Privacy Policy

This page contains information on The Spectator's approach to privacy, cookies and policies.

The Spectator (1828) Ltd (“we”, “us” or “our” for short) are registered to collect and process personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018 (the “Act” for short). The Spectator (1828) Ltd are data controllers of your personal information for the purposes of the Act. If you want to know what personal information we hold about you, please write to us at data@spectator.co.uk.

We and selected partners, use cookies or similar technologies as specified in this policy.
You can consent to the use of such technologies by continuing to browse otherwise.

We respect and safeguard the privacy of the users of spectator.co.uk (“the website”) and readers of our magazines which include The Spectator, The Spectator Australia, and Apollo Magazine (“the Magazines”). This Privacy Policy outlines how we will do this, how we will collect and use your personal information (such as your name, country of origin, date of birth, email address, mobile telephone number, or other contact details), and how you can limit our use of this. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully which should be read together with our website terms and conditions.

What information do we gather?

Information is gathered in two ways: (1) indirectly (for example, through our website’s technology); and (2) directly (for example, when you provide information on various pages of the website or when you return coupons published in the Magazines).

One example of information we collect indirectly is through internet access logs. When you access the website, your numeric IP address is automatically collected and placed in our internet access logs.

We collect information directly from you in a number of ways, one of which is through the use of cookies. We use cookies to remember you when you visit this website to keep track of your browsing patterns and to build up a profile of how you and other users use the website. A cookie is a small piece of information sent by a web server to the web browser, which enables the webserver to collect information from the browser.

Most browsers allow you to turn off cookies. If you want to know how to do this please look at the help menu on your browser. However, switching off cookies may restrict your use of the website and/or delay or affect the way in which the website operates.

We also collect information when you voluntarily submit it to us. On our website, we provide you with the opportunity to register for various services, register for email newsletters, enter promotions and competitions, complete puzzles, purchase products and participate in online surveys. Throughout the magazines, we give you the opportunity to take up various offers, enter various competitions and promotions, and apply for various information about products and services. When we collect your information in this way, we will notify you as to how this information will be used. We will also provide you with the opportunity to indicate your preferences as to the use of your information.

When responding to promotions, offers, etc. by postcard, if you do not wish for your details to be used by us to send you promotions and offers, please make this clear by stating “No Offers”.

Third-party advertising cookies

Most of the advertisements you see on the website are generated by third parties. Some of these third parties generate their own cookies to track how many people have seen a particular advertisement (or use the services of third parties to do this) and to track how many people have seen it more than once. These cookies cannot be used to identify an individual; they can only be used for statistical purposes, for example, in providing you with advertisements that are more relevant to your interests. Some of the information gleaned from third-party cookies will be aggregated with other anonymous information for statistical purposes.

The third-party companies that generate these cookies have their own, very strict, privacy policies but we don’t have access to these cookies; other than allowing them to be served, we have no role to play in these cookies at all (although we may use statistical information arising from these third party cookies and provided to us by third parties, to improve the targeting of advertisements to users of the website).

Visit www.youronlinechoices.com or click on the AdChoices logo that you will see in the corner of advertisements that carry behavioral targeting cookies. Alternatively, you can visit the trade body representing these advertising bodies for more information on how to opt-out of these cookies.

Use of your information

We invest in high-quality security and do our utmost to protect user privacy. No data transmission over the Internet can be entirely secure, and therefore we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information and/or use of the website. Any information that you send is at your own risk and may be read by others. However, once we have received your personal information we use strict procedures to protect the security of your personal information.

Any personal information gathered by or supplied to us via the website or the Magazines will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy, in accordance with your wishes as indicated to us, and in accordance with the Act.

You may modify your preferences or get further information by writing to us at Data Department, The Spectator (1828) Ltd, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, or by email to info@spectator.co.uk. Your wishes will be honoured.

Disclosing your information

We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in good faith believing such action is necessary to comply with the law. We will not sell or otherwise share your personal information with third parties without your consent except in the following instances:

Accessing and updating your personal information

You have the right to access the personal information held about you. To obtain a copy of the personal information we hold about you, please send an email to info@spectator.co.uk.

How do I change my personal details?

We want to ensure that we provide you with the best possible service. Please therefore always keep us updated of any changes to your personal information, for example, if your email address changes. You can do this by accessing your account pages on the website or by emailing info@spectator.co.uk.

Where we store your personal information

The personal information that we collect from you may be sent and stored outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). By registering on the website or sending us your personal information by other means, you are indicating your consent for your personal information to be sent and stored outside the EEA.

What does providing us with this information mean?

By giving us personal information about you, you agree that your personal information can be used as set out in this Privacy Policy. If we change the Privacy Policy, we will post the changes on this page. Please check the website regularly for any changes to this Privacy Policy.

If you don’t feel we’re adhering to this Privacy Policy, what should you do?

If at any time you believe that we have not adhered to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please notify us by email at info@spectator.co.uk and we will make any efforts we can to determine and solve the problem promptly.

Our COVID-19 policy

We have published our COVID-19 Risk Assessment online. You can access it here.