Privacy policy

Open Council Network (“we”, “us”) is operated by OCN Technology Ltd. The service provides tools that make UK local council meetings, documents, and decisions easier to find and understand. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we use it, and your choices.

Who we are

Open Council Network is operated by OCN Technology Ltd (company number 15798054). Our registered office is 15a Bishops Way, London, England, E2 9HB. We are an independent organisation, not a local authority, and we do not speak on behalf of any council. For privacy enquiries, contact community@opencouncil.network.

Data we collect

• Account data: when you register or sign in (for example name, email address, and subscription preferences stored in your account).
• Usage data: pages visited, features used, and approximate location derived from your IP address (city and country) to operate the service and, where applicable, decide whether to show advertising.
• Communications: messages you send us by email or through feedback forms.
• Payment data: if you purchase a paid plan, payment processing is handled by our payment provider; we do not store full card numbers on our servers.

Council and public information

Most content on this site is drawn from material councils publish openly (agendas, minutes, webcasts, and related documents). That information is not personal data about you. Where meeting material names individuals in their public role (for example councillors speaking in committee), we process it to provide access and summaries of public proceedings.

How we use personal data

• Provide and secure the website, accounts, email subscriptions, and paid products.
• Send service emails you have asked for (for example newsletters or account messages).
• Understand how the site is used and improve reliability and performance.
• Comply with law and respond to lawful requests.

Analytics and advertising

We use privacy-oriented analytics with outbound-link and event measurement. In some instances, we may also use Google Analytics. We do not show third-party advertising to visitors we identify as being in the UK or EU; other visitors may see Google AdSense advertising. See our cookie policy for details.

Legal bases (UK GDPR)

Depending on the activity, we rely on:

• Contract: to provide accounts and paid services you sign up for.
• Legitimate interests: to operate, secure, and improve the service, and to publish summaries of public council material.
• Consent: where required (for example optional marketing or non-essential cookies where applicable).

Sharing and retention

We use infrastructure and service providers (hosting, email delivery, analytics, payments) who process data on our instructions. We do not sell your personal data. We keep account and subscription data while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards for legal, billing, and security purposes.

Your rights

If you are in the UK or EEA, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict use of your personal data, and to object or withdraw consent where applicable. You can update many preferences in your account. To exercise other rights, email community@opencouncil.network. You may complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we handle your data.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will change when we do.