This policy explains how Descartes Consulting Limited ("we", "us") collects and uses personal data when you visit this website or make a speaking or podcast enquiry through it. We are the data controller for that information.
In short: we only collect what you type into the enquiry form, we use it to reply to you, we do not sell it, we only use analytics and marketing cookies if you accept them, and you can ask us to delete your data at any time.
1. Who we are
Descartes Consulting Limited, registered in Scotland under company number SC787331. Registered office: The Old Station, Cowdenburn, Lamancha, West Linton, Borders, Scotland, EH46 7BD.
For any question about this policy or your personal data, contact nadine@descartesconsulting.co.uk.
2. What we collect
We collect personal data in two ways:
Information you give us
When you submit the enquiry form, we collect the details you enter — typically your name, email address, organisation, and the information you provide about your event, podcast or request. Please do not include sensitive personal information, confidential business data or case-specific details in the form.
We also record alongside your enquiry how you arrived at the site — for example the page that linked you here, or a campaign tag in the link you clicked. This helps us understand which talks, articles and podcast appearances lead people to get in touch.
Information collected automatically
Our server records basic technical information such as IP address, browser type and the pages requested. This is standard server logging, used to keep the site secure and available.
We also keep a separate, privacy-minimal record of site activity so we can understand how people find and use the site, and to monitor automated abuse of the enquiry form. That record contains no names, email addresses or message content. IP addresses are not stored in it in readable form — they are converted into an irreversible code that cannot be turned back into an address. This measurement happens entirely on our server and does not involve cookies. We use this same cookieless, on-server method to count page views and visits in our own private dashboard — because it sets no cookies and records no personal data about you, it runs whether or not you accept analytics cookies.
Separately, and only if you consent, we use third-party analytics and marketing services to understand how visitors use the site and to measure our campaigns. These are loaded through Google Tag Manager and run only for the categories you accept:
- Analytics — Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity, which show us how visitors use the site (which sections they read, where they click). Clarity may record a pseudonymised replay of the session; it masks the text you type, including anything entered into form fields.
- Marketing — the LinkedIn Insight Tag, which measures the performance of our LinkedIn campaigns.
These services set cookies. None of them are loaded if you decline, and you can withdraw at any time. See section 7 for how to accept, decline or withdraw.
3. Why we use it, and our legal basis
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Replying to your enquiry and discussing a possible speaking or podcast engagement | Legitimate interests — responding to a request you initiated |
| Keeping records of enquiries and engagements | Legitimate interests / legal obligation |
| Keeping the website secure and functioning, and preventing automated abuse of the enquiry form | Legitimate interests |
| Understanding how visitors find and use the site, using data that does not identify you | Legitimate interests |
| Understanding how visitors use the site, through analytics cookies (Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity) | Consent — which you may withdraw at any time |
| Measuring and improving our advertising campaigns, through marketing cookies (LinkedIn) | Consent — which you may withdraw at any time |
| Sending you marketing emails, if you have separately asked to receive them | Consent — which you may withdraw at any time |
We do not use your enquiry details for automated decision-making or profiling.
4. Who we share it with
We do not sell or rent personal data. We share it only with service providers who help us run this website and our correspondence — for example our website hosting provider and our email provider, and — where you have given the relevant consent — Google (Google Analytics and Tag Manager), Microsoft (Clarity) and LinkedIn (advertising analytics). They act on our instructions and may only use the data to provide their service to us.
We may also disclose information where we are required to do so by law.
5. Where your data is held
Your data is held on servers within the UK or the European Economic Area wherever possible. If any provider we use processes data outside the UK, we take steps to ensure it remains protected by appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or an adequacy decision. In particular, where you consent to analytics or marketing cookies, some data may be processed by Google, Microsoft or LinkedIn outside the UK; such transfers are protected by those safeguards.
6. How long we keep it
We keep enquiry correspondence for up to 24 months after our last contact with you, unless it relates to an engagement that went ahead — in which case we keep the relevant records for as long as necessary for business and legal purposes. You can ask us to delete your data earlier at any time.
The privacy-minimal site activity record described in section 2 is kept for up to 12 months and then deleted.
7. Cookies
This website uses strictly necessary cookies that are required for it to work — for example to keep the site secure and to process a form submission. These do not require your consent. The privacy-minimal site activity record described in section 2 is produced on our own server and does not place anything on your device.
With your consent, we also use optional cookies, grouped into two categories you can accept or reject independently:
- Analytics — Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity, to understand how the site is used.
- Marketing — the LinkedIn Insight Tag, to measure and improve our campaigns.
These are managed through Google Tag Manager and load only for the categories you allow. When you first visit, a banner lets you Accept all, Reject all, or Manage preferences by category. No analytics or marketing cookies are set, and no analytics or marketing service is fully loaded, until you accept it. Before then, Google Consent Mode may send anonymous, cookieless signals to Google that do not identify you and store nothing on your device. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer.
You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time, though blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect how the site works.
8. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- ask us to correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete
- ask us to delete your data
- ask us to restrict how we use it
- object to our use of it where we rely on legitimate interests
- ask us to transfer it to you or another organisation, in certain circumstances
- withdraw your consent to marketing at any time
To exercise any of these rights, email nadine@descartesconsulting.co.uk. We will respond within one month.
9. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please tell us first at nadine@descartesconsulting.co.uk, so we can try to put it right. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and respond within one month.
You also have the right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.