This Privacy Policy explains how Portsmouth And (“we”, “us” and “our”) collects, uses and protects personal data when you use our website at portsmouthand.co.uk (the “Website”). We are the data controller for personal data collected through the Website. If you have any questions about this policy or about your data, please contact us through our Contact page.

We handle personal data in line with UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we are

Portsmouth And is an independent online news outlet covering Portsmouth and the surrounding area. The Website is operated from the United Kingdom and is intended for a general audience. It is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has given us personal data, please contact us and we will remove it.

The data we collect

Depending on how you use the Website, we may collect:

information you give us directly, such as your name, email address and the content of any message you send through our contact form or by email;
information you provide when you leave a comment, including your name, your email address and your comment;
technical data collected automatically, such as your IP address, browser type, device information, operating system and the pages you view;
usage data about how you interact with the Website, gathered through cookies and similar technologies.

We do not ask for sensitive personal data, and we do not take payments through the Website.

Comments

When you post a comment on an article, your name and comment are shown publicly, but your email address is not published. We collect your email address so that we can manage comments, reply where appropriate and help prevent spam and abuse. We moderate comments and may edit, decline to publish or remove any comment at our discretion, for example where it is off topic, offensive, unlawful or in breach of our Terms of Use. You can ask us to delete a comment you have posted by contacting us through our Contact page.

How we use your data

to publish and manage comments and to reply to your messages;
to operate, maintain and improve the Website;
to understand how our content is read so that we can make it better;
to keep the Website secure and to prevent spam, fraud and abuse;
to meet our legal obligations.

Our lawful bases for processing are our legitimate interests in running a news website and communicating with readers, your consent where we ask for it (for example, for non-essential cookies), and compliance with legal obligations where they apply.

Cookies and analytics

The Website uses cookies and similar technologies. Non-essential cookies are set only with your consent, which you give through our cookie banner and can change at any time. For full details, please read our Cookie Policy.

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Website. Google Analytics sets cookies and processes data such as your IP address and browsing activity on our behalf. You can read more in Google’s Privacy Policy, and you can opt out of Google Analytics using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

The Website is delivered through Cloudflare, which provides content delivery and security services. Cloudflare may set cookies and process technical data, including your IP address, to keep the Website fast and secure. You can read more in the Cloudflare Privacy Policy and the Cloudflare Cookie Policy.

Use of artificial intelligence

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help with tasks such as research, drafting, editing, translation and checking our content. All content is reviewed by a human before publication, and our editorial team remains responsible for everything we publish. Where an AI tool processes personal data on our behalf, we take reasonable steps to make sure it is handled securely and in line with this policy.

Who we share your data with

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data. We may share it with:

our hosting and infrastructure providers, who store and serve the Website;
Cloudflare, which provides content delivery and security;
Google, which provides analytics;
other service providers who help us run the Website and act on our instructions;
authorities, regulators or professional advisers where we are required to do so by law, or to protect our rights, our users or the public.

International transfers

Some of our service providers, including Cloudflare and Google, may process data outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses, to protect your data.

How long we keep your data

We keep personal data only for as long as we need it for the purposes set out in this policy, or for as long as the law requires. Comments and the data attached to them remain until the related article is removed, or until you or we delete the comment. Messages you send us are kept for as long as we need them to deal with your query and for a reasonable period afterwards.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

ask for access to the personal data we hold about you;
ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances;
object to, or ask us to restrict, how we use your data;
withdraw your consent where we rely on it.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our Contact page. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator, through its website at ico.org.uk. We would appreciate the chance to resolve any concern first.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always appear on this page, with the date it was last updated shown below.

Last updated: 17 October 2026.