Privacy Policy
Last updated July 2026
This policy explains what personal information The Plain Line collects, why, and what your rights are. Please read it alongside our Disclaimer.
Who we are
The Plain Line is a publication of Rowanshire, a trading name of Brilliso Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16234228, registered office 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX. Brilliso Ltd is the data controller for the information described here. For any privacy question, use the form on our Contact page.
What we collect, and why
- Your email address, if you subscribe to our newsletter. We use it to send you the newsletter and related updates. Our lawful basis is your consent.
- Survey responses, if you choose to complete our sign-up survey. These help us understand our audience and shape what we publish. Our lawful basis is your consent.
- Health information, only if you choose to answer an optional question about your condition. This is special-category data, so we collect it only with your explicit consent, use it solely to make our content more relevant, never sell or share it, and you are free to withdraw it at any time.
- Website usage data, through Umami, a privacy-friendly analytics tool set up so it uses no cookies, collects no personal data, and does not track you across other websites or build an advertising profile. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in understanding how the site is used so we improve it.
- Messages you send us, if you contact us, so we reply and keep a record.
Who processes your data for us
We use a small number of trusted providers who process data on our behalf: MailerLite (email and newsletter), Umami (cookieless website analytics), and Hostinger (website hosting). Each is bound to handle your data only as we instruct. Where a provider is based outside the UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards for the transfer.
How long we keep it
We keep your information only as long as we need it for the purpose you gave it, for example for as long as you stay subscribed, and we delete it when it is no longer needed or when you ask us to.
Cookies and local storage
Our analytics are cookieless, so we set no analytics cookies and need no analytics consent banner. Our newsletter forms post through our own HTML and set no cookies. To stop our newsletter pop-up reappearing after you close it, we store a single dismissal setting in your browser’s local storage. We use this only to respect your choice, and we treat it as strictly necessary. We use no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If we ever introduce a non-essential cookie, we will ask for your consent first.
Links to other websites
Some of our pages link to other websites, including government and NHS pages, and sometimes affiliate links to non-clinic products. Once you follow a link, the other site’s own privacy policy applies, and we are not responsible for how it handles your data. Where a link is an affiliate link, we label it, and it never changes the price you pay.
Children
The Plain Line is written for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to access the information we hold about you, to correct it, to ask us to delete it, to object to or restrict its use, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time. Every newsletter includes a one-click unsubscribe. To exercise any right, use the form on our Contact page. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
Changes to this policy
We update this policy from time to time. We change the date above when we do, and we make significant changes clear.
Contact
For any question about your data, or to exercise your rights, use the form on our Contact page, or write to Brilliso Ltd, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX.