Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

BestFreeVPN.co.uk ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you visit our website at www.best-free-vpn.co.uk (the "Site").

This policy is provided in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). By using our Site, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Data Controller

For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, the data controller is BestFreeVPN.co.uk. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at privacy@best-free-vpn.co.uk.

3. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

3.1 Information You Provide

• Contact form submissions: When you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, subject selection, and message content. This information is used solely to respond to your enquiry.
• Email correspondence: If you email us directly, we retain the content of your email, your email address, and our response.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Log data: Our web servers may automatically collect information including your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time and date of your visit, and time spent on each page.
• Device information: We may collect information about the device you use to access our Site, including device type, screen resolution, and language preferences.

4. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our Site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to distinguish you from other users and to improve your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit our Site.

Types of Cookies We Use

• Strictly necessary cookies: Essential for the operation of our Site. These include cookies that enable you to navigate the Site and use its features.
• Analytical/performance cookies: These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our Site. This helps us improve the way our Site works, for example by ensuring that users find what they are looking for easily.
• Functionality cookies: These are used to recognise you when you return to our Site. This enables us to personalise our content for you and remember your preferences (for example, your quiz results).

You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies or to alert you when a cookie is being sent. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of our Site.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiries and provide customer support
• To administer and improve our Site and content
• To analyse how our Site is used so we can improve the user experience
• To detect, prevent, and address technical issues
• To comply with our legal obligations under UK and applicable EU law

6. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

Under the UK GDPR, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Consent: Where you have given clear consent for us to process your personal data for a specific purpose, such as subscribing to communications.
• Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests (for example, analysing Site usage to improve our content) and those interests are not overridden by your data protection rights.
• Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to respond to a request you have made via our contact form.
• Legal obligation: Where we need to process your data to comply with a legal requirement.

7. Third-Party Services

Our Site may use the following third-party services that may collect information about you:

• Web analytics: We may use analytics services (such as privacy-focused alternatives like Plausible or Fathom) to understand how visitors use our Site. These services may collect anonymised or pseudonymised data about your visit.
• Hosting providers: Our Site is hosted by a third-party provider that processes server logs containing your IP address as part of providing hosting services.
• Affiliate networks: Some links on our Site are affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, the affiliate network may place a cookie on your device to track whether a purchase is made. These third parties have their own privacy policies governing data they collect.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party for marketing purposes.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Contact form submissions and related correspondence are typically retained for up to 24 months unless you request earlier deletion.

9. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure: You have the right to request that we delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as our legal basis.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@best-free-vpn.co.uk. We will respond to your request within one month, as required by law.

10. International Data Transfers

Some of our third-party service providers may be located outside the United Kingdom. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses approved by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), to ensure your data receives an adequate level of protection.

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. Our Site uses HTTPS encryption to protect data transmitted between your browser and our servers. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. Children's Privacy

Our Site is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete such information.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically for the latest information on our privacy practices.

14. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's supervisory authority for data protection:

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:

• Email: privacy@best-free-vpn.co.uk
• Contact form: www.best-free-vpn.co.uk/contact