. Mailchimp also records whether you open emails and click links, which helps us improve our content.
Lawful basis: consent. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email.
2.6 Analytics. With your consent, we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the Site. This includes the pages you visit, how long you stay, your approximate location, your device and browser type, and how you arrived at the Site. We do not use this data to identify you.
Lawful basis: consent.
2.7 Affiliate links and maps. With your consent, we display Stay22 accommodation maps and use affiliate links. If you click through and make a booking, Stay22 and the booking provider may use cookies to record that the booking came from our Site, so that we can earn a commission.
Lawful basis: consent.
2.8 Video embeds. With your consent, we embed videos from YouTube and Vimeo. These services may set cookies and collect data about your viewing when an embedded video loads. Their privacy policies apply.
Lawful basis: consent.
2.9 Security and site operation. Our hosting and security systems log IP addresses, login attempts and site activity. We use these logs to protect the Site against attacks, spam and misuse.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests (keeping the Site secure).
3. Cookies
3.1 We use a consent management tool so that non-essential cookies and scripts only run once you have agreed to them. “Reject all” is available on the first screen of the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time using the “Cookie settings” link in the footer.
3.2 A full list of the cookies we use is in our Cookie Policy.
4. Who we share your data with
4.1 We share personal data only with service providers that help us run the Site. They act on our instructions or under their own privacy policies, as applicable:
- SiteGround: website hosting and backups, from a data centre in London, UK.
- Cloudflare: DNS and protection against malicious traffic.
- Technique Web Design: our website developer, for site support and maintenance.
- Google (Google Analytics, YouTube): analytics and video embeds.
- Vimeo: video embeds.
- Mailchimp (Intuit): newsletter delivery.
- Gleam: competition entry and management.
- Stay22: accommodation maps and affiliate links.
- Gravatar (Automattic): comment avatars.
4.2 We may also disclose personal data where the law requires it, or to protect our rights, property or safety, or those of others.
4.3 If our business is sold or merged, personal data may be passed to the new owner and its advisers, subject to this policy.
5. International transfers
5.1 Some of our service providers are based outside the UK, including in the United States. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we make sure it is protected by one of the following:
- UK adequacy regulations, including the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified;
- the ICO’s International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum;
- another safeguard permitted under UK data protection law.
6. How long we keep your data
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Contact form submissions | [12 months], then deleted automatically |
| Competition entries | Deleted once winners have been drawn and notified |
| Published comments | For as long as the comment remains on the Site |
| Spam and rejected comments | Deleted regularly |
| Newsletter subscriber data | Until you unsubscribe |
| Google Analytics data | [14 months] |
| Security and activity logs | A limited period, for security purposes only |
| Website backups | 30 days, on a rolling basis |
7. How we protect your data
7.1 The whole Site is served over a secure HTTPS connection. We use a server-level firewall, bot protection, login protection, activity logging and individual named admin accounts with access limited to what each person needs. The Site and its plugins are kept up to date.
7.2 No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, but we take appropriate steps to protect your data.
8. Your rights
8.1 Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
a) access the personal data we hold about you;
b) have inaccurate data corrected;
c) have your data erased;
d) restrict or object to how we use your data, including objecting to anything we do on the basis of legitimate interests;
e) receive your data in a portable format;
f) withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.
8.2 To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected]. We will respond within one month.
8.3 You can manage your cookie choices at any time using the “Cookie settings” link in the footer. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter using the link in any email.
9. Complaints
9.1 If you have a concern about how we handle your data, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve it.
9.2 You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
10. Children
The Site is not aimed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. Competition age limits are set out in each competition’s terms.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last changed.
12. Contact us
The Travel Magazine Ltd
Office 9, First Floor, 241 High Street, Walthamstow, London, E17 7BH
Email: [email protected]
Terms of Use: two clauses to update
1.1 These Terms of Use apply to your use of www.thetravelmagazine.net and any related domain (the “Site”). The Site is operated by The Travel Magazine Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”), a company registered in England and Wales under company number 06028541, with its registered office at Office 9, First Floor, 241 High Street, Walthamstow, London, E17 7BH.
13. Contact us
The Travel Magazine Ltd
Office 9, First Floor, 241 High Street, Walthamstow, London, E17 7BH
Email: [email protected]
