Privacy policy.
Privacy Notice
Last reviewed: 21 July 2026 Version: 3.0
Who we are
Richard Dawson, trading as aiadvantage[dot]legal is the data controller responsible for your personal data.
Contact:counsel@aiadvantage.legal Website:www.aiadvantage.legal
This notice explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, the lawful basis on which we rely, how long we keep it, who we share it with, how we protect it, and the rights you have. It is written to reflect the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).
If we make material changes to this notice, we will update the version and date above and, where appropriate, notify you directly.
The personal data we collect
You control most of the data you give us. We collect:
Information you give us directly — your name, email address, business or firm name, role, and anything you choose to tell us when you contact us, book a session, subscribe to our newsletter, or engage our services.
Information collected automatically — when you visit the site, our server and any analytics tools may record technical data such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring site, and pages viewed. Some of this is collected via cookies (see the cookie section below). Some processing may be assisted by AI or automated tools (see Use of AI and automated tools).
Information from third parties — where you interact with us through a third-party platform (for example a booking or scheduling tool), that platform may pass us the details you submitted there.
We do not seek to collect special category data. Please do not send us sensitive personal information unless it is genuinely necessary for the work.
Why we process your data, and our lawful basis
We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. The table below maps each purpose to its basis.
PurposePersonal data usedLawful basis (UK GDPR Art. 6)Responding to enquiries via our contact form or emailName, email, message contentLegitimate interests (responding to people who contact us) — or steps prior to a contract where relevantDelivering services and sessions you have booked or boughtName, contact details, business details, booking details, payment detailsContractSending our newsletter and marketing updatesName, emailConsentSite security, troubleshooting and improving the siteTechnical data, usage dataLegitimate interests (running a secure, functional website)Website analytics (Google Analytics)Usage data, device/identifier dataConsent (via cookie banner)Complying with legal, accounting and tax obligationsContract and transaction recordsLegal obligationEstablishing, exercising or defending legal claimsRelevant recordsLegitimate interests
Legitimate interests. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered whether our interest is overridden by your interests, rights and freedoms, and concluded it is not, given the limited and expected nature of the processing. You can object to this processing at any time (see Your rights), and you can ask us for more detail on our balancing assessment using the contact details above.
Consent. Where we rely on consent (newsletter and non-essential cookies), it is given by a clear affirmative action, it is recorded, and you can withdraw it at any time — by using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, by adjusting your cookie preferences on the site, or by contacting us. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing carried out before withdrawal.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small files placed on your device when you visit a website. We use them as follows.
Strictly necessary cookies are required for the site to function (for example security and session management). These do not require consent and are set when you use the site.
Non-essential cookies — including analytics and performance cookies — are only set after you have given consent through our cookie banner. They are not set on entry. You can accept all, reject all, or set granular preferences, and you can change your choice at any time via the cookie settings on the site.
Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used. It runs only with your consent. Analytics tools may use device and behavioural identifiers, not merely an anonymised IP address, and may involve processing outside the UK — see International transfers. We rely on consent as the lawful basis for these cookies.
You can also control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling strictly necessary cookies may stop parts of the site working.
Where any chat, intake or analytics feature on the site is AI-assisted, its use of your data is covered by the section below.
Use of AI and automated tools
Given the nature of our work, we think it is right to be explicit about our own use of AI.
We use artificial intelligence and automated tools to assist our own work — for example drafting, research and administration — and to help us operate the website, respond to enquiries and improve our services. Where these tools process personal data, we do so only where we have a lawful basis under UK data protection law.
The AI tools we use are established, mainstream services accessed on paid business or enterprise plans. Under those plans, the providers act as our processors, operate under data-processing terms, and do not use our inputs to train their models.
We do not run an automated AI chatbot on this site, and we do not use AI to automatically score, profile or qualify visitors. AI supports our work; it does not make decisions about you. We do not make decisions about you that are based solely on automated processing and that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
If you contact us through a form or other online service, please do not include unnecessary sensitive information. Where relevant, we may retain messages and related records for record-keeping, security, service improvement and legal compliance, in line with our retention criteria and lawful bases.
Where any AI service provider processes personal data outside the UK, we apply the safeguards described under International transfers.
Who we share your data with
We do not sell or rent your personal data.
We share data with processors who provide services to us and act only on our instructions. These include:
Squarespace — website hosting
Stripe — payment processing
Calendly — session booking and scheduling
Zoom — video conferencing for online sessions
Descript — recording and transcription
Mailchimp — sending our newsletter
Google Analytics — website analytics
Each is bound by a contract requiring them to protect your data and use it only for the service they provide.
We may also share data with our accountant and professional advisers where necessary.
We may disclose personal data where legally required (for example in response to a court order, a lawful request from an authority, or to establish or defend legal claims), and to a successor if the business is transferred, in which case this notice would continue to apply.
International transfers
Some of our providers process data outside the UK (for example providers based in the United States).
Where we transfer personal data outside the UK, we ensure an appropriate safeguard is in place. This will be one of: a UK adequacy regulation covering the destination; the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA); or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. Where a provider is certified under the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, we may rely on that adequacy route for transfers to that provider.
You can ask us for further information about the safeguards applying to a particular transfer using the contact details above.
How long we keep your data
We keep personal data only as long as necessary for the purpose we collected it. Our criteria are:
Enquiries that do not lead to work: kept for up to 12 months, then deleted.
Client and contract records, invoices and correspondence: kept for 6 years after the end of the engagement, to meet contractual, accounting and tax obligations and to defend potential claims.
Newsletter/marketing data: kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you.
Website analytics data: kept in line with the retention setting configured in the analytics tool.
When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to: be informed about how we use your data; access a copy of your data; have inaccurate data corrected; have your data erased in certain circumstances; restrict processing; data portability; and object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing. You also have rights in relation to automated decision-making — though we do not make decisions about you by solely automated means.
To exercise any right, contact counsel@aiadvantage.legal. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how we handle your data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF Helpline: 0303 123 1113 Website: https://ico.org.uk
Security
We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data, and we require our processors to do the same. Payment details are handled by our payment provider using industry-standard encryption; we do not store full card details ourselves. No transmission over the internet can be guaranteed completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information and to respond appropriately to any personal data breach.
Children
Our services are intended for business and professional users and are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
Links to other sites
Our site may link to third-party websites we do not control. This notice does not apply to those sites, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review their own privacy notices.
Changes to this notice
We may update this notice from time to time. The current version and review date appear at the top. Where changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to your attention.
Questions
For any question about this notice or your data, contact counsel@aiadvantage.legal.