Privacy Policy

Who we are

Hidden Beacon (hiddenbeacon.com) is an independent Irish beach directory. We are not affiliated with any government body, tourism organisation, or beach authority.

Contact: info@hiddenbeacon.com

What data we collect

We collect minimal data. Specifically:

• Analytics data — via Google Analytics 4, with your consent. This includes pages visited, time on site, approximate location (country/city level), device type, and referral source. Your IP address is anonymised before storage.
• Community submissions — if you submit a comment, photo, or place suggestion, we store the content you provide along with an approximate country of origin (derived from your IP address, not stored directly).

We do not collect names, email addresses, or any account information. We do not require registration to use the site.

Cookies

We use cookies only if you consent via the banner shown on your first visit. If you decline, no cookies are set and no analytics data is collected.

If you accept, Google Analytics sets cookies to track session and usage data. These cookies expire after 26 months. You can withdraw consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies and declining on your next visit.

Legal basis for processing

Analytics data is processed on the basis of your explicit consent (GDPR Article 6(1)(a)). Community submissions are processed on the basis of legitimate interest in operating the service.

How long we keep data

Analytics data is retained for 26 months (Google Analytics default). Community submissions are kept indefinitely unless you request deletion.

Third parties

We share data with the following third parties:

• Google Analytics — analytics processing. Google Privacy Policy
• Cloudflare — site hosting and content delivery. Cloudflare Privacy Policy

We do not sell data to any third party. We do not serve advertising.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data; to object to processing; and to withdraw consent at any time. To exercise these rights, contact us at info@hiddenbeacon.com.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission: dataprotection.ie

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by the updated date above.