Last updated: 7 August 2026
Somerset Connect is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we may share it with, and the choices you have when using Somerset Connect.
Somerset Connect is a local information and listings website providing information about businesses, events, jobs, news and community activities in Somerset.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, the organisation responsible for your personal information is Somerset Connect.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, you can contact us through the contact details provided on our website.
Depending on how you use Somerset Connect, we may collect different types of information.
This may include information you provide when you:
The information you provide may include your name, email address, telephone number, business or organisation details, job or event information, website address and any other information you choose to provide.
If you submit information for publication on Somerset Connect, some of the information you provide may be displayed publicly on the website.
This may include business names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, website addresses, opening hours, descriptions, event details, job vacancy information, organisation details and other information relevant to the listing.
You should only submit personal information for publication where you are comfortable with that information being publicly available.
When you visit Somerset Connect, certain technical information may be collected automatically. This may include your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, approximate location, pages visited, referring website, date and time of visits and information about how you interact with the website.
This information may be used to operate, secure, maintain and improve the website and to understand how visitors use our services.
We may use personal information to:
Under UK data protection law, we need a lawful basis for processing personal information.
Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:
Somerset Connect allows businesses and organisations to submit information for inclusion in our business directory.
Information submitted for a business listing may be published publicly and may therefore be accessible through search engines and other services that index publicly available websites.
We may contact listing owners regarding their listing, including requests to verify, update or correct information.
If you believe that information contained in a listing is incorrect, outdated or should no longer be published, please contact us.
Somerset Connect may publish information about upcoming events submitted by businesses, organisations, community groups and individuals.
Event information may include the event name, date, time, location, organiser details, website address, contact information and event description.
Information submitted for publication may be publicly accessible and may be indexed by search engines.
Somerset Connect may publish job vacancies submitted by employers, recruiters and organisations.
Job listings may contain employer information, job descriptions, application instructions, contact details and links to external websites or application systems.
Somerset Connect is not normally the employer or recruiter responsible for a vacancy. Any personal information submitted when applying for a job may be processed by the relevant employer or third-party recruitment service in accordance with their own privacy policy.
You should review the privacy information of the organisation you apply to before submitting personal information.
Somerset Connect may publish news articles, announcements and community information supplied by businesses, organisations, community groups and other contributors.
Where appropriate, published content may include the names, job titles, photographs, contact details or other information relating to individuals involved in the news or community activity.
Contributors are responsible for ensuring that they have appropriate permission to provide personal information or other content to us for publication.
Some information published on Somerset Connect is intended to be publicly accessible.
Public listings may be discovered through search engines and may also be accessed, indexed or processed by third-party services, including search engines and automated systems.
Because publicly available information may be copied or indexed by third parties, removing information from Somerset Connect does not necessarily mean that copies will immediately disappear from search engine results or other third-party services.
If you use a contact form or enquiry feature on Somerset Connect, we may collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, telephone number and message.
Where an enquiry relates to a business, event, job or other listing, we may pass the enquiry to the relevant listing owner where this is necessary to respond to your request.
Information submitted through an enquiry form may therefore be processed by both Somerset Connect and the relevant business, organisation or individual.
Somerset Connect may use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, remember preferences, improve functionality, understand website usage and, where applicable, support analytics or advertising.
Some cookies are necessary for the website to function correctly, while others may only be used where appropriate consent has been obtained.
You can manage cookies through your browser settings and, where provided, our cookie consent tools.
We may use analytics services to understand how visitors use Somerset Connect.
Analytics information may include pages viewed, approximate geographical information, device information, browser information, referral sources and interactions with the website.
Analytics information is used to help us understand website performance, identify problems and improve the services we provide.
We may use third-party service providers to operate and support Somerset Connect. These providers may process information on our behalf.
Depending on the services used by the website, these may include hosting providers, email providers, payment providers, analytics providers, security services, spam protection services and other technical service providers.
Third-party websites and services linked to from Somerset Connect have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites.
Somerset Connect contains links to external websites, including business websites, event websites, job application websites and other online resources.
Once you leave Somerset Connect, the privacy practices of the external website will apply. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any external website before providing personal information.
We do not sell personal information to third parties.
We may share information where necessary to provide our services, operate the website, respond to enquiries, process transactions, maintain website security or comply with legal obligations.
This may include sharing an enquiry with the relevant business or organisation where you have contacted them through Somerset Connect.
We may also disclose information where required by law, legal process or a lawful request from a competent authority.
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
However, no website or method of transmitting information over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including where necessary to meet legal, accounting, reporting or dispute-resolution requirements.
The length of time information is retained will depend on the type of information and why it was collected.
Information relating to business listings, events, jobs and other published content may remain available while the relevant listing or content is active, and may be retained for a reasonable period afterwards where necessary for administrative, legal or historical purposes.
Under UK data protection law, you may have rights including:
These rights are subject to certain legal conditions and exemptions.
If you are the owner of a business, organisation, event or other listing and believe that information published on Somerset Connect is inaccurate, outdated or should be removed, please contact us with details of the information concerned.
We may ask for sufficient information to verify your identity or connection with the relevant listing before making changes.
Where information has been supplied by a third party, we may need to contact the original contributor before making certain changes.
Somerset Connect is not specifically directed at children.
We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children where this is not necessary for the operation of the website.
Some of our service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is carried out in accordance with applicable UK data protection law.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, legal requirements or how we process personal information.
The latest version will be published on this page with the date of the most recent update.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data protection rights, or want to request the correction or removal of personal information, please contact Somerset Connect through the contact details provided on our website.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe that your personal information has been handled unlawfully.
You can find further information about your data protection rights on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.