Last updated: May 2026
The Left Lane is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and your rights under UK law. Please read it carefully.
1. Who We Are
The Left Lane is a registered company in England and Wales. Company number: 17178883.
For any privacy-related queries, contact us at: [email protected]
Where this policy refers to “we”, “us”, or “our”, it means The Left Lane.
2. What Data We Collect and Why
2.1 Data You Provide to Us
When you sign up for our newsletter or contact us, we may collect:
- Your name and email address
- Your preferences and interests, if you choose to share them
- Any messages or content you send to us
We use this information to send you newsletters and editorial updates, respond to your enquiries, and improve the content and services we offer. The legal basis for this processing is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)) and, where applicable, our legitimate interests in running and improving our publication (Article 6(1)(f)).
2.2 Data Collected Automatically
When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical information, including your IP address, browser type, pages visited, time on site, and referring URL. This data helps us understand how our site is used and how to improve it. Further detail on the specific tools we use is set out in Sections 4–6 below.
3. Cookies
We use cookies — small text files stored on your device — to make our website function correctly and to collect analytics data. Cookies fall into the following categories:
- Essential cookies: Necessary for the website to operate. These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the site. These are set by the third-party services described below.
- Marketing/tracking cookies: We do not currently use these.
Where non-essential cookies are used, we will seek your consent before setting them. You can withdraw consent at any time by clearing your cookies and adjusting your browser settings.
4. Microsoft Clarity
We use Microsoft Clarity, a behavioural analytics tool provided by Microsoft Corporation. Clarity records anonymised heatmaps and session replays to help us understand how visitors interact with our pages — for example, where people click, scroll, and spend time.
Clarity may collect:
- Mouse movements, clicks, and scrolling behaviour
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- Device type, browser, and operating system
- IP address (anonymised)
Microsoft may use this data to improve its own products and services. Clarity data is processed by Microsoft in accordance with their privacy policy, available at privacy.microsoft.com.
The legal basis for this processing is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)). Microsoft Clarity will not be activated until you have accepted the relevant cookies via our cookie consent banner. You may withdraw consent at any time by revisiting your cookie preferences, which will prevent Clarity from collecting any further data.
5. Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, provided by Google LLC (operating through Google Ireland Limited for UK/EEA users). Google Analytics helps us measure traffic and usage patterns across our website.
Google Analytics may collect:
- Pages visited and time on site
- Traffic source (how you arrived at our site)
- Device, browser, and operating system information
- Approximate geographic location (country/region level)
- IP address (anonymised before storage)
We have enabled IP anonymisation and do not use Google Analytics to collect personally identifiable information. Data collected may be transferred to and stored on servers in the United States. Google operates under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, providing an adequate level of protection.
Google’s privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
The legal basis for this processing is your consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)), obtained via our cookie consent mechanism.
You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, or by declining analytics cookies when prompted.
6. MailerLite — Email Marketing
We use MailerLite (operated by MailerLite UAB, a company registered in Lithuania) to manage our mailing list and send newsletters.
When you subscribe to our newsletter, we share with MailerLite:
- Your email address
- Your name (if provided)
- The date and source of your subscription
MailerLite also collects engagement data on our behalf, including whether you open our emails and which links you click. This helps us understand what content is relevant to our readers.
MailerLite stores subscriber data on servers within the European Union. Their privacy policy is available at mailerlite.com/legal/privacy-policy.
The legal basis for processing your data via MailerLite is your consent, given when you subscribe to our mailing list. You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email we send, or by contacting us directly. Unsubscribing will remove you from all future mailings.
7. How We Share Your Data
We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with the third-party service providers described in this policy (Microsoft, Google, MailerLite) and only to the extent necessary to operate our publication. We do not share personal data with advertisers or other commercial third parties.
8. How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain subscriber data for as long as your subscription is active, or until you unsubscribe. Analytics data is retained for the periods set by the respective services (typically 26 months for Google Analytics). Contact enquiries are retained for as long as necessary to respond and for a reasonable period thereafter.
9. Your Rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the following rights:
- Right of access — to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Right to rectification — to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
- Right to erasure — to ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances
- Right to restriction — to ask us to limit how we process your data
- Right to data portability — to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within one calendar month.
If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.
10. Links to Other Websites
Our articles may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies before sharing any personal information with them.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The date at the top of this page will always show when it was last revised. Significant changes will be communicated to subscribers by email where practicable.
12. Contact Us
For any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please write to us at [email protected].
