Last updated: 25 September 2026
Access Matters Ltd (“we”, “us”) runs accessmattersltd.co.uk and is the data controller for the personal data described here. This policy explains what we collect, why, who else sees it, and how to change your mind. If you have a question, email info@accessmattersltd.co.uk or use our contact page.
The short version
- We only use analytics and advertising cookies if you say yes, and you can change your answer at any time.
- Your name and email address are never published. If you report an access barrier on the map, only the location and what happened are shown.
- We don’t sell your data, and we don’t send marketing emails.
What we collect and why
- Contact and report forms. Your name, email address and what you tell us. We use this to read and reply to your message. If you tick the consent box on the report form, we also keep your report on file to spot recurring access barriers. Messages arrive in our email inbox and a copy is stored in the website’s admin area. Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in answering you, and your consent for keeping reports on file.
- Reports pinned on the Access Map. The place, its location, the type of issue and your description are published on the map so others can see the barrier. Your name and email address are kept private and only used by us to follow up. Please don’t include personal details about yourself or anyone else in the description. Lawful basis: legitimate interest in recording and publicising access barriers.
- Replies from businesses. If a business answers a report, its reply and the name it gives are published alongside the report. Lawful basis: legitimate interest in giving businesses a public right of reply.
- Security and technical data. Our web server keeps standard logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested) to keep the site secure and working. We also use your IP address briefly to limit the number of map reports sent from one connection, which stops spam. Lawful basis: legitimate interest in keeping the site secure.
- Analytics and advertising. With your consent only. See the next section.
Cookies
When you first visit, a message asks whether you accept analytics and advertising cookies. Until you choose, Google’s tags run in a restricted mode that sets no analytics or advertising cookies. They may still send basic, cookieless signals, such as the fact that a page was viewed, which Google uses to measure the site in aggregate. You can change your choice at any time using the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.
| Type | Who sets it | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Google (our consent tool) | Remembers your cookie choice so we don’t keep asking. | FCCDCF, FCNEC (up to 13 months) |
| Analytics (only with consent) | Google Analytics | Tells us which pages are read and how people find them, so we know which guides help. Your IP address is not stored by Google Analytics. | _ga, _ga_* (up to 2 years) |
| Advertising (only with consent) | Google AdSense and its partners | Shows adverts, limits how often you see the same one, measures them, and, if you allow it, personalises them. | __gads, __gpi, __eoi (up to 13 months), plus cookies on Google’s own domains |
If you’re logged in to edit the site, WordPress sets its own login cookies. Ordinary visitors don’t get these.
Advertising
Adverts help pay for the site. They are chosen and served by Google, not by us. We don’t endorse the products advertised, and advertisers have no say in what we write. If an advert seems inappropriate for a disability site, tell us and we’ll ask Google to block it.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this and other websites.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies lets it and its partners show you ads based on your visits to this site and other sites on the internet.
- You can turn off personalised advertising in Google’s My Ad Center, or opt out of some third-party vendors’ cookies at Your Online Choices.
- Read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
If you say no to advertising cookies, you may still see adverts. They’ll be less relevant, and they won’t use cookies to track you.
Who else handles your data
- Google: analytics, advertising and the cookie consent message (see above).
- Unsplash: some photos are loaded directly from Unsplash’s servers, which see your IP address as with any image on the web.
- OpenStreetMap: the maps on our Access Map and station map pages load map tiles from OpenStreetMap’s servers, which see your IP address.
- Our web host and email provider: they store the site and deliver our email, and only process data on our instructions.
Some of these companies are based in the United States. Where data leaves the UK, it’s protected by the UK–US Data Bridge or the UK’s standard contract clauses.
We never share your report or your contact details with the business you complained about unless you ask us to.
How long we keep it
- Contact messages: until we’ve dealt with them, then deleted within two years.
- Reports you’ve agreed we can keep, and reports pinned on the map: while they’re useful as evidence, or until you ask us to remove them.
- Server logs: kept for a short period set by our host, then deleted automatically.
- Cookies: for the times shown in the table above, or until you clear them.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can ask for a copy of the data we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to how we use it, or withdraw your consent at any time. Email info@accessmattersltd.co.uk and we’ll respond within one month. If you’re unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use your data, we’ll update this page and the date at the top.