Who we are
This website is run by Chris Heyworth, trading as Midlands Code Lab, based in Loughborough, Leicestershire. For the purposes of UK data protection law, we are the "data controller" of the personal information you submit through this site.
You can contact us about anything in this notice by emailing chris@midlandscodelab.co.uk.
What personal information we collect
When you fill in our contact form, request a callback, or email us directly, we collect:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your phone number (only if you give it via the callback widget)
- Anything you write in the brief / message / note field
- Your preferred day and time window for a callback (callback widget only)
If you book a call through our calendar booking link, the calendar provider may also collect your time zone and the meeting time you pick.
We do not run analytics that identify individual visitors. We do not use tracking cookies. We do not fingerprint, profile, or attempt to identify you outside of the message you actively sent us.
Why we collect it
One reason only: so we can reply to your enquiry and have a sensible conversation about whatever you got in touch about. We will not add you to a marketing list. We will not share your details with anyone for marketing purposes.
Our lawful basis
Under the UK GDPR, our lawful basis for processing the information you send us is legitimate interests. Specifically, our interest in being able to respond to a message you have actively sent us. You have taken the active step of contacting us, so this processing is expected and reasonable.
Who we share your information with
To receive form submissions and email, we rely on the following third-party services:
- The form backend provider (currently Splitforms, or whichever provider is wired into the contact form at the time you submit): receives form submissions, stores them temporarily on their servers, and forwards them to our inbox. Their own privacy policy applies to that storage.
- Porkbun: the email host for chris@midlandscodelab.co.uk.
- Our calendar booking provider (currently Cal.com): if you use the "Book a 20-min call" link, they will collect the data needed to schedule that meeting.
Beyond these, we do not share your information with anyone else, except where we are required to by law.
Some of these providers store data on servers outside the United Kingdom (typically in the United States or European Union). Where this happens, we rely on the UK's recognised legal transfer mechanisms, including UK adequacy regulations and Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long we keep your information
- Submissions in the form provider's dashboard: retention is set by the provider. Free-tier submissions are typically auto-deleted after 30 days.
- Emails in our inbox: we keep them while a conversation is active. After a project ends, or a quote goes cold, we delete the thread within 12 months.
- Project records for clients we work with: we keep these for 6 years from the end of the engagement, in line with UK tax record-keeping requirements.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Ask what data we hold about you
- Ask us to correct it if it is wrong
- Ask us to delete it
- Object to us processing it
- Ask for a copy in a portable format
- Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office
To exercise any of these rights, email chris@midlandscodelab.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.
Cookies and browser storage
This site does not set tracking cookies. It uses a small amount of browser storage to remember your colour-palette choice in the "Tweaks" panel, if you use it. That preference stays on your device. It is not shared with anyone.
Changes to this notice
If this notice changes in any material way, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top, and flag the change on the homepage for at least 30 days.
How to complain
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please email chris@midlandscodelab.co.uk first so we can put it right.
If we cannot, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office:
- Web: ico.org.uk
- Phone: 0303 123 1113
- Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
About this notice: this is a plain-English privacy notice for a small UK sole-trader business. It is not legal advice. If your circumstances are unusual, or if you ever start processing significantly more personal data than is described here, you should review this notice with a solicitor or check the ICO's own privacy notice generator at ico.org.uk/create-your-own-privacy-notice.