Privacy and cookie notice

Last updated 29 September 2026. Version 2026-09-29.

Who we are

Artcestry (artcestry.org) is operated by GVOC LTD, a company registered in England & Wales (company number 15935169), registered office 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ. GVOC LTD is the data controller for the personal data described in this notice.

You can contact us about anything in this notice at hello@artcestry.org.

What we collect and why

We run our own analytics on our own database. We do not use Google Analytics or any other third-party analytics, advertising or social media tracking.

Anonymous analytics (all visitors, whether you accept or reject)

For every visitor, including visitors who reject, we record basic usage without any identifier:

  • for each page you view: the page address without any query string, the page title, the domain of the website that referred you (not the full address), any campaign tags in the link you followed (Urchin Tracking Module, or UTM, parameters), an approximate country and a timestamp;
  • when you use one of our buttons or links (for example to join, to read this notice or to email us): which one, the text shown on it and the page it was on;
  • when the consent banner is shown and whether you accept or reject;
  • whether a newsletter sign-up went through or failed, and why it failed (never your email address).

These records carry no cookie and no identifier, so they do not link one visit to another and we cannot tell who you are from them. They do not include your browser's user-agent string or language. Our records never store your Internet Protocol (IP) address. The approximate country comes from our host, Netlify, and we store only the country.

Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in understanding and improving the site.

Linked analytics (only with your consent)

If you accept, we store an identifier in your browser so we can recognise return visits and see how journeys through the site unfold. The records above are then linked to that identifier and to an identifier for the current visit, and we also keep:

  • your browser's full user-agent string (which names your browser, its version and your operating system) and your browser language;
  • your approximate country, the referring domain and the campaign tags of your visits;
  • when you first and last visited, and when each visit started and was last active.

Lawful basis: consent. If you later reject, we delete these records (see Retention).

Newsletter (only if you sign up)

If you join the newsletter, we collect your email address and, if you choose one, whether you are an art lover, artist, collector, gallery, museum, auction house, or other institution. We use them to send you the Artcestry newsletter. Giving your email address is only needed if you want to receive the newsletter; nothing else on the site depends on it.

We use double opt-in: after you sign up we send a confirmation email, and you are added to the list only once you confirm. When you click the confirmation link, Mailchimp, our newsletter provider, records the date and time and the IP address you used, as a record of your consent. Lawful basis: consent. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email or by contacting us.

We do not use open or click tracking in our newsletter emails.

Our sign-up service uses your IP address only in memory, to limit repeated sign-up attempts. Neither it nor our analytics service stores or logs your IP address.

No automated decisions

We do not make any decision about you by automated means, and we do not profile you.

Cookies and similar storage

The site sets no cookies. This is the complete list of what it stores in your browser. Before you make a choice in the consent banner, and after you reject, it stores nothing except the record of your choice, and the motion setting if you use the pause control. If JavaScript is turned off, it stores nothing at all.

  • artcestry-consent (browser localStorage, first-party): remembers your choice and the version of this notice it applies to. Kept until you change it or clear your browser. If this notice changes version, the site asks you again.
  • artcestry-visitor-id (browser localStorage, first-party, set only after you accept): recognises return visits. Kept until you reject or clear your browser.
  • artcestry-session-id (browser sessionStorage, first-party, set only after you accept): groups a single visit. Cleared when you close the tab.
  • artcestry-motion-paused (browser localStorage, first-party, set only if you press Pause on the motion control): keeps the page's animation paused on later visits. Removed when you press Play, or when you clear your browser.

Our fonts are served from our own site, so loading a page makes no request to Google Fonts.

You can change your choice at any time with Cookie settings, at the foot of every page.

Who we share it with, and transfers outside the United Kingdom

We do not sell your data. We use these service providers, each acting on our instructions:

  • Netlify, our host, based in the United States. Netlify processes your IP address to deliver the site and to limit repeated requests to it, and the services that receive our analytics events and newsletter sign-ups run on Netlify's servers in the United States. This is an international transfer, made under the United Kingdom Extension to the European Union-United States Data Privacy Framework, which Netlify's data processing agreement names as the basis for transfers from the United Kingdom.
  • Amazon Web Services, which hosts the database that holds our own analytics, in London, United Kingdom.
  • Intuit Mailchimp, in the United States, which receives the email address and optional role you submit through the newsletter form, to store your subscription and send the newsletter. This is an international transfer, made under the United Kingdom Extension to the European Union-United States Data Privacy Framework, with which Mailchimp states it complies.

Retention

We keep analytics event records (page views, clicks and banner choices) for up to 14 months. If you accepted, the profile linked to your identifier is kept until 14 months after your last visit. A daily job deletes anything older.

Our analytics database is backed up automatically and backups are kept for 7 days, so a record we delete can remain in a backup for up to 7 days before it is gone.

We keep your newsletter details until you unsubscribe. After you unsubscribe, Mailchimp keeps your email address as an unsubscribed contact, so that you are not emailed again; you can ask us to delete it completely. If you never confirm a sign-up, Mailchimp keeps it as pending, you receive nothing from us except the one confirmation email, and Mailchimp deletes it after 60 days.

You can withdraw consent at any time by choosing Reject in Cookie settings, at the foot of every page. This deletes the identifiers stored in your browser and the analytics records linked to your identifier in our database, and stops linked analytics from then on. Anonymous analytics continues, as it does for every visitor.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • access your personal data;
  • have it rectified;
  • have it erased;
  • restrict our processing of it;
  • object to our processing of it;
  • data portability, where applicable;
  • withdraw consent at any time.

Because our anonymous analytics are not linked to you, we cannot identify you from them, so these rights apply mainly to linked analytics and to your newsletter details. To act on them, contact hello@artcestry.org. Where we rely on legitimate interest, you have the right to object.

Complaints

If you have concerns, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.