Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 October 2026

This policy explains what personal data NorthernPixl collects through www.northernpixl.co.uk and the NorthernPixl apps for iOS and Android, why, and what rights you have over it. Both apps are thin wrappers around this same website - they show you the live site inside a native shell, so everything in this policy applies equally to all three, except where the "App-specific" section below says otherwise.

We try to collect as little as we can get away with. If anything here is unclear, or you want to exercise any of the rights below, just email us - contact details are at the bottom of this page.

Who we are

NorthernPixl is a Northumberland-based photography site and workshop business, run by Stephen Pemberton. For the purposes of UK GDPR, NorthernPixl is the data controller for the personal data described below, registered with the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) under reference ZC234340 - you can look this up on the ICO's public register. You can reach us at northernpixl@gmail.com.

What we collect, and why

Broken down by feature, with the legal basis we rely on for each:

Feature
What's collected & why
Legal basis
Analytics (Google Analytics)
Approximate location (from IP), device/browser type, and pages viewed, so we can see which content is actually useful. Only loads after you accept cookies.
Consent
Analytics (GoatCounter)
A second, cookie-free page-view counter - no cookies, no cross-site tracking, no data that identifies you personally.
Legitimate interest
Advertising (Google AdSense)
Shows ads that help fund the site. Google may use cookies and device identifiers for ad personalisation. Only loads after you accept cookies, and never inside either app - see App-specific below.
Consent
Analytics & advertising (Pinterest tag)
Lets us see when a Pinterest visit leads to a sale, and Pinterest may use this to measure and personalise ads. Only loads after you accept cookies.
Consent
Account sign-in
If you create an account, we store your email address (and, if you sign in with Google, your Google account's name and email) via Firebase Authentication, so your saved Plans, favourites, and shoot log follow you across devices. An account is never required - most of the site, the Planner, and buying a print all work the same without one.
Consent (your action)
Saved Plans, favourites & cross-device sync
Saved shoot Plans and favourited locations live on your own device by default. The moment you save one, or if you pair a device with a sync code or sign in, that data is also stored in our Firebase database so it carries over to your other devices. We don't look at its contents beyond what syncing needs - it's never shown to anyone but you.
Consent (your action)
Shoot Log (private & community)
Logging a shoot stores the photo(s) you upload, location, camera/lens/settings, equipment, and any notes - private by default. If you choose to share one publicly, we review it before it appears in the Community Shoots gallery and as a map pin on the Planning page, so don't include anything you don't want public. Delete a logged shoot, or ask us to, at any time.
Consent
Workshop reviews
The name, star rating, and review text you submit for a workshop. Displayed publicly once approved - don't include anything you don't want shown.
Consent
Aurora email alerts
Your email address, chosen location, and Kp threshold, so we can email you when the aurora forecast crosses it. Kept until you unsubscribe (a link is in every alert email).
Consent
Prints, gift vouchers & paid digital guides
Buying a print, voucher, or guide sends your name, email, and (for a physical print) shipping address to Stripe, our payment processor, to take payment and fulfil the order - we never see or store your card details ourselves. We keep a record of the order (what you bought, and delivery details for a print) to fulfil it, handle support, and meet accounting/tax obligations. No account needed - you can check out as a guest.
Contract (fulfilling your order) / Legal obligation (accounting records)
Weather, tide & planning tools
Coordinates you search or share (or your device's GPS location) are sent to third-party forecast/mapping services to fetch results - see 'Who we share data with' below. We don't store these coordinates ourselves.
Consent (your action) / Legitimate interest
Peak Finder (camera & GPS)
Uses your device's camera and precise location to overlay peak names on the live view. The camera feed itself never leaves your device. Your coordinates are sent to mapping/elevation services to find nearby peaks - see below.
Consent (device permission prompt)
Contacting us
If you email northernpixl@gmail.com, we'll have your address and whatever you send us, the same as any email.
Consent / Legitimate interest
Server & security logs
Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) processes your IP address briefly to serve pages and protect against abuse, as any website host must.
Legitimate interest

Cookies

We use as few cookies as possible. When you first visit, a banner asks you to accept or reject non-essential cookies - Google Analytics, Google AdSense, and the Pinterest tag all wait for that answer before doing anything. Reject them and every feature of the site and apps still works normally. GoatCounter, our second analytics tool, doesn't use cookies at all, so it isn't part of that choice.

You can change your answer at any time:

Who we share data with

We use a small number of specialist services to make the site work. None of them get more than they need to do their specific job:

  • Google Analytics & Google AdSense (Google Ireland Ltd) - analytics and advertising, only after you consent. See Google's Privacy Policy and Google's Ad Settings to manage ad personalisation directly with Google.
  • Pinterest tag (Pinterest Inc.) - analytics and advertising, only after you consent. See Pinterest's Privacy Policy and Pinterest's ad personalisation settings to manage this directly with Pinterest.
  • Stripe (Stripe Payments UK Ltd) - processes payment for prints, gift vouchers, and paid guides. Stripe collects your payment details directly - we never see or store your card number. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
  • Firebase (Google Ireland Ltd) - account sign-in and cross-device sync for saved Plans, favourites, and the shoot log. A separate purpose from Analytics/AdSense above, and not used for advertising.
  • Cloudflare - hosts the site, our API proxy, and the databases behind workshop reviews, aurora alerts, the shoot log, and orders.
  • Our email delivery provider - sends aurora alert emails on our behalf; only ever sees the alert content and the recipient's address.
  • Weather, tide & mapping providers - MET Norway, Open-Meteo, RainViewer, OpenStreetMap/Nominatim, the Overpass API, OpenTopoData, UK Hydrographic Office (Admiralty), TideCheck, and Xweather. Each receives only the coordinates needed to answer that one request (e.g. "what's the tide at this point"), sent either directly from your browser or relayed through our own proxy - never bundled with your identity.

We do not sell your data, and we don't share it with anyone else beyond what's listed above.

International transfers

Some of the services above (notably Google and Stripe) process data outside the UK/EEA, including in the US. Where that happens, it's covered by that provider's own safeguards (such as the UK's International Data Transfer Addendum or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework) - see their own privacy policies for specifics.

How long we keep it

  • Account data - kept while your account is active. Ask us to delete it and we will, along with any saved Plans, favourites, or shoot log entries tied to it.
  • Workshop reviews - kept indefinitely once approved, as they're public content, similar to a testimonial. Ask us to remove one at any time.
  • Shoot log entries - kept until you delete them or ask us to, whether private or shared publicly.
  • Aurora alert subscriptions - kept until you unsubscribe (via the link in any alert email) or ask us to remove it.
  • Orders (prints, vouchers, guides) - kept for as long as UK tax law requires us to retain accounting records (currently up to 6 years), even if you later delete your account.
  • Analytics data - governed by Google Analytics' own retention settings; GoatCounter never stores anything identifying in the first place.
  • Emails you send us - kept as long as reasonably needed to deal with your query, same as any inbox.

App-specific

There are two NorthernPixl apps: the main app shows the whole site, and NorthernPixl Planner is a smaller app scoped to just the Planning page, your account, and Community Shoots. Both are thin wrappers around this same website, so everything above applies to either one - and neither ever shows AdSense ads, which stay a website-only feature.

The main app will ask for camera and location access the first time you open Peak Finder (not included in the Planner app). Both are used entirely on your device to line up peaks against the real-time camera view - we never receive or store the camera feed itself. Your coordinates are sent to the same mapping/elevation services listed above, purely to answer "what peaks and terrain are near this point" - not stored by us. You can deny or later revoke either permission in your device's Settings at any time; Peak Finder simply won't work without them, but the rest of the app is unaffected.

Your rights (UK GDPR)

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correct it if it's inaccurate.
  • Erase it (e.g. delete a review, a shoot log entry, or your account).
  • Restrict or object to certain processing.
  • Withdraw consent at any time (e.g. reject cookies, unsubscribe from alerts) - this doesn't affect anything already done while consent was given.
  • Complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), if you think we've got something wrong - though we'd really appreciate the chance to sort it out directly first.

To exercise any of these, email northernpixl@gmail.com.

Children's privacy

NorthernPixl isn't directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we'll remove it.

Changes to this policy

If we change what we collect or why, we'll update this page and the "Last updated" date at the top. Significant changes (e.g. a new use of your data) will be flagged more prominently where practical.

Contact us

Questions, requests, or just want a review, shoot log entry, or subscription removed? Email northernpixl@gmail.com - we'll get back to you as soon as we can.