This Privacy Policy explains how Built by Winters (sole trader: Ciarán Winters, Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland) handles personal data submitted through builtbywinters.ie. It sets out what is collected, why, how long it is kept, who else processes it, and the rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and the Irish Data Protection Acts.
1. Who I am
Built by Winters is the trading name of Ciarán Winters, a sole-trader web designer based in Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland. I am the data controller for any personal information submitted through this website. Contact for any privacy matter: ciaran@builtbywinters.ie.
2. What I collect
I collect only what you choose to send through the contact form: your name, business name (optional), email address, phone number (optional), the package you are interested in (optional), a description of your business and what you need, a website preference label (optional), social media links (optional), and a timestamp recording your GDPR consent. Limited technical metadata (IP address, browser type, timestamp) is handled by the hosting provider for security and logging only; it is not used to track or profile visitors and is not shared. This site uses no analytics, no advertising trackers, and no third-party tracking pixels. See the Cookie Policy for what is and is not stored on your device.
3. Why I collect it
The only reason your data is collected is to respond to your enquiry. The legal bases under Article 6 of the GDPR are: (a) consent, by your active ticking of the consent box before the form will submit; and (b) steps taken at your request prior to entering into a contract.
4. Who else processes your data
To keep this website running, your enquiry is handled by a small number of vetted third-party providers acting as data processors on my behalf: an EU-hosted form submission processor with submitted data stored in Ireland; my own business email inbox (ciaran@builtbywinters.ie) used to receive your enquiry and reply to you; and a US-based hosting platform operating under EU–US Data Privacy Framework certification, used to serve the website itself. A full named list of sub-processors with their privacy policies and Data Processing Agreements is available on request — email ciaran@builtbywinters.ie with the subject line "Sub-processor list request" and I will reply within 5 working days.
5. How long I keep it
Enquiry data (anything you submit through the contact form) is kept for 12 months from the date of submission and then deleted from my records. If your enquiry becomes an active project and we enter a Client Services Agreement, the retention terms of that agreement apply for the duration of the project plus the statutory retention period (typically 7 years for invoicing and tax purposes under Irish Revenue rules).
6. Your rights under the GDPR
You have the following rights regarding personal data I hold about you: the right of access (Article 15) to a copy of the data I hold; the right to rectification (Article 16) of inaccurate data; the right to erasure (Article 17); the right to restrict processing (Article 18); the right to data portability (Article 20) to a machine-readable copy; the right to object (Article 21); and the right to withdraw consent at any time (Article 7), which does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before withdrawal.
7. How to exercise your rights
Email ciaran@builtbywinters.ie with the subject line "GDPR Request" and a brief description of what you want (access, deletion, correction, and so on). I will respond within 30 days, as required by Article 12 of the GDPR.
8. Cookies
The full Cookie Policy is on its own page — see /cookies. In short, this site uses no tracking cookies, no analytics cookies, no advertising cookies, and no third-party trackers; the only stored item is a single local-storage entry that remembers you have dismissed the cookie notice.
9. International data transfers
Some sub-processors are based outside the EU/EEA (primarily the United States). Transfers of your personal data to those processors happen under EU–US Data Privacy Framework certification (for the hosting provider) or Standard Contractual Clauses under Article 46 of the GDPR. Form-submission data itself is stored in Ireland (EU). No data leaves the EU without one of these safeguards in place.
10. Complaints
You have the right under Article 77 of the GDPR to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority for data protection in Ireland — the Data Protection Commission. Their contact details and complaint procedure are published on their own website. I would prefer the chance to address any concern with you directly first.
11. Updates to this policy
If this policy changes in a material way, a notice will appear on the site so you can re-read it before submitting anything new. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision.
Data Controller: Ciarán Winters trading as Built by Winters (sole trader), Dublin and Wicklow, Ireland. ciaran@builtbywinters.ie.