Privacy Policy
Introduction
Privacy Policy
Village Eye Magazine and eye Magazine
Operated by Pinktomato Limited
Last updated: 16 October 2026
1. Introduction
At Village Eye Magazine and eye Magazine, we take your privacy seriously.
We value our readers, advertisers, competition entrants, employees, contractors and suppliers, and recognise their right to have their personal information handled responsibly.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, protect and share personal information, and the rights you have concerning that information.
We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
We encourage you to read this policy carefully so that you can make informed decisions about sharing your information with us.
2. Who We Are
Village Eye is a local community magazine published and distributed door to door to residents across West Berkshire and North Hampshire.
Village Eye and eye Magazine are operated by our media company:
Pinktomato Limited
Butlers Lands Farm
Mortimer
Berkshire
RG7 2AG
United Kingdom
Email:
hello@villageeye.co.uk
Website:
https://villageeye.co.uk
Pinktomato Limited is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this policy.
3. Collecting Your Personal Information
We use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and other business systems to manage information about individuals, advertisers, businesses, employees, contractors and suppliers.
The information we collect may include:
- Your name and contact details.
- Your email address, telephone number and postal address.
- Your business or organisation name.
- Advertising bookings, artwork and editorial information.
- Competition entry information.
- Newsletter subscriptions and marketing preferences.
- Payment, billing and transaction information.
- Employment, contractor and supplier information.
- Communications and correspondence with our team.
- Website usage information and technical data.
- Photographs, comments and other content you voluntarily submit.
We may collect information when you:
- Book or enquire about advertising or editorial coverage.
- Request inclusion of community information.
- Apply to become an employee, distributor or contractor.
- Contact the Village Eye team.
- Visit our website.
- Enter one of our competitions or prize draws.
- Subscribe to our newsletters or marketing communications.
- Interact with our social media pages.
- Are, or have previously been, an employee, contractor or supplier.
- Provide information as part of an existing business relationship.
Where appropriate, we may also collect business contact information from publicly available sources for legitimate business purposes, subject to applicable data protection and marketing laws.
You may choose not to provide certain information, although this may prevent us from providing a requested service or processing a competition entry.
4. How We Use Your Information
We collect and process personal information to operate our publishing business and provide our services.
This includes:
- Booking advertisements, editorials and articles.
- Preparing and approving advertising artwork.
- Sending invoices, statements and payment reminders.
- Recording payments received and payments made.
- Sending booking confirmations, artwork approvals and copy deadlines.
- Responding to customer and reader enquiries.
- Publishing community information.
- Administering competitions and prize draws.
- Managing employees, distributors, contractors and suppliers.
- Making payments to employees, contractors and suppliers.
- Sending marketing communications where permitted.
- Promoting Village Eye Magazine through social media.
- Improving our website and services.
- Maintaining appropriate business records.
- Complying with applicable laws and regulations.
We will only use personal information where we have an appropriate lawful basis and for purposes compatible with those explained in this policy.
5. Competitions and Prize Draws
Village Eye Magazine regularly organises competitions, prize draws and promotional giveaways.
When you enter a competition, we may collect your name, email address, telephone number, postal address and other information necessary to administer the competition.
We use this information to:
- Register and validate your entry.
- Confirm eligibility.
- Select winners.
- Contact successful entrants.
- Arrange the collection or delivery of prizes.
- Prevent fraudulent or duplicate entries.
- Maintain appropriate competition records.
Competition publicity
By entering a competition, you agree to the applicable competition terms and conditions, which may include reasonable publicity arrangements for winners.
We may publish a winner's name and general location, such as their town or village, in Village Eye Magazine, on our website and through our social media channels, where this has been clearly explained in the competition terms.
We will seek any additional permissions required before publishing identifiable photographs or other personal information.
Social media and marketing
As part of our competition entry process, entrants may be invited to consent to receiving marketing communications and to the use of their contact details for social media advertising.
Where you have provided separate, valid consent, we may:
- Send you news, offers, events and future competition information.
- Invite you to follow Village Eye Magazine on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms.
- Use your contact information to create or match advertising audiences on social media platforms.
- Show you relevant Village Eye Magazine advertising, competitions and promotional content.
This may involve securely sharing relevant contact details, such as an email address, with advertising platforms including Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram.
Contact details may be converted into a protected technical format, commonly known as hashing, for audience matching. Hashing does not necessarily make the information anonymous.
Marketing consent is optional and is not a condition of entering a competition.
Entrants who do not consent to marketing will have the same opportunity to enter and win.
You can withdraw marketing consent at any time by contacting us or using an available unsubscribe facility.
We do not sell competition entrants' personal information to third-party marketing companies.
Competition entry agreement
Our competition entry forms may include the following declarations:
Required
☐ I agree to the competition terms and conditions and confirm that I have read the Village Eye Magazine Privacy Policy.
Optional – Marketing and Social Media
☐ I agree that Village Eye Magazine may use my contact details to send me news, offers and future competitions by email, and to show me relevant advertising on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. I understand this may involve securely sharing my contact details with these platforms for advertising audience matching, and that I can withdraw my consent at any time.
Marketing consent will not be assumed simply because someone enters a competition.
6. Marketing and Email Communications
Village Eye may send emails relating to existing business arrangements, including:
- Advertising bookings and confirmations.
- Invoices and statements.
- Artwork approvals.
- Publication and copy deadlines.
- Information necessary to fulfil agreed services.
We may also send newsletters, promotional offers, information about our publications, local events and future competitions where permitted by law.
Marketing communications will be sent where we have a valid legal basis and comply with applicable electronic marketing rules.
Our marketing emails will include a clear method of unsubscribing.
You may also request removal from marketing communications by emailing hello@villageeye.co.uk.
Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending necessary service-related communications, such as invoices or existing booking information.
7. Social Media
Village Eye Magazine uses social media platforms to promote the magazine, share local news, publicise competitions and communicate with our community.
These platforms may include Facebook, Instagram and other social media services.
When you interact with our social media pages, we may receive information that you choose to make available, including comments, messages, reactions and publicly visible profile information.
We may use this information to respond to enquiries, manage competitions and engage with readers.
Where appropriate consent has been obtained, we may also use contact information to create advertising audiences through social media platforms.
These platforms operate under their own privacy policies and may independently process personal information.
You should review the privacy policies and account settings of any social media services you use.
8. Advertising, Editorial and Community Submissions
When you book advertising or submit editorial or community information, we may collect the details necessary to process and publish that material.
This may include names, contact details, business information, photographs, advertising artwork and editorial content.
Information supplied specifically for publication may appear in our printed magazines, on our website or through our associated promotional channels, subject to the agreed purpose and any applicable permissions.
We may retain related correspondence, booking information and approval records for legitimate business and legal purposes.
9. Employees, Distributors, Contractors and Suppliers
We collect and process personal information relating to people who work for or provide services to Village Eye.
This may include:
- Names and contact details.
- Employment or contractual information.
- Payment and banking details.
- Records required for employment, tax or legal compliance.
- Information required to manage magazine distribution.
- Relevant permissions and compliance documentation.
Where children or young people are involved in magazine distribution, we apply additional safeguards and process relevant personal information in accordance with applicable child employment, safeguarding and data protection requirements.
We restrict access to this information to authorised personnel and service providers who require it for legitimate operational purposes.
Additional privacy information may be provided to employees, applicants, young distributors and their parents or guardians where appropriate.
10. Our Lawful Bases for Processing Information
We process personal information using one or more lawful bases under UK GDPR.
Consent
Where you have freely agreed to receive marketing communications, participate in optional promotional activities or permit other specified uses of your information.
Contract
Where processing is necessary to enter into or fulfil a contract, such as an advertising booking or service arrangement.
Legitimate interests
Where processing is reasonably necessary to operate our business, maintain customer relationships, respond to enquiries, administer appropriate business activities, prevent misuse and maintain security, provided your rights and freedoms are not overridden.
Legal obligation
Where we must process or retain information to comply with applicable legal requirements.
Other lawful bases may apply in specific circumstances, where permitted by law.
We assess the appropriate lawful basis for the processing activities we undertake.
11. Storing Your Information
We store personal information using secure business systems, which may include CRM software, website hosting services, email systems, document storage and accounting platforms.
Information may be held electronically or, where necessary, in physical records.
We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information remains protected and that service providers processing information on our behalf are subject to appropriate contractual and security obligations.
Providing information to us does not, by itself, constitute consent to every possible use of that information.
We retain and process information only where we have an appropriate lawful basis.
12. Protecting Your Information
We are committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of personal information.
We take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to protect information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or misuse.
These may include:
- Secure servers and hosting systems.
- Encrypted website communications.
- Password protection and access controls.
- Restricted access to personal information.
- Appropriate staff and contractor confidentiality requirements.
- Secure backup and recovery arrangements.
Although we take reasonable precautions, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Where a personal data breach occurs, we will assess the incident and notify the Information Commissioner's Office and affected individuals where required by law.
13. Sharing and Disclosing Your Information
We may share personal information with trusted third parties where reasonably necessary to provide our services or operate our business.
These may include:
- Website hosting and technical service providers.
- Email and communications providers.
- CRM and business management systems.
- Payment processing and accounting providers.
- Competition prize providers.
- Social media and advertising platforms where permitted.
- Professional advisers.
- Regulatory authorities where legally required.
We require third-party service providers acting on our behalf to handle personal information appropriately and securely.
We may also disclose information where required by law, court order, regulatory investigation or other lawful process.
We do not sell personal information to third parties for their independent marketing purposes.
14. International Data Transfers
Some service providers and online platforms may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as required by UK data protection law.
These may include UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or an applicable UK Addendum.
You may contact us for further information about relevant international transfers and safeguards.
15. Accessing, Correcting or Removing Your Information
You have rights concerning the personal information we hold about you.
Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to:
- Request access to your personal information.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion of information.
- Request restriction of processing.
- Object to certain processing activities.
- Request data portability where applicable.
- Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
You also have the right to object at any time to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing, including related profiling.
To make a request, please email:
Alternatively, write to:
The Privacy Officer
Village Eye Magazine
Pinktomato Limited
Butlers Lands Farm
Mortimer
Berkshire
RG7 2AG
We will respond without undue delay and normally within one calendar month, subject to any lawful extension.
We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.
Some information may need to be retained where we have a legal obligation or another valid reason to do so.
16. How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
For example:
- Competition information is retained for the time needed to administer the competition, award prizes and resolve any related matters.
- Marketing information is retained while we have a valid basis to contact you, subject to periodic review.
- Advertising and financial records are retained in accordance with applicable accounting and tax requirements.
- Employee and contractor records are retained for appropriate employment, contractual and legal purposes.
- General correspondence is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary.
- Consent and unsubscribe records may be retained where needed to demonstrate compliance and respect your preferences.
When information is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it.
17. Opting Out of Email Communications
Village Eye sends both essential business communications and optional marketing communications.
Essential communications may include invoices, booking confirmations, statements, artwork approvals and publication deadlines.
Marketing communications may include newsletters, promotional offers, magazine updates and competitions.
You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe instructions provided or by emailing hello@villageeye.co.uk.
We will respect your marketing preferences and maintain appropriate records to prevent unwanted communications.
18. Credit Card Payments
If you choose to pay for advertising by credit card, Village Eye does not store your full credit card details within its own systems.
Our existing payment arrangements use uCollect, which securely processes and stores payment information where necessary to facilitate authorised payments.
Village Eye staff do not have access to full card details held securely by the payment provider.
Payment providers process relevant information in accordance with their own security and privacy obligations.
19. Information Collected Through Our Website
We may collect information about how visitors use our website.
This may include:
- Pages visited.
- Time spent on the website.
- General visitor activity.
- Browser and device information.
- Referral sources.
- Technical information needed to maintain website security and performance.
We use website usage information to understand which sections are popular, identify technical problems and improve the visitor experience.
Where data is aggregated or anonymised, we may use it for general reporting and analysis.
Where website usage information identifies or could identify an individual, we treat it as personal information and apply the appropriate data protection requirements.
20. IP Addresses
Our website servers may collect IP addresses to support website operation, diagnose technical problems, monitor security and prevent misuse.
IP addresses may constitute personal information under UK data protection law.
We process this information only where necessary and appropriate for legitimate technical, security or operational purposes.
21. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality, maintain security and understand website usage.
Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website.
We may use the following categories:
Essential cookies
These support necessary website functions, security and session management.
Analytics cookies
These help us understand how visitors use our website and identify opportunities for improvement.
Marketing cookies
These may help measure advertising effectiveness and support relevant online advertising.
Where required, we will obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies or using similar tracking technologies.
You may withdraw or change your cookie preferences where appropriate controls are available.
You can also manage cookies through your browser settings.
Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
22. Children's Privacy
Village Eye is a community publication and some of our activities, including competitions and magazine distribution, may involve children and young people.
We take additional care when collecting and processing children's personal information.
Where appropriate, we may require parental or guardian involvement or permission.
We will not knowingly use children's personal information for inappropriate marketing purposes.
Additional privacy notices and safeguards may apply to young distributors, competition entrants and other activities involving children.
23. External Websites and Social Media Links
Our website may contain links to advertisers, community organisations, social media platforms and other third-party websites.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites.
We recommend reviewing their privacy policies before providing personal information.
24. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business operations, website, services or applicable legislation.
Any updated policy will be published on our website at:
The date at the top of this page will indicate when the policy was last updated.
Where material changes require additional notification or consent, we will take appropriate steps.
25. Contacting Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how your information is used or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:
The Privacy Officer
Village Eye Magazine
Pinktomato Limited
Butlers Lands Farm
Mortimer
Berkshire
RG7 2AG
United Kingdom
Email:
hello@villageeye.co.uk
Website:
https://villageeye.co.uk
26. Complaints
If you are concerned about how we handle your personal information, please contact us so that we can investigate your concerns.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.
Information Commissioner's Office
Website:
https://ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
You may contact the ICO at any time if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully.