Privacy

At Irish Academic Editing, I am committed to protecting the privacy of everyone I deal with. This page outlines how my business complies with the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Obtaining and processing information fairly

I obtain information about my clients by asking them to provide me with the minimum amount of private details that I will need to maintain contact and to conduct business with them.

This means I ask for their:

  • name
  • email address
  • postal address
  • telephone number
  • occupation (e.g. author, researcher, publisher, student)

2. Keeping information only for one or more specified, explicit and lawful purposes

I keep the personal information provided by my clients solely for the purposes of maintaining contact and conducting business with them on defined projects. I later remove it from my files, as described in point 6 below.

3. Using and disclosing information only in ways compatible with these purposes

I use the information provided by my clients solely for purposes of maintaining contact and conducting business with them on defined projects. I do not engage in direct sales or marketing.

I respect the confidentiality of my clients and do not disclose their information to anyone else, for any reason, except with their prior written consent. As a member of Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers of Ireland (AFEPI Ireland), I am bound by its Code of Practice, which has strict guidelines on confidentiality. See: http://www.afepi.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AFEPI-Ireland-Code-of-Practice-March-2017.pdf

4. Keeping information safe and secure

General security: when working on a project with a client, various documents are generated. These include:

  • emails
  • letters
  • sample edits
  • client-editor agreement forms
  • client briefs
  • style guides
  • draft texts from clients
  • edited texts
  • query lists
  • editor’s reports

I take all reasonable steps to protect the security of clients’ personal information and documents on my computers and devices by:

  • working from a secure office
  • working on a PC that has a secure password and never leaves the building
  • running up-to-date software, including anti-virus and malware protection software
  • backing up my files weekly on an external hard drive
  • erasing all information from all old devices before disposing of them
  • Online security: my use of social media (Academia.edu and LinkedIn) is covered by the privacy and security policies for those companies. Please note: I do not collect any information from my social media platforms.

Also, please note that my website links to other websites, which will have their own privacy policies.

5. Ensuring that information is adequate, relevant and not excessive

As noted in points 1 and 4, I obtain and keep the minimum amount of personal details about my clients to enable me to conduct business with them, i.e. contact details and documents relevant to the completion of defined projects.

6. Retaining information for no longer than is necessary for the purpose or purposes

I keep all documents relating to my clients’ business (see first bullet list in point 4) for at least a year. This is because I may need them for reference purposes (in case I undertake further work for them), or in case a dispute should arise over a completed project. After this period, I delete such documents, unless asked to do so earlier.

I am obliged by Revenue (Irish Tax and Customs) to keep relevant records of business transactions (invoices, receipts, etc.) for six years, during which time I could be audited. If I do not conduct any further business with clients beyond this time frame, I will delete all emails and other documents relating to our work together.

7. Giving a copy of their personal data to individuals, on request

It is the right of my clients to know what information I hold about them in my general records and / or to request a copy of that information. All such requests will be dealt with promptly and in accordance with the current European Data Protection Legislation.

The enquiry form

If you use the contact form to ask for a quote, I receive your name, email address, and what you tell me about the document: its type, approximate length, file format, the dates you have in mind, and anything you add in the final box. Nothing else is collected, and none of it is required except the details I need in order to price the work.

Your enquiry is sent to me by email and a copy is stored on the website's server, outside the public part of the site, so that no enquiry is lost if an email fails to arrive. Both are used only to reply to you and, if we go on to work together, to set the job up.

If an enquiry does not lead to work, I delete the email and the stored copy within six months. If it does lead to work, the information becomes part of the client record described in points 1 to 7 above and is kept as set out there.

The form does not use CAPTCHA or any other third-party service, and I do not add enquirers to any mailing list.

Cookies and website analytics

The seven points above concern the personal information of my clients. This section concerns everyone who visits this website, whether or not we go on to do business together.

What this website measures

I use Google Analytics to understand how this website is being used — which pages people read, and whether they find what they came for. This helps me decide what to add or improve. The service is provided by Google Ireland Limited.

Google Analytics records:

  • the pages visited on this site, and how long is spent on them
  • the approximate location the visit came from, usually no more finely than the county or city
  • the type of device, browser and operating system used
  • the website or search engine that referred the visit, if any

It does not record names, email addresses, or anything else that identifies a visitor personally, and I do not attempt to link this information to my client records. It is not used for advertising, and I do not run advertising on this site.

Cookies

To count returning visits rather than treating every page view as a new person, Google Analytics stores small files called cookies in your browser, named _ga and _ga_RZVTQ545N5. They contain a randomly generated number and no personal details. They expire automatically after two years.

These are the only cookies this website sets. There are no advertising cookies, no social media trackers, and no other third-party scripts.

How to refuse or remove them

You can prevent or delete these cookies at any time, and doing so will not affect your use of this site:

  • every major browser lets you block or delete cookies for a particular website in its settings or preferences
  • browsing in a private or incognito window discards them when you close it
  • Google publishes a browser add-on that switches Google Analytics off across all websites: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Where the information goes

The information collected is processed by Google and may be stored on servers outside the European Economic Area. Google's own privacy policy explains how it handles that data: https://policies.google.com/privacy. I can see only the summarised reports, not the underlying records, and I do not share them with anyone.

If you would prefer that I hold no record of your visit at all, please use one of the methods above before browsing, or contact me at the email address below.*

If you have any further queries about this privacy policy, please contact me at the email address below.*

Privacy page last updated on 9 August 2026

Contact:
* We do not use your email address for marketing purposes