Legal
Privacy policy
This explains what personal information Ad Theory collects, why, who we share it with and the rights you have over it. We keep it short and in plain English. If anything is unclear, email us and we’ll answer.
1. Who we are
Ad Theory is a UK digital marketing agency, based in Devon. For the personal information described here, the data controller is Lewis Vanes, trading as Ad Theory, of 184 High Street North, London E6 1JE, United Kingdom.
Contact us about anything in this policy at hello@adtheory.co.uk.
2. What we collect and why
When you book a call
Bookings are made through Google Calendar’s appointment page. We receive your name, email address, the time you chose and anything you write in the booking form (for example your business name, trade or area). We use this to hold the call, send the Google Meet link and prepare for the conversation.
When you email or speak to us
We keep your name, contact details and what you tell us so we can reply, give you a quote and follow up on what we discussed.
When you become a client
We hold your business and contact details, billing information, agreements, and the access you give us to your ad account, website and tools, so we can deliver the work, invoice you and meet our legal and tax duties.
When you visit this website
This site has no tracking pixels or advertising trackers. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics, which counts visits and pages viewed without cookies and without identifying you. Like any website, our hosting provider also records basic technical information (such as IP address, browser type and the pages requested) in server logs, to keep the site running securely.
When you use our enquiry form
If you fill in the “free ad plan” form, we receive your name, trade, town or area and email address. We use them only to send you the plan and reply to you. The form is handled by Netlify, which hosts this site, and sent on to our inbox.
When you message or call us
If you contact us on WhatsApp or by phone, we see your number, name (if shown) and what you send us. WhatsApp is run by Meta and your messages are covered by its own privacy policy as well as this one.
We never buy, rent or scrape lead lists, and we never sell personal information.
3. Our legal reasons for using it
UK data protection law requires a lawful basis for each use of personal information. Ours are:
| What we do | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Arranging and holding a discovery call, replying to enquiries, giving quotes | Steps taken at your request before entering a contract |
| Delivering services to clients, invoicing | Performance of a contract |
| Keeping financial records | Legal obligation (tax and accounting rules) |
| Following up with prospects we have spoken to, keeping the site secure, improving our service | Legitimate interests, balanced against your rights. You can object at any time. |
| Sending marketing emails, if we ever do | Consent, or for existing clients the “soft opt-in”, always with an easy way to unsubscribe |
4. Client and lead data
When we run Meta Ads, a website or an automation for a client, the enquiries that come in (for example a homeowner’s name, phone number and job details) belong to that client. The client is the data controller and Ad Theory acts as their data processor: we handle that information only to deliver the agreed service, on the client’s instructions, under a written data processing agreement.
If you are a homeowner who enquired with one of our clients and want to use your data rights, contact that business directly. We will help them respond.
Where an automation drafts a reply to a lead, a person at the client’s business approves it before it is sent. We do not use client lead data to train AI models or for our own marketing.
6. Data outside the UK
Some of these providers, such as Google and Meta, may process information in the United States or elsewhere. Where that happens the transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations (including the UK–US data bridge) or by the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum built into those providers’ terms.
7. How long we keep it
- Call bookings and enquiries that do not lead to work: up to 12 months after our last contact, then deleted.
- Client records and invoices: six years after the end of the tax year they relate to, as UK tax law requires.
- Client lead data we handle as a processor: returned to the client or deleted when our work for them ends, unless they ask us to keep it.
- Server logs: for the period set by our hosting provider, usually no more than 30 days.
9. Keeping it safe
We use accounts protected by strong passwords and two-step verification, give access only to people who need it, and use reputable providers with their own security controls. Clients keep ownership of their ad accounts, domains and websites, and we use the access they grant us rather than taking over their logins.
10. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete it;
- ask us to restrict how we use it, or object to our use of it, including for marketing;
- ask for it in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent.
To use any of these rights, email hello@adtheory.co.uk. It’s free, and we will reply within one month.
11. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.
12. Changes to this policy
We will update this page if how we use personal information changes, and change the date at the top. Significant changes will be explained here clearly.