Privacy policy

Last updated: 14 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how I, Laura McDermott, collect, use, store and protect personal information in connection with my business.

It applies when you:

  • visit lauramcdermott.co.uk
  • book or purchase a service through my Stan Store
  • download a free resource
  • join my mailing list
  • book or attend a reading or consultation
  • enrol in one of my courses
  • order a written report
  • contact me by email
  • otherwise provide information to me in connection with my services

I aim to keep this policy straightforward so you can understand what information I collect, why I need it and what happens to it.

Who is responsible for your information

I am Laura McDermott, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom.

I am the data controller for personal information I collect and use in connection with my business.

You can contact me about your personal information or this Privacy Policy at:

[email protected]

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). ICO registration reference: ZC270307

Information I may collect

The information I collect depends on how you interact with me and which service you use.

It may include:

  • your name
  • your email address
  • booking and purchase information
  • your date, time and place of birth
  • your current location where relevant to a particular astrological service
  • information you provide through booking forms or questionnaires
  • emails and other correspondence
  • information you voluntarily choose to discuss during a reading
  • session recordings and automatically generated transcripts where you have asked for a recording
  • course enrolment and access information
  • mailing-list preferences and marketing consent
  • information needed to prepare a written report or another service you have requested

I do not receive or store your full payment-card details. Payments are handled through Stan Store and its payment providers.

Why I use your information and my lawful bases

I only use personal information where I have a lawful reason to do so.

  • Enquiries and correspondence: to answer questions and manage enquiries. Main lawful basis: legitimate interests and, where appropriate, steps before entering a contract.
  • Name, email and booking information: to administer something you have booked or purchased. Main lawful basis: contract.
  • Your birth information: to calculate and interpret your chart and provide the requested service. Main lawful basis: contract.
  • Partner or other third-party birth details supplied for a relationship reading: to prepare the relationship or synastry analysis requested by my client. Main lawful basis: legitimate interests.
  • Course enrolment and access records: to provide and support course access. Main lawful basis: contract.
  • Transaction and accounting records: to administer my business and meet tax and accounting requirements. Main lawful basis: legal obligation.
  • Mailing-list information: to send marketing emails you have chosen to receive. Main lawful basis: consent.
  • Google Analytics data: to understand and improve the website. Main lawful basis: consent.
  • Optional session recordings and transcripts: to provide the recording you requested and prepare your follow-up. Main lawful basis: contract, and your consent to the recording.

Where I rely on legitimate interests, I consider whether my business reason for using the information is reasonable and proportionate and whether it affects your rights.

Information required to provide a service

Some information is necessary for me to provide particular services.

For most astrological services I need your date and place of birth. An accurate birth time is also required where the service depends on houses, angles or particular timing techniques.

If the necessary birth information is not provided, I may not be able to prepare the requested chart, report or reading accurately, or may not be able to provide that particular service at all.

You are not required to tell me personal or sensitive information about your life simply because you are having an astrology reading.

Birth details and astrology records

I use your birth details to calculate and interpret your chart and provide the service you requested.

I may store an existing client’s chart information in Astro Gold, my astrology software, so I can retrieve the chart if you return for a follow-up service.

Birth-chart information is normally kept for 12 months after your most recent service and is then deleted from my client records unless there is a specific legal or contractual reason to retain something for longer.

You can also ask me to delete your stored birth details sooner by emailing [email protected] .

Relationship and synastry readings

For a relationship or synastry reading, you may provide another person’s birth details.

I do not require that person’s full name. I only need the information necessary to calculate the relevant chart.

Please only provide another person’s information where you are entitled to share it. Where appropriate, you should make them aware that their information is being used for the reading and provide them with access to this Privacy Policy.

I use the other person’s details only to prepare and deliver the relationship analysis you requested. I do not use their information to contact or market to them.

These chart details are subject to the same 12-month retention period described above.

Children’s birth-chart services

I offer some astrological services relating to children.

Where a service concerns someone under 16, the order must be placed by their parent or guardian, who provides the child’s birth information for the purpose of preparing the requested report or analysis.

I use the child’s information only as necessary to provide that service.

I do not use a child’s information to market services directly to the child.

The child’s chart information is also normally retained for no more than 12 months after the service.

Sessions, recordings and transcripts

Sessions are not automatically recorded.

A recording is only made if you would like a copy of your session for your own reference.

If you request a recording, I make it clear that the session is being recorded. Google Meet also automatically generates a transcript.

The transcript is used by me only to help prepare the follow-up email or summary relating to your session.

Once the follow-up has been completed and the recording has been made available to you, I delete the recording and transcript from my own systems. In any event, I do not keep them for longer than four weeks.

You can download and keep your own copy of the recording if you wish. Any copy you download is then under your own control.

Live course-community calls are not routinely recorded.

Personal or sensitive information discussed during a session

I do not routinely ask clients to provide health information, information about religion or beliefs, sexuality, sex life or other special-category personal data.

However, astrology readings are conversations about people’s lives, so you may voluntarily choose to mention personal or sensitive matters that you consider relevant.

I do not create a separate record of sensitive information simply because you have mentioned it during a live conversation.

If you ask for your session to be recorded, information you voluntarily choose to discuss may be captured in the recording and automatic transcript.

Before a requested recording begins, you will be asked to expressly confirm that you want the session recorded and understand that information you choose to disclose, including sensitive personal information, may be captured.

For any special-category personal information captured in a recording, I rely on your explicit consent to that limited processing. I use it only as part of the requested recording and follow-up and delete it with the recording and transcript as described above.

Stan Store

I use Stan Store as my main platform for bookings, purchases, digital products, free resources and some email sign-ups.

When you submit information through my Stan Store, Stan provides the platform through which it is collected.

Depending on what you request, I may receive:

  • your name
  • email address
  • booking or order information
  • appointment information
  • birth details
  • information you enter into booking or order forms
  • your marketing-consent status

I use this information only as necessary to administer the booking, purchase, download, course access or other service.

Stan Store and its payment providers also process information for their own purposes, including operating the platform, processing payments, preventing fraud and providing security.

I do not receive or store your full payment-card details.

This Privacy Policy covers the personal information I receive and use through my Stan Store as well as through lauramcdermott.co.uk.

Stan Store also provides its own privacy information explaining how it processes information as a platform provider.

Free resources

If you request a free resource through Stan Store, I use the information you provide to deliver or provide access to that resource.

Downloading a free resource does not automatically mean that you have agreed to receive marketing emails from me.

Stan Store provides a separate marketing-consent choice. You can receive the requested resource whether or not you choose to receive marketing communications.

Mailing list and email marketing

You can choose to join my mailing list to receive Astrology Notes from Laura and other occasional updates.

These emails may include:

  • interesting astrological transits and what they may mean in everyday life
  • practical astrology insights
  • psychology and self-development ideas
  • new readings or services
  • courses and resources
  • workshops or events
  • updates about my work

Joining the mailing list is optional.

I rely on consent to send these marketing emails.

I use a third-party email marketing service to manage my mailing list and send emails. If I change the service I use, I will update this Privacy Policy where the change affects how your information is used.

Every marketing email includes a way to unsubscribe. You can also contact me at [email protected] .

Active subscriber information is retained while you remain subscribed.

I may remove mailing-list contacts who have had no meaningful engagement with my emails for 24 months.

If you unsubscribe, I may retain limited information necessary to record your opt-out and ensure that you are not accidentally added back to marketing communications.

Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent me from sending administrative emails necessary to provide something you have booked, purchased or enrolled in.

Email and enquiries

If you email me, I receive your email address, your name if you include it, and whatever information you choose to provide.

I use that information to answer you and, where relevant, manage an enquiry, booking or client relationship.

Enquiries that do not become client bookings are normally deleted within 12 months after the enquiry has ended.

Ordinary client correspondence may be retained for up to three years after the last service or substantive client interaction, unless there is a reason to keep particular correspondence longer for legal, accounting or dispute-related purposes.

Service providers who may handle information

I use third-party services to operate my business.

Stan Store: For bookings, purchases, payments, digital resources, lead magnets and some email sign-ups.

Google Workspace: For business email, calendar, Google Meet, documents, Drive and administration.

Astro Gold: For calculating and storing astrological charts.

Email marketing service: For managing my mailing list and sending marketing emails.

Google Analytics: For understanding how visitors use my website.

Cloudflare: For hosting, delivering and protecting the website.

I only provide service providers with information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Website hosting and technical information

This website is delivered through Cloudflare.

When you visit the website, Cloudflare may process technical information necessary to deliver and protect the site, such as:

  • your IP address
  • browser and device information
  • technical request information
  • security information

Cloudflare may also use security technologies designed to protect the website from automated attacks or abuse.

The fonts used on this website, including Lora and DM Sans, are hosted with the website rather than being loaded from Google Fonts.

Google Analytics

I use Google Analytics to understand how people use lauramcdermott.co.uk and to improve the website.

Google Analytics may provide information such as:

  • pages visited
  • how visitors arrived at the website
  • how visitors move through the site
  • general engagement information
  • approximate geographic information
  • browser and device information

I use this information to understand overall website performance, not to personally identify individual clients.

Google Analytics is consent-based on this website.

It is not activated until you have made a positive choice through the cookie-consent system.

This website uses technologies that are necessary for security and basic website operation.

Google Analytics uses optional analytics cookies or similar technologies.

These are not required for the website to work.

You can accept or reject analytics technologies through the cookie banner. Rejecting optional analytics does not prevent you from using the website.

The consent mechanism is intended to make rejecting optional cookies as easy as accepting them, and analytics technologies should not be set before valid consent has been given.

You can change your analytics preferences later using the cookie-preference control provided on the website.

The cookie banner or settings panel provides current information about the analytics technologies in use.

I do not currently use advertising cookies or behavioural advertising tracking.

My website contains links to external platforms including Stan Store, Instagram and TikTok.

Those organisations operate their own websites and services and have their own privacy practices.

When you follow a link to another platform, that organisation may collect information about you under its own privacy policy.

I am not responsible for how an external organisation independently uses your information.

International processing

Some of the technology providers I use operate internationally and may process or store information outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States.

These include Google, Stan Store, my email marketing service and Cloudflare.

Where a restricted international transfer takes place, I rely on the lawful transfer arrangements made available by the relevant service provider, which may include UK adequacy regulations, the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to approved Standard Contractual Clauses, as applicable.

You can contact me if you would like more information about an international transfer involving your information.

Testimonials

I occasionally publish client testimonials on my website, Stan Store or social-media accounts.

On the website, testimonials are normally displayed using an initial rather than the client’s full name, together with information such as the type of service where appropriate.

I only publish testimonials where I have permission to use them.

If you later want a testimonial removed from platforms under my control, email [email protected] .

How long I keep information

My main retention periods are:

  • birth-chart information: normally 12 months after the most recent service
  • partner or third-party chart data: normally 12 months after the relevant service
  • session recordings and transcripts: deleted after the follow-up is completed and never kept for longer than four weeks
  • non-client enquiries: normally up to 12 months after the enquiry ends
  • ordinary client correspondence: normally up to three years after the last service or substantive interaction
  • active mailing-list records: while you remain subscribed
  • inactive mailing-list contacts: may be removed after 24 months without meaningful engagement
  • unsubscribe and suppression information: retained as necessary to honour your opt-out
  • course and access records: for the period required to provide your course access and support, with relevant purchase information retained where required for business records
  • transaction, accounting and tax records: retained for the period required by HMRC or other applicable law

I periodically review information I hold and delete information that is no longer required.

Security

I take reasonable measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

These include, where appropriate:

  • password-protected accounts
  • two-factor authentication
  • restricted file and account access
  • using specialist payment providers rather than storing card details myself
  • limiting access to information to what is necessary for the relevant service

No online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but I take measures appropriate to the size and nature of my business.

AI tools

I do not use identifiable or reasonably re-identifiable client information in general-purpose AI tools.

Client names, contact details, birth data, recordings, transcripts, questionnaires and identifiable client notes are not entered into tools such as ChatGPT or Claude.

Because these tools are not used to process client personal information, they are not listed as recipients of client data in this Privacy Policy.

I may still use AI tools for general business purposes such as non-client research, website development, generic astrology material, social-media content, design or administrative work where no client personal information is included.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis involved, you may have the right to:

  • ask for a copy of personal information I hold about you
  • ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
  • ask me to delete information
  • ask me to restrict how information is used
  • object to certain uses
  • receive certain information in a portable format
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

These rights are not absolute and do not all apply in every situation.

You have the right to object to direct marketing at any time.

To exercise your rights, email:

[email protected]

I may ask for reasonable information to confirm your identity before releasing personal information.

I will normally respond to a valid data-protection request within one month. Where a request is particularly complex or there are multiple requests, the law may allow additional time; if that applies, I will tell you within the initial response period.

Data-protection complaints

If you have a concern about how I have handled your personal information, you can make a data-protection complaint by emailing:

[email protected]

I will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days, investigate it appropriately and communicate the outcome.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data-protection regulator.

Information about the ICO is available at ico.org.uk .

Changes to this Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy as my business, services or technology change.

The date at the top shows when it was last updated.

Where a change materially affects how I use personal information, I will take reasonable steps to make the updated information available to the people affected.