Privacy Policy
Last updated: 03/10/2026
Rum’s The Word (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect when you use this website, why we collect it, and what rights you have over it.
Introduction
Rum’s The Word is owned and operated by Drinksearcher Limited, a Company Registered in England & Wales. Company Reg No. 06897937
For anything relating to this policy or your personal data, you can reach us at hello@rumstheword.com
What personal data we collect
Newsletter sign-up: if you sign up via the form in our footer, we collect your email address.
Contacting us: if you email us or use a contact form, we collect whatever you include in that message (e.g. your name, email address, and the content of your message).
Comments: if comments are enabled on the site and you leave one, we collect the name, email address, and website (if given) you submit with it, and the comment text itself.
Technical and usage data: like most websites, we automatically collect some technical data when you visit — your IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, and how you arrived at the site — mainly via cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookies Policy for the detail).
Affiliate link clicks: if you click a link to a retailer we have an affiliate relationship with, that retailer (not us) will typically set its own tracking cookie so it can credit us with a commission if you buy something. We don’t see your purchase details — just that a click happened.
We don’t knowingly collect any special category data (such as health information) through this site.
How and why we use your data
| Purpose | Data used | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sending the newsletter | Email address | Your consent (given when you sign up) |
| Replying to your enquiries | Whatever you send us | Legitimate interest in running the site / responding to you |
| Publishing and moderating comments | Name, email, comment text | Consent / legitimate interest |
| Understanding how the site is used, fixing problems, improving content | Technical/usage data via cookies | Consent (for non-essential cookies) / legitimate interest (for strictly necessary ones) |
| Keeping the site secure | Technical data, logs | Legitimate interest |
| Affiliate commission tracking | Click-through to retailer sites | Legitimate interest (ours and the retailer’s) |
You can withdraw consent for the newsletter at any time by clicking “unsubscribe” in any email, or by contacting us.
Who we share data with
We share data with third parties only where necessary to run the site.
Our web hosting provider, who stores the site and its data.
[Analytics tool, e.g. Google Analytics], to understand site traffic in aggregate.
Affiliate networks and retailers (e.g. Amazon Associates and similar), but only in the sense that clicking through to them triggers their own tracking — we don’t hand your personal data to them directly.
Email delivery used to receive newsletter sign-up notifications.
We don’t sell your personal data, and we don’t share it with anyone for their own marketing purposes.
International data transfers
Some of the third parties above (for example, US-headquartered analytics providers) may store or process data outside the UK and European Economic Area. Where that happens, we rely on recognised safeguards such as the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement, an adequacy decision, or the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, as applicable.
How long we keep your data
Newsletter email addresses: for as long as you remain subscribed, plus a short period afterwards to process the unsubscribe.
Enquiry/contact emails: typically up to [12/24] months, or longer if needed to resolve an ongoing matter.
Comments: for as long as the comment remains published, unless you ask us to remove it sooner.
Technical/analytics data: generally retained in aggregate/anonymised form; raw logs are kept only briefly.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR (and EU GDPR, if it applies to you), you have the right to:
- be told what data we hold about you and why (access);
- have inaccurate data corrected (rectification);
- ask us to delete your data in some circumstances (erasure);
- object to or restrict certain processing;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.
To exercise any of these, contact us at hello@rumstheword.com If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, you can also complain to the UK’s data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk — or, if you’re in the EU, your own country’s supervisory authority.
Children
This site isn’t intended for anyone under 18. Rum’s The Word covers alcoholic drinks, and we don’t knowingly collect personal data from children.
Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect the data we hold, but no method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we can’t guarantee absolute security.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Significant changes will be reflected by an updated “last updated” date at the top of this page.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or your data: hello@rumstheword.com
