Privacy Policy – Highland Notices
Last updated: January 2026
This page explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights under UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR.
Who we are
Highland Notices is operated by The Highland Times.
Highland Notices provides an online platform for publishing public, family, and community notices, including births, marriages, deaths, public notices, and community announcements.
Data controller and contact
The data controller is The Highland Times.
Email: notices@thehighlandtimes.com
What data we collect
We collect different types of data depending on how you use Highland Notices.
From people submitting notices:
- Name and contact details.
- Account details where an account is required.
- The content of notices you submit.
- Any information you choose to include within a notice.
- IP address and basic device information for security and abuse prevention.
From visitors:
- Messages or enquiries you send to us.
- Basic usage data such as pages viewed and approximate location.
- Cookie preferences and consent choices.
You should not include sensitive personal data in notices unless it is appropriate and lawful to do so.
Why we use your data and the lawful basis
We process personal data for the following purposes:
- To allow you to submit and manage notices.
Lawful basis: contract or legitimate interests. - To publish notices on the site.
Lawful basis: contract or legitimate interests. - To respond to enquiries and support requests.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests. - To keep the site secure and prevent misuse or abuse.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests. - To understand how the site is used and improve the service through basic analytics.
Lawful basis: legitimate interests.
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
Publishing notices
Notices submitted to Highland Notices are intended for public display.
By submitting a notice, you acknowledge that the content will be visible to the public and may be indexed by search engines.
We do not independently verify the accuracy of notices.
Sharing data
We do not sell personal data.
We may share data only with:
- Service providers who support hosting, email delivery, analytics, backups, and site security.
- Authorities or regulators where we are legally required to do so.
All service providers are required by contract to protect personal data and use it only for providing services to us.
International data transfers
Some service providers may be located outside the UK or EEA.
Where this happens, we use appropriate safeguards such as adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses to protect your data.
How long we keep data
We keep personal data only for as long as necessary.
- Accounts: for as long as your account remains active.
- Submitted notices: for as long as the notice is published and for a reasonable period afterwards for record keeping and audit purposes.
- Enquiries and messages: for as long as needed to respond and follow up.
- Logs and security data: short, rolling periods for security and recovery.
You may ask us to remove personal data where appropriate.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Access your personal data.
- Ask for incorrect data to be corrected.
- Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
- Restrict or object to certain processing.
- Receive a copy of data you have provided to us in a portable format.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Website: ico.org.uk
We ask that you contact us first so we can try to resolve any concerns quickly.
Cookies
We use essential cookies to make the site work and optional cookies for analytics.
You can control optional cookies through our cookie banner.
Further details are available on our Cookies page.
Security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encryption in transit, access controls, monitoring, and regular updates.
No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect data and respond promptly to any issues.
Children
Highland Notices is intended for adults.
We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 18.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page and publish the new version here.