Effective date: 21 March 2026 Last updated: 21 March 2026
publishing.co.uk ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at https://publishing.co.uk and use our book formatting services.
1. Information We Collect
Information you provide directly:
- Account and order information: When you place an order, we collect your name, email address, and payment information (processed securely by Stripe — we never store your full card details).
- Manuscript files: When you upload a manuscript for formatting, we temporarily store the file to process your order.
- Communications: If you contact us via email at hello@publishing.co.uk, we retain the correspondence to respond to your enquiry.
Information collected automatically:
- Usage data: We use Google Analytics (GA4) to collect anonymised data about how you use our website, including pages visited, time spent, and referral sources.
- Cookies: We use essential cookies for site functionality and analytics cookies (Google Analytics). See our cookie information below.
- Device information: Browser type, operating system, IP address (anonymised), and screen resolution.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Process and fulfil your book formatting orders
- Send order confirmations and delivery notifications via email
- Respond to your enquiries and provide customer support
- Improve our website, services, and user experience
- Comply with legal obligations under UK law
3. Legal Basis for Processing (UK GDPR)
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:
- Contract: Processing necessary to fulfil your order (Article 6(1)(b))
- Legitimate interests: Website analytics and service improvement (Article 6(1)(f))
- Consent: Marketing communications, where applicable (Article 6(1)(a))
4. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data. We share information only with:
- Stripe: Our payment processor, for secure payment handling. Stripe's privacy policy: https://stripe.com/privacy
- Google Analytics: For anonymised website usage data. Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Email service providers: For transactional emails related to your orders
4.5 Files uploaded to the KDP Readiness Score
When you upload a manuscript file to the free KDP Readiness Score tool:
- The file is transmitted over HTTPS (TLS 1.3 minimum) directly to our UK server
- It is stored on a UK-based virtual private server (London datacentre)
- It is processed only by our own audit engine — it is never sent to any third-party AI service (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Cohere, etc.) or shared with anyone outside publishing.co.uk staff
- It is automatically deleted within 24 hours of upload, by an hourly cron job
- The deletion is logged (file size, SHA-256 hash, timestamp — no content, no filename) for audit-trail purposes
- You can request the deletion log for your specific upload by emailing hello@publishing.co.uk with the email address you used
- You can request earlier deletion at any time within the 24-hour window
- Files are held with mode 0600 (read/write by the audit worker only — no group, no other) on an encrypted-disk VPS
- An independent ClamAV malware scan runs on every upload before the file touches the audit engine
We do not claim any rights over your manuscript, do not retain the content of your file beyond the audit, and do not include any excerpt of your file in the report we send back to you. Your file is yours.
Our lawful basis for processing this file is your consent, given by ticking the upload checkbox. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting hello@publishing.co.uk.
The score and rule outcomes (e.g. "page count: 312, score: 87/100, font-embedding rule: pass") are retained in anonymised aggregate form for product improvement. The content of the manuscript is not.
For full technical detail of the file-handling pipeline, see our data-handling spec. For our current list of sub-processors, see /privacy/sub-processors/.
5. Data Retention
- Order data: Retained for 6 years to comply with HMRC requirements for UK businesses
- Manuscript files: Deleted within 30 days of order completion, unless you request earlier deletion
- Analytics data: Retained for 14 months (Google Analytics default)
- Email correspondence: Retained for 2 years unless you request deletion
6. Your Rights
Under the UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Access your personal data
- Rectify inaccurate personal data
- Erase your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
- Restrict processing of your personal data
- Data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Withdraw consent at any time for consent-based processing
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@publishing.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.
7. Cookies
We use the following cookies:
| Cookie | Purpose | Duration | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Google Analytics — distinguishes users | 2 years | Analytics |
| ga* | Google Analytics — maintains session state | 2 years | Analytics |
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect site functionality.
8. International Transfers
Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the UK (e.g., the United States) by our service providers (Stripe, Google). These transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses.
9. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:
- HTTPS encryption on all pages
- Secure payment processing via Stripe (PCI DSS compliant)
- Access controls on our servers
- Regular security reviews
10. Children
Our services are not directed to individuals under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights:
Email: hello@publishing.co.uk Website: https://publishing.co.uk
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
- Website: https://ico.org.uk
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113