1. Who We Are

Pentacept Reporters is an independent digital media platform delivering news, informed perspectives and on-the-ground event coverage across the UK and beyond, with a focus on business, technology, work, events, Africa, the diaspora and society.

Pentacept Reporters is operated by:

For the purposes of applicable data-protection law, Pentacept Enterprises Limited is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of information:

• Identity and contact data — such as your name, email address and any other details you provide when contacting us, subscribing to our newsletter or engaging with us as a contributor or source.
• Communications — records of correspondence and enquiries you send us, including the content of any messages, pitches or editorial submissions.
• Marketing and preferences data — your subscription status and communication preferences.
• Technical and usage data — such as your IP address, browser type and version, device information, referral source, pages viewed and time spent on our website, collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 7).
• Contributor and contractual data — where you write for or otherwise contract with us, information reasonably necessary to manage that relationship, such as payment and identification details.

We do not deliberately seek to collect special category data (such as information about health, race or political opinions). Where such information is provided to us voluntarily — for example, by a source or contributor in the course of editorial work — we handle it with appropriate care and, where relevant, in reliance on the journalistic purposes described in Section 5.

3. How We Collect Your Information

We collect information in the following ways:

• Directly from you — when you subscribe to our newsletter, complete a contact or enquiry form, email us, or contribute editorial content.
• Automatically — through cookies, analytics tools and server logs when you visit our website.
• From third parties — such as publicly available sources, press releases, event organisers, social media platforms, or syndication and distribution partners, where relevant to our editorial and business activities.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information to:

• operate, maintain and improve our website and services;
• send newsletters and marketing communications, where permitted (see Section 8);
• respond to enquiries and manage relationships with contributors, sources and partners;
• research, verify, prepare and publish news and editorial content in the public interest;
• analyse how our website is used, so we can improve content and user experience;
• maintain the security and integrity of our website and systems;
• comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases to process personal information:

• Consent — for example, when you opt in to receive our newsletter.
• Legitimate interests — to operate and improve our website, respond to enquiries, manage contributor relationships, and carry out our core journalistic activities, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation — where we are required to process information to comply with the law.
• Contract — where processing is necessary to perform a contract with a contributor, freelancer or supplier.
• Special purposes (journalism) — where information is processed for the purposes of journalism in the public interest, we may rely on the journalistic exemption under Schedule 2, Part 5 of the Data Protection Act 2018, which recognises the importance of press freedom.

6. Sharing and Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share it with:

• Service providers — such as website hosting, email marketing and analytics providers, who process information on our behalf and under our instructions.
• Professional advisors — such as legal, accounting or insurance advisors, where necessary.
• Regulators and authorities — where required by law, court order or to protect our legal rights.
• Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.

Where information is published as part of our editorial content — for example, where a named source or interviewee has agreed to be identified — this is done in the public interest and in accordance with editorial standards, rather than as a commercial disclosure of personal information.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate our website, remember your preferences, understand how our website is used and, where applicable, support advertising. These fall broadly into the following categories:

• Strictly necessary cookies — required for the website to function.
• Analytics cookies — help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve it.
• Functionality cookies — remember your preferences and settings.
• Advertising cookies — where used, help us and our partners deliver relevant advertising.

For full details of the cookies we use, their purpose and how to manage or withdraw your consent, please see our Cookie Policy [link to be added] or adjust your preferences via the cookie banner on our website.

8. Email Marketing

We will only send promotional emails where permitted by law.

You can unsubscribe at any time by:

• Selecting the unsubscribe link included in our emails.
• Changing your communication preferences where this option is available.
• Contacting us at hello@pentaceptreporters.com.

We may retain limited information on a suppression list to ensure that we respect your request not to receive future marketing.

Unsubscribing from marketing will not prevent us from sending essential administrative, editorial or service-related communications.

9. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers may be located, or process information, outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, we take steps to ensure an adequate level of protection for your information, such as by relying on the UK's international data transfer agreement (IDTA), standard contractual clauses, or transfers to countries covered by UK adequacy regulations.

10. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration, including access controls and secure storage of data. While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Third-Party Links and Services

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, social media platforms and services that we do not control. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third parties, and we encourage you to review their own privacy policies before providing any personal information to them.

12. How Long We Keep Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, editorial, accounting, security and reporting requirements.

Our indicative retention periods include:

• General enquiries: Normally retained for at least 12 months. Information may be kept for longer where reasonably necessary to manage an ongoing relationship, resolve a complaint, protect our legal rights or comply with a legal obligation.
• Newsletter records: Retained until you unsubscribe, followed by limited suppression information to ensure that we respect your marketing preferences.
• Contributor and contractual records: Retained for six years after the relationship ends.
• Cookie and analytics information: Retained according to the periods specified in our Cookie Policy and the settings of the relevant service.
• Published journalistic material and associated editorial records: May be retained indefinitely as part of our journalistic, historical and public-interest archive.
• Unpublished editorial material: Retained for as long as it may remain relevant to current or future journalism, subject to appropriate review.
• Complaints and legal records: Retained for as long as necessary to resolve the matter, protect our legal rights and meet applicable legal or regulatory obligations.

We may retain information for longer where it is required for legal proceedings, regulatory compliance, public-interest journalism or the protection of confidential journalistic sources.

13. Your Data-Protection Rights

Subject to certain exemptions (including those relating to journalism carried out in the public interest), you have the right to:

• Be informed about how we collect and use your personal information.
• Access a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Rectification of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Erasure of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Restrict our processing of your information in certain circumstances.
• Data portability — receive certain information in a structured, commonly used format.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.

These rights may be limited where personal information is processed for journalistic purposes in the public interest, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

14. Exercising Your Data-Protection Rights

To exercise any applicable data-protection right or ask a question about how your personal information is handled, contact:

We may ask you to provide information needed to confirm your identity before responding to your request.

15. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we collect or use your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate the matter:

Please direct all written correspondence and requests to the appropriate email address above.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office:

16. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe that a child has submitted personal information inappropriately, please contact us at privacy@pentaceptreporters.com.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements or other factors. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we handle your personal information.

18. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal information, contact:

Please direct all correspondence to the appropriate email address listed above.