Who we are
INSG1 is an independent local directory and events guide operated from Stevenage, Hertfordshire. For data-protection purposes, INSG1 is responsible for the personal information described in this notice.
Email privacy@insg1.com or use our contact form with any privacy question.
Information we collect
We may collect information you provide when you contact us, send an enquiry to a listed trade, join the newsletter, submit or correct a listing, claim a business, add social links or offers, submit an event, leave a review or buy a service. This can include your name, email address, telephone number, work postcode, business relationship, message and transaction references.
When you use a Trade profile’s enquiry form, we store the contact details and job description you submit and email them directly to the selected business so it can respond. The business becomes responsible for how it uses the enquiry after receiving it.
Newsletter signup asks for your first name and uses email confirmation before marketing consent becomes active. We record your weekly subscription. A private preferences link lets you unsubscribe. After verification, we set a random recognition cookie so the website can recognise you when you return, remember that you joined and connect preferences you deliberately choose. The cookie lasts for 12 months from each visit, contains no name or email address and cannot log you into an account.
If you add INSG1 to an iPhone or iPad Home Screen, you may choose to receive notifications for events, offers, local news or important local updates. We store the categories you select and the encrypted browser subscription needed to deliver them. Apple also asks for device permission. You can refuse that request or disable notifications later in your device settings.
When you leave a review, we use your email address to send a one-time verification link. The review is not published until that link is clicked. Your email address is kept private, is not displayed with the review and is not treated as permission to send marketing.
Business accounts use an email address, a securely hashed password and an essential login cookie. Where the same verified email is used for a newsletter and an account, we connect those records to one contact profile while keeping newsletter consent separate. The recognition cookie is not accepted as account authentication. If you choose document verification for a business claim, accepted evidence is sent privately to the INSG1 verifier at verify@ajpk.uk. The website records the document name, type, size and a cryptographic checksum, but does not add the evidence to the public website or listing media library.
We also process limited technical information needed to run and protect the service, such as request times, browser details and a security hash derived from an IP address. If you choose “Near me”, approximate coordinates are sent to the directory solely to sort results by distance. When you open the places map, your browser requests map tiles from OpenStreetMap and sends the technical information normally included in a web request, including your IP address.
Directory search phrases may be sent to Amazon Bedrock so that INSG1 can recognise related local services and categories. The interpretation is used only to improve the search results. The short-lived search cache uses a one-way hash of the phrase rather than storing the original phrase.
The Google tag loads with analytics and advertising storage denied so that it can respect your cookie choice; before consent it may send limited cookieless consent-status signals. If you allow optional cookies, Google Analytics, Metricool homepage analytics and our first-party metrics measure visits and interactions with INSG1. This may include pages viewed, searches, filters, listing interactions, broad device type and referral source. Our metrics use random browser and session identifiers and do not store your IP address or a full referring URL. Raw first-party interaction data is kept for no more than 13 months. Optional analytics remains disabled unless you choose “Allow optional”, and you can change that choice through Cookie settings.
Business and event information may come from owners, public bodies, first-party websites and open-data sources. This can include a business contact address published for customers. We retain its source and verification date so proposed automated changes can be reviewed. A public business address is not treated as consent to join our newsletter.
One-to-one business-listing outreach emails may contain a one-pixel image with a random identifier unique to that send. When images load, we record the first and latest load time and the number of loads so we can understand whether the message may have been seen. Loads within 30 seconds of submission are retained in the raw audit count but excluded from the later-load engagement count because they are especially likely to be automated. We do not put the recipient address or business identifier in the image URL and do not store the request IP address in the outreach record. Mail privacy services and security scanners may load images automatically at any time, so a later load is still not treated as proof that a person opened or read the message. Every outreach email includes an unsubscribe option.
The claim button in a business-listing outreach email uses a random link unique to that send. We record the raw redirect separately because mail-security scanners may follow it automatically. The redirect sets a protected, first-party claim-measurement cookie for up to two hours. On the selected claim page we then record whether the page loaded and whether the visitor reached the confirmation, account, verification and completion stages. We record stage names and times, not passwords, verification codes, document contents or the request IP address. This lets us find unnecessary friction in the claim process without treating a scanned email link as a completed human visit.
How and why we use it
- To answer enquiries and provide requested services.
- To manage listings, ownership claims, events and corrections.
- To contact a published business address about claiming, checking or correcting its INSG1 listing, measure whether that individual message may have been seen, understand the stages reached in the claim process and maintain an outreach suppression record.
- To operate paid listings or sponsorships under a contract.
- To protect the site, prevent spam and keep an audit trail.
- To send marketing only where you have asked for it and confirmed your address; every marketing email will provide a way to unsubscribe.
Our legal bases are contract, consent, legal obligation and our legitimate interests in operating a useful, accurate and secure local service. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
Who we share information with
We use trusted service providers where necessary to host and operate INSG1. Amazon Web Services provides hosting, database, security and email-delivery services. Trade enquiry details are shared with the specific business you choose to contact. Google and Metricool provide optional website analytics when you consent. Stripe processes paid-plan checkout and payment information; INSG1 retains transaction and subscription references rather than full card details. OpenStreetMap provides map tiles under its own privacy policy. We do not sell personal information.
We may disclose information where required by law, to protect people or the service, or as part of a properly managed business transfer. Providers may process information outside the UK under appropriate safeguards.
How long we keep it
Contact and Trade enquiries are normally retained for up to 24 months so we can operate the service, measure genuine leads and handle delivery questions or abuse. Account, claim and transaction records are kept while active and for the period reasonably needed for legal, tax, security and dispute purposes. Verified review records, including the private verification email, are retained while the review is published and for a reasonable period afterwards to handle abuse or disputes. Unverified review requests may be removed after their verification link expires. Security logs are kept only as long as operationally necessary. Newsletter details are kept while you are subscribed. If you unsubscribe, we retain the minimum email and suppression record needed to make sure you are not accidentally contacted again.
Business-claim evidence is retained in the private verification mailbox only for as long as reasonably needed to assess the claim and handle any dispute. Please provide only the pages and information needed to demonstrate control of the business.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may ask us to access, correct, erase or restrict your personal information, object to its use, or provide it in a portable format. You may also withdraw consent.
Contact privacy@insg1.com. We may need to confirm your identity. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Changes and contact
We will update this notice when the service or our use of information materially changes. Questions can be sent to privacy@insg1.com or INSG1, Stevenage, Hertfordshire.