Privacy policy

Last updated 12 November 2026

Hidden Britain Atlas is run by Cale Mills in the United Kingdom. This page explains, in plain English, what information the site keeps about you, why, and what you can do about it. If you have a question, use the contact page.

The short version

• You can use the map without an account and without giving us anything.
• If you create an account, we keep your email address, a scrambled version of your password and the things you save, such as your home location, the places you've been and your star ratings.
• We don't sell your information, and we don't show adverts that track you.
• We use only the cookies the site needs to work. There are no advertising or tracking cookies.

What we keep and why

Your account. Your email address, your name if you give one, and your password, which is stored scrambled so that nobody, including us, can read it. We use these to sign you in, keep your Premium membership and reset your password if you forget it.

Your home location. When you set your home, we keep the place you chose (a town, postcode area or point on the map) so we can work out your nearest free sites and show the 30-mile ring. For free members it's locked for 28 days, so we also keep the date you set it.

Places you've been and your ratings. When you tap "I've been here" or give a place stars, we keep that on your account. Other visitors only ever see totals, such as "312 visitors have been here". They never see who.

Sighting reports and photos. If you send a report, we keep what you write, the place, the date, your first name if you give it and your email if you give it. Your email is never shown. Photos have their camera and GPS details removed before they're stored. Reports and photos are checked before they appear on the site.

Messages. If you use the contact page, we keep your message, name and email so we can reply.

Gift codes. When a gift code is used, we note which account used it, so it can't be used twice.

Visitor numbers. We count visits to see which places and pages are popular. This is done without cookies and without keeping any personal details: we store daily totals only. To count each visitor once a day, we use a scrambled code that changes every day and can't be turned back into your details.

Spam protection. To stop abuse, we briefly keep a scrambled version of your internet address when you send a report, sign in or send a message. These are only used for this and are cleared out automatically.

Things kept on your own device

The app saves some things in your browser so they're there next time: your settings, map style, day-trip plans, notes and visit photos (if you're a Premium member), and your free location lock. These stay on your device and aren't sent to us. Clearing your browser's data removes them.

Cookies

We use one cookie to keep you signed in and one to remember your free location lock. Both are needed for the site to work, so we don't ask for permission first. We don't use advertising, analytics or social media cookies.

Other companies involved

• Our web host stores the site and its data on its computers.
• postcodes.io looks up a postcode or town when you type one in to set your home. Only what you type is sent.
• Google Fonts and cdnjs supply the lettering and map code the site uses. Like any website, they see your internet address when your browser downloads these files.
• Google Maps opens if you ask for directions or a day-trip route.
• Amazon opens if you click a link to one of the books.
• Stripe will handle card payments for Premium once payments open. We never see or store your card details.

How long we keep things

Your account stays until you delete it. You can do that yourself at any time from your account, and everything linked to it is removed straight away. Reports, photos and messages are kept until they're no longer needed or you ask us to remove them. Daily visitor totals are kept for about a year.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask to see the information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, or object to how it's used. Use the contact page and choose "Privacy". If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Children

Accounts are for people aged 13 and over. Younger children are welcome to explore the map with a grown-up.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change is important, we'll tell members by email or on the site.