The Whys is run by Layernine Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 14628201). We are the data controller for this website. This policy explains what information we handle when you visit the site and what your rights are under UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The short version: The Whys is a place to read. There is no sign up, no account, and no login, so we do not ask you for your name, your email, or any other personal detail in order to read a story.

What we collect and why

We do not run any tracking scripts and we do not build a profile of you. The only personal data involved is the technical information that any website receives when your browser requests a page. That includes your IP address, the type of browser and device you use, the pages you request, and the date and time of the request.

This information is processed by our hosting provider to serve the site, to keep it secure, and to diagnose faults. Our lawful basis for this is our legitimate interest in running a working and secure website. We do not use this data to identify you as an individual.

Cookies

The Whys does not need any cookies to show you a story, and we do not use cookies for advertising. The only cookies we set are the analytics cookies described below, and we set them only after you have said yes. Until you accept, no analytics cookies are placed on your device.

When you accept, Google Analytics sets a small number of first-party cookies (named _ga and _ga_ followed by our property ID) so it can tell repeat visits apart. They contain a random identifier, not your name or anything you have typed, and they expire after up to two years. You can change your mind whenever you like using the Manage cookies link in the footer, and you can also clear these cookies at any time through your browser settings.

Analytics

With your consent we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how the site is used, for example which stories are read and where our visitors come from. This helps us decide what to cover and how to improve the site. We only look at this data in aggregate, and we do not use it to identify you or to follow you around the web.

Our lawful basis for analytics is your consent. Nothing loads and no analytics cookies are set until you choose Accept on the cookie banner, and we use Google Consent Mode so that Google is told to respect your choice. You can withdraw your consent at any time using the Manage cookies link in the footer, which stops any further collection and clears the analytics cookies. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of anything done while it was in place.

Google acts as our processor for this analytics data. We have configured the property to keep IP addresses out of the reports and to limit how long the data is retained. You can read more in Google’s own privacy policy.

Who we share data with

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it for marketing. We rely on a small number of service providers who process data on our behalf. These are our hosting provider, Google (Firebase Hosting), which handles the server logs described above, and, only if you have given consent, Google Analytics for the usage measurement described below. These providers act on our instructions and are bound by their own data protection obligations.

Every story on The Whys links out to the original publisher. Once you follow a link away from this site, the privacy policy of that other site applies, not this one.

International transfers

Some of our providers, such as Google, may process data on servers outside the United Kingdom. Where that happens, we rely on the safeguards those providers put in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or equivalent contractual protections, so that your data stays protected to UK standards.

How long we keep data

We do not keep a database of visitors. Technical server logs are retained by our hosting provider only for as long as needed for security and troubleshooting, after which they are deleted or anonymised.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to ask us for a copy of any personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to receive it in a portable form. Because we hold so little, there is usually nothing to act on, but you are welcome to make a request at any time using the contact details below.

If you are not happy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk, though we would appreciate the chance to put things right first.

Children

The Whys is a general news site and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under the age of 13.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last changed, and any material change will be reflected here.

Contact us

For any privacy question or request, contact us at hello.layernine@outlook.com.