Privacy and data handling
Version 2 | September 2026 | Applies to notchlings.co.uk and all Notchlings communications
Notchlings asks you for information about your child. That is a serious thing to ask for, so this page sets out plainly what we collect, why, who sees it, how long we keep it, and how to make us delete it. If anything here is unclear, email hello@notchlings.co.uk and ask.
1. Who we are
Notchlings is a developmental toy recommendation service operated by a sole trader in the United Kingdom, trading as Notchlings. For the purposes of UK GDPR, Notchlings is the data controller for the information described on this page.
Contact for any data question: hello@notchlings.co.uk
2. What we collect
Through the parent input form
- Your child's first name and their age in years and months
- How your child plays, what they are drawn to, and what has not worked
- Your home type, floor space, and how you feel about mess and noise
- Toys and resources you already own
- Your budget and any upcoming occasion
- Your email address, which reaches us when you send the completed form
Through email
- Your email address if you sign up to The Clear or any Notchlings list
- Your first name if you give it
- Email engagement data such as opens and clicks, collected by our email platform
3. Health information
Notchlings is not a clinical service. Our recommendations are built from early years developmental frameworks and we do not currently have specialist input for children with additional needs. Because we cannot use health information, we ask you not to send it. The input form says so directly and asks you to leave out medical information, diagnoses and health conditions.
If you have already told us something about your child's health. Before September 2026 the form asked a broader question and some parents shared a diagnosis. Where that happened, the information sits only inside that child's delivered profile document and in the original email. It has not been used to generate recommendations, it has not been shared with anyone, and it has never been used for advertising or sold. If you would like it removed from our copy, email us and we will delete it within 30 days and send you a confirmation.
If health information reaches us despite the instruction on the form, we will not use it to build your profile. We will either delete it or, if it is bound up in something you have asked us to keep, we will tell you it is there and ask what you want us to do.
4. What we do not collect
- We do not collect data from children. Everything comes from a parent or guardian.
- We do not take payment card details. Payments are handled by Stripe under its own privacy policy.
- We do not use cookies for tracking or advertising on notchlings.co.uk.
- We do not build advertising profiles and we do not sell data to anyone, ever.
5. Why we collect it, and our lawful basis
| Data | Why we collect it | Lawful basis under UK GDPR |
|---|---|---|
| Child profile data: name, age, play, interests, home | To build the personalised profile you asked us for | Contract. You request a profile and we deliver one. |
| Your email address | To send your profile and anything you have asked to receive | Contract, and legitimate interests for service messages |
| Email engagement data | To see which content is useful and improve it | Legitimate interests |
| Subscription and payment records | To manage billing and meet tax obligations | Contract, and legal obligation for record keeping |
6. How we use it
- To build and deliver your child's Notchlings profile
- To send The Clear seven day programme if you signed up for it
- To send subscription updates, rotation reminders and seasonal prompts if you subscribe
- To send a feedback form after a profile is delivered
- To improve the recommendation framework using patterns across profiles, with names and identifying details removed
7. Who else sees it
| Third party | Purpose | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| IONOS | Email hosting for hello@notchlings.co.uk | Emails sent to and from that address, including form submissions |
| Netlify | Hosting notchlings.co.uk | No personal data is stored by Netlify at present |
| Email platform | Sending and managing email communications | Email address and first name only |
| Stripe | Payment processing | Email address and payment data, handled directly by Stripe |
Nobody else sees your child's profile data. It is not shared with toy brands, retailers or advertisers, and it plays no part in any commercial arrangement.
8. How long we keep it
- Profile data. Kept while you have an active relationship with Notchlings, and deleted within 30 days of a deletion request.
- Email list data. Kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
- Payment records. Kept for 7 years as UK tax law requires. The financial data itself sits with Stripe.
- Feedback responses. Kept in aggregate with identifying details removed. Individual responses deleted on request.
9. How it is stored and protected
notchlings.co.uk is served over HTTPS with automatic SSL through Netlify.
Form submissions currently reach us as an email to hello@notchlings.co.uk, hosted on IONOS with standard encryption in transit. Because the form opens your own email application, a copy of your submission will also be in your own sent items. That copy is yours and outside our control, so if you want it gone you will need to delete it yourself.
Profile documents are stored by the Notchlings operator and are not shared with any third party.
Notchlings is at an early stage and profiles are built by hand. As the service grows, storage and submission will move to a system that keeps a proper record on our side rather than in an inbox. This page will be updated when that happens.
10. Children's data
We collect information about children only from a parent or guardian, never from a child directly. We do not knowingly accept form submissions from anyone under 18.
Information about your child is used to build your profile and to improve the framework on a basis where names and identifying details have been removed. It is never sold, never shared with advertisers, and never used for anything other than delivering the Notchlings service.
11. Your rights
| Right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Access | Ask what we hold about you and your child. We respond within 30 days. |
| Rectification | Ask us to correct anything inaccurate, at any time. |
| Erasure | Ask us to delete everything we hold about you and your child. Done within 30 days. |
| Restriction | Ask us to stop using your data while you raise a concern. |
| Objection | Object to any use we have based on legitimate interests. |
| Portability | Ask for a copy of your data in a portable format. |
To use any of these, email hello@notchlings.co.uk. You do not need to give a reason and it will not affect the service you receive.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk if you think we have handled your data badly. We would rather you came to us first, but that route is always open to you.
12. Changes to this page
We will update this page as Notchlings develops. The version number and date at the top always tell you which version you are reading. If a change is significant we will tell subscribers by email rather than quietly editing the page.
13. Contact
Email: hello@notchlings.co.uk
Web: notchlings.co.uk
Notchlings is a trading name operated by a sole trader registered in the United Kingdom.