Privacy-policy
This privacy policy explains how Motion Wave Digital Ltd collects, uses and protects your personal data when you read, subscribe to or interact with The Brand Ledger. We take your privacy seriously. We will never sell your data to any third party.
Contents
- Who we are
- What data we collect
- Email newsletter
- Ghost member accounts
- Google Analytics
- How we use your data
- Third parties
- How long we keep your data
- Your rights
- Cookies
- Security
- Children
- Changes to this policy
- Contact & complaints
1. Who we are
The Brand Ledger is a publication of MotionWave Ltd, registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 15535218). Our registered office is at 98 Oldfield Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP8 3SQ.
Motion Wave Digital Ltd is the data controller for all personal data collected through thebrandledger.com. For privacy enquiries contact: connorwhiting@motionwavedigital.co.uk
We comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy sets out your rights and how we handle your data in accordance with those laws.
2. What data we collect
We only collect data that is necessary to operate The Brand Ledger. Here is a summary of what we collect and why:
| Data | Source | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | You subscribe or create an account | To send you the publication and manage your membership |
| Name | You provide it at signup (optional) | To personalise emails |
| Subscription status | Ghost platform | To determine which content you can access |
| IP address (anonymised) | Google Analytics | To understand readership geography |
| Pages visited & time spent | Google Analytics | To improve the publication |
| Device & browser type | Google Analytics | To ensure the site works correctly |
| Referral source | Google Analytics | To understand how readers find us |
3. Email newsletter
Email newsletter
When you subscribe to The Brand Ledger, we collect your email address and — if you choose to provide it — your name. We use this to send you each monthly issue and any relevant publication updates.
Legal basis: Consent. You opt in by subscribing. You can withdraw consent and unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email we send, or by contacting us directly.
Email provider: Emails are delivered via Ghost's built-in email delivery service, powered by Mailgun. Your email address is stored on Ghost's platform servers. Mailgun processes email data in accordance with UK GDPR under Standard Contractual Clauses.
We do not send marketing emails unrelated to The Brand Ledger. We do not share your email address with any third party for marketing purposes, including trading names of Motionwave Ltd.
4. Ghost member accounts
Ghost member accounts
The Brand Ledger is hosted on Ghost, a publishing platform. When you create a member account — whether as a free or paid subscriber — Ghost stores your account data on your behalf. This includes:
- Email address
- Name (if provided)
- Subscription tier (free or paid)
- Account creation date
- Login history
Legal basis: Contract performance — your account is necessary to provide the subscription service you have signed up for.
Ghost as a data processor: Ghost (Ghost Foundation, trading as Ghost.org) acts as a data processor on our behalf. They process your member data only as instructed by us and in accordance with their own privacy policy and UK GDPR obligations. Ghost's privacy policy is available at ghost.org/privacy.
You can delete your member account at any time by contacting us at connorwhiting@motionwavedigital.co.uk. We will action deletion requests within 30 days.
5. Google Analytics
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics to understand how readers engage with The Brand Ledger — which articles are read, how long readers spend on each page, and where traffic comes from. This helps us improve the publication.
What Google Analytics collects:
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- Approximate geographic location (country and region — not street level)
- Device type, browser and operating system
- Referring website or search term
- New vs returning visitor status
What Google Analytics does not collect: We do not enable any advertising features in Google Analytics. We do not share data with Google for advertising purposes. IP addresses are anonymised before they are stored.
Legal basis: Legitimate interests — understanding how readers engage with the publication allows us to improve it. We have configured Google Analytics to anonymise IP addresses and disable data sharing with Google's advertising products.
Your choices: Google Analytics only activates if you accept analytics cookies via our cookie banner. If you select "Essential only" the analytics script does not load. You can also install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Data transfer: Google Analytics data is processed by Google LLC, which may transfer data outside the UK. Google participates in the UK-US Data Bridge and processes data under Standard Contractual Clauses. See Google's privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy.
6. How we use your data
| Purpose | Legal basis | Data used |
|---|---|---|
| Sending you The Brand Ledger monthly issue | Consent | Email address, name |
| Managing your Ghost member account | Contract performance | Email, name, subscription status |
| Understanding readership to improve the publication | Legitimate interests | Anonymised analytics data |
| Responding to your enquiries | Legitimate interests | Name, email, message content |
| Legal and compliance obligations | Legal obligation | As required by law |
7. Third parties we work with
We use a small number of trusted third-party services to operate The Brand Ledger. We do not sell your data. Each third party is listed below with their role and a link to their privacy policy.
| Service | Role | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Publishing platform and member account management | ghost.org/privacy |
| Mailgun | Email delivery (used by Ghost) | mailgun.com/legal/privacy-policy |
| Google Analytics | Anonymised website analytics (only if you accept analytics cookies) | policies.google.com/privacy |
8. How long we keep your data
| Data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Newsletter subscriber email | Until you unsubscribe, then deleted within 30 days |
| Ghost member account data | Duration of membership, plus 6 years after account closure for legal compliance |
| Google Analytics data | 26 months (anonymised aggregate data only) |
| Email enquiries | 3 years from last contact |
9. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the following rights regarding your personal data. All requests should be sent to connorwhiting@motionwavedigital.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.
- Right to access — request a copy of the data we hold about you
- Right to rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data
- Right to erasure — ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten")
- Right to restriction — ask us to pause processing of your data
- Right to portability — receive your data in a portable format
- Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Right to withdraw consent — unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send
10. Cookies
We use two categories of cookies:
| Category | Purpose | Can be declined? |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Ghost member login session, cookie consent record | No — required for the site to function |
| Analytics | Google Analytics — anonymised readership data | Yes — select "Essential only" on the cookie banner |
We do not use advertising, tracking or social media cookies. You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site, which will show the consent banner again.
11. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data. The Brand Ledger uses HTTPS encryption for all data in transit. Ghost's platform is hosted on infrastructure with industry-standard security controls. We regularly review our data practices.
In the unlikely event of a data breach that affects your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and inform affected individuals without undue delay, as required by UK GDPR.
12. Children
The Brand Ledger is a business publication intended for professionals. It is not directed at anyone under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy as the publication grows or our data practices change. Material changes — such as new data collection methods or new third-party processors — will be communicated to subscribers by email before they take effect. The date at the top of this page will always reflect when it was last updated.
14. Contact & complaints
For any privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at connorwhiting@motionwavedigital.co.uk. We aim to respond within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with how we handle your request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Phone: 0303 123 1113
- Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF