Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect your personal information when you visit markwilliamson.net. I'm committed to handling your data transparently and in line with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you only read one thing: I don't sell your data, I collect as little as possible, and you have rights over the information I hold — including the right to ask me to delete it.

Who I am and what this site does

This website is operated by Dr Mark Williamson, a Charity Director (Action for Happiness) and author based in the United Kingdom. It provides information about my work, including my book Make Life Happier, and related writing, speaking and media activities.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, I am the data controller for personal information collected through this website.

How to contact me

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your data protection rights, or have concerns about how your information is handled, please use the contact form on this website.

What information I collect, and why

Visitor data (automatic)

When you visit this site, my hosting provider Squarespace automatically collects certain technical information to serve the site to you and keep it secure. This includes:

  • Information about your browser, network and device

  • Web pages you visited before arriving here

  • Web pages you view while on this site

  • Your IP address

Lawful basis: Legitimate interests — I need this data to run the website, prevent abuse, and keep the site secure.

You can read more about how Squarespace processes this data in Squarespace's Privacy Policy.

Analytics

This website uses Squarespace's built-in analytics to help me understand how visitors use the site. This collects:

  • Information about your browser, network and device

  • Pages you visited before arriving here

  • Your IP address

  • Details of how you use the site (clicks, internal links, pages visited, scrolling, searches, timestamps)

Lawful basis: Consent — analytics cookies are only set after you acknowledge the cookie banner.

I may add further analytics tools in future (such as Google Analytics or Meta Pixel). If I do, I'll update this policy before those tools are activated and you'll be asked for consent via the cookie banner.

Cookies

This website uses cookies — small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. There are two categories:

  • Strictly necessary cookies are always used. These allow Squarespace to securely serve the site to you. These don't require your consent.

  • Analytics and performance cookies are only set after you acknowledge the cookie banner.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time via the cookie banner. For a full list of the cookies Squarespace uses, see The cookies Squarespace uses.

Contact form

If you contact me through the form on this website, I'll collect:

  • Your name

  • Your email address

  • Any information you include in your message

I use this solely to read and respond to your enquiry. This data is submitted via Squarespace and stored within my Squarespace account.

Lawful basis: Legitimate interests — responding to people who have chosen to get in touch.

Fonts

This site may display text using Google Fonts and/or Adobe Fonts. To render fonts correctly, these services may receive:

  • Information about your browser, network or device

  • Information about the page you're viewing

  • Your IP address

Lawful basis: Legitimate interests — displaying the site properly.

Links to third-party sites

This website contains links to third parties, including book retailers (such as Amazon and Waterstones) and my Substack newsletter. If you click through to these sites, you leave this website and any personal data you provide there is handled under their own privacy policies, not this one. In particular:

  • Substack newsletter. If you choose to subscribe via Substack, Substack is the data controller for your subscription and your data is handled under Substack's Privacy Policy. I can see aggregate subscriber information through my Substack account.

  • Book retailers. I don't receive your personal data when you buy my book through retailer links.

Who I share your information with

I do not sell your personal data and I do not share it for marketing purposes. The following service providers process data on my behalf or receive data as a necessary part of operating this site:

  • Squarespace Ireland Ltd / Squarespace Inc - Website hosting, analytics, contact form data

  • Google (Google Fonts) - font delivery

  • Adobe (Adobe Fonts) - font delivery

I may also disclose personal data where required by law (for example, in response to a valid legal request).

International data transfers

Some of the providers above are based outside the UK, primarily in the United States. Where data is transferred outside the UK, it is protected by appropriate safeguards as required by UK GDPR — typically the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or by the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where the recipient is certified under it. You can request further information about these safeguards by contacting me.

How long I keep your information

I keep personal data only for as long as I need it:

  • Contact form enquiries: kept for up to 24 months after our last correspondence, so I can refer back to our exchange if you get in touch again. After that, messages are deleted.

  • Analytics data: retained by Squarespace according to its own retention periods (see Squarespace's Privacy Policy).

  • Server logs and security data: retained by Squarespace for short periods, typically no longer than 12 months.

Where I'm required to keep data longer for legal reasons (for example, to respond to a legal claim), I'll keep it only for as long as that requirement applies.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Be informed about how your data is used (that's what this policy is for)

  • Access the personal data I hold about you

  • Rectification — ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete data

  • Erasure — ask me to delete your data ("the right to be forgotten")

  • Restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances

  • Object to processing based on legitimate interests

  • Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format

  • Withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the lawful basis (for example, for analytics cookies)

You also have the right not to be subject to automated decision-making. I don't use your data for any automated decision-making or profiling.

To exercise any of these rights, please use the contact form. I'll respond within one month.

Complaints

If you're unhappy with how I've handled your personal data, I'd like the chance to put it right — please contact me first. You also have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Website: ico.org.uk

Helpline: 0303 123 1113

Changes to this policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example if I add new tools to the site or if the law changes. The "last updated" date below will always show when the current version was published. If I make significant changes, I'll flag this on the website.

Last updated

14 April 2026