Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Sornal Quarterly ("the Publication", "we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share information when you visit our website at sornal.info, contact us by email or telephone, or submit a message via our contact form.

This policy applies to all visitors to the website and all individuals who communicate with the editorial office. It is intended to be read in conjunction with our Cookie Policy, which explains our use of cookies and similar tracking technologies in detail.

Sornal Quarterly is an independent editorial publication based in London, United Kingdom. As a UK-based entity, we are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We are not affiliated with any commercial, governmental, or institutional body.

2. Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• Contact form data: When you submit a message via our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. If you provide a subject line or select a category from the dropdown, this is also retained.
• Email correspondence: If you write to us directly at [email protected], we retain your email address and the content of the correspondence for as long as is necessary to handle your enquiry.
• Technical data: When you visit sornal.info, our hosting infrastructure automatically collects standard server log data, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, the pages you visit, and the time and date of your visit. This data is collected by our hosting provider and is subject to their data retention policies.
• Cookie data: We use cookies to improve website functionality and to understand how visitors engage with our content. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for a full explanation of the cookies we use and how to manage your preferences.

We do not collect sensitive personal data. We do not ask for health data, financial information, identity documents, or any data relating to protected characteristics.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to correspondence: When you contact us, we use your name and email address to respond to your enquiry and to manage ongoing correspondence.
• To maintain records: We retain correspondence records to ensure continuity of communication and to track correction requests, contribution enquiries, and other editorial communications.
• To improve the website: Aggregated, anonymised technical data is used to understand how visitors use the website and to make improvements to its structure and content.
• To comply with legal obligations: We may retain or share data where required to do so by applicable law or by a lawful request from a competent authority.

We do not use your personal data for marketing purposes. We do not send promotional emails or newsletters. We do not share your data with advertisers or with third parties for the purposes of targeted advertising.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases for processing your personal data:

• Legitimate interests: Processing contact form submissions and email correspondence to respond to enquiries and manage editorial communications.
• Legal obligation: Retaining data where required by law.
• Consent: Where you have given specific consent to the use of non-essential cookies via our cookie consent banner.

5. Data Retention

We retain contact form submissions and email correspondence for a period of twenty-four months from the date of last contact. After this period, correspondence is deleted from our active systems unless there is an ongoing editorial matter that requires its retention.

Server log data is retained by our hosting provider for a period determined by their standard data retention policy, typically thirty days. We do not retain raw server logs beyond the period automatically managed by our hosting provider.

Cookie data is retained for the periods specified in our Cookie Policy, which vary by cookie category.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share your personal data with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes. Your data may be shared in the following limited circumstances:

• Hosting and infrastructure: Our website is hosted by a third-party provider whose servers handle the technical data associated with your visit. This provider is bound by data processing agreements consistent with UK GDPR requirements.
• Legal requirement: If required by law, by a court order, or by a lawful request from a competent public authority, we may disclose personal data to the relevant authority.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right of rectification: You may request that we correct any inaccurate data we hold about you.
• Right of erasure: You may request that we delete your personal data, subject to our legal obligations and legitimate interests.
• Right to restrict handling: You may request that we restrict the way in which we handle your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to object: You may object to certain types of data handling, including handling based on legitimate interests.
• Right to data portability: Where data handling is based on consent or contract, you may request a copy of your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, please write to us at [email protected]. We will respond within one month. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection.

8. Cookies

Our use of cookies is governed by a separate Cookie Policy, which you can access at the link in the footer of this page. In summary, we use cookies for the following purposes: essential website functionality, performance and analytics, and user preference storage. Non-essential cookies are only placed on your device with your consent.

9. Third-Party Links

Articles published on Sornal Quarterly may contain links to external websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. We are not responsible for the data handling practices of external sites and recommend that you review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.

10. Children

This website is not directed at individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 16. If you believe that a person under 16 has submitted personal data to us, please contact us at [email protected] and we will take appropriate steps.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our data handling practices or in applicable law. The date of the most recent revision appears at the top of this page. Where changes are significant, we will note them clearly.

12. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or about how your personal data is handled, please contact the editorial office:

Sornal Quarterly
91 Brick Lane
E1 6QL London
United Kingdom
+44 20 7493 5826
[email protected]