Privacy Policy

Who we are

Camping Freely is a campsite discovery platform operated by Christopher Wilson trading as Stourva, based in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal data when you use our website at campingfreely.com.

We take your privacy seriously. We only collect what we need, we don't sell your data, and we'll always be transparent about how it's used.

What data we collect and why

Account and membership data

When you create an account or purchase a membership, we collect your name, email address, and payment information. Your payment details are processed entirely by Stripe — we never see or store your card number, expiry date or security code. We collect this data to provide you with access to the platform, manage your membership, and send you important account communications.

The legal basis for processing this data is the performance of a contract — you need an account and we need to verify your membership in order to provide the service you've paid for.

Email communications

If you sign up to our newsletter or create an account, your email address is stored in Klaviyo, our email marketing platform. We use this to send you updates about new campsites, platform features and occasional relevant communications. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send you.

The legal basis for marketing emails is your consent. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Community contributions

If you submit campsite reports, availability updates or community content through the platform, this information is stored and associated with your account. It may be displayed publicly as part of the community map. We collect this to maintain the accuracy and usefulness of the platform.

Usage data

We may collect basic information about how you use the platform — pages visited, features used, and general interaction patterns. This helps us understand how the platform is being used and where we can improve it. This data is anonymised where possible.

Cookies

We use essential cookies to keep you logged in and to ensure the platform functions correctly. These cannot be disabled as they are necessary for the service to work. We may also use analytical cookies to understand usage patterns — where we do, we will ask for your consent first.

Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data to any third party. We share data only with the service providers we need to operate the platform:

• Stripe — payment processing. Stripe processes your payment information securely and in accordance with PCI DSS standards. See Stripe's privacy policy at stripe.com/gb/privacy.
• Klaviyo — email marketing. Your email address and basic account data is shared with Klaviyo to enable us to send you communications. See Klaviyo's privacy policy at klaviyo.com/legal/privacy.
• IONOS — web hosting. Our website is hosted by IONOS in the UK and EU. See IONOS's privacy policy at ionos.co.uk/terms-gtc/privacy-policy.

All third party providers are required to handle your data in accordance with GDPR and applicable data protection law.

How long we keep your data

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. If you close your account we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are legally required to retain it — for example, financial transaction records which we are required to keep for 7 years under UK tax law.

Newsletter subscribers who have not engaged with our emails for 24 months will be removed from our mailing list.

Your rights under UK GDPR

As a UK resident you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct any inaccurate data we hold.
• Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data.
• Right to data portability — you can request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Right to object — you can object to us processing your data for marketing purposes at any time.
• Right to withdraw consent — where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@campingfreely.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Data security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss or disclosure. Our website uses SSL encryption (HTTPS) and all payment processing is handled by Stripe which is PCI DSS compliant.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we do everything we can to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

International transfers

Some of our third party service providers may process data outside the UK or European Economic Area. Where this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place — such as standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions — to protect your data to the same standard as required under UK GDPR.

Children's privacy

Our platform is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page. If the changes are significant, we will notify members by email. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please contact us: