Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 October 2026

1. Who we are

This website promotes the novel Experiments in Murder by Vince Smith. The data controller responsible for personal information collected through this website is Vince Smith, based in the United Kingdom (“we”, “us”). You can contact us about privacy at any time by emailing vince.smith1968@outlook.com.

We handle personal information in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

2. Information we collect

When you use the contact form

We collect your name, email address, the subject and the content of your message. We use this only to read and reply to your message.

• Lawful basis: our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries you choose to send us.
• How it is handled: your message is sent by email to the author's inbox. It is not added to a mailing list and is not stored in a database on this website.
• How long we keep it: only as long as needed to deal with your enquiry and any follow-up, and normally no longer than 24 months.

To protect the form from spam and abuse

When you submit the form, your IP address is converted into a one-way, scrambled identifier (a keyed hash) so we can limit how many messages can be sent in a short period. We cannot turn this identifier back into your IP address, and it is deleted automatically after one hour. A strictly necessary session cookie is also used to protect the form against forgery (see the Cookie Policy.

When you browse the website

Like most websites, our hosting provider automatically records technical information in server logs, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages requested and the time of the request. These logs are used to keep the website secure and working, under our legitimate interest in operating a safe website, and are kept for a limited period set by the hosting provider.

Website analytics

This website does not currently use any analytics or tracking tools. If that changes, this policy will be updated and, where required, your consent will be requested first.

Fonts

The website's typefaces are delivered by Google Fonts. To send the font files to your browser, Google receives your IP address. Google Fonts does not set cookies. See Google's privacy policy for details.

Your reading preferences

If you change the text size on the Read a Sample page, that preference is saved in your own browser's local storage so it is remembered next time. It never leaves your device.

3. Buying the book through retailers

This website does not take payments or collect payment details. When you click a retailer button, you leave this website and the retailer becomes responsible for any personal information you give them. Please read their privacy policies.

4. Who we share information with

We never sell your personal information. We only share it with service providers who help run the website and our email, and only as needed:

• our website hosting provider;
• our email service providers, which deliver and store messages sent through the contact form;
• Google, for font delivery.

We may also disclose information if required by law.

5. International transfers

Some of our providers (for example Google) may process information outside the UK. Where this happens, the transfer is protected by UK adequacy regulations or other safeguards approved under UK data protection law, such as the International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.

6. Your rights

You have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information;
• ask us to restrict how we use your information, or object to our use of it;
• withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent;
• ask for your information to be transferred to you or another organisation, where applicable.

To make a request, email vince.smith1968@outlook.com. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, telephone 0303 123 1113.

7. Children

Experiments in Murder is written for adult readers. This website is not intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has sent us their details, please contact us and we will delete them.

8. Security

The website uses HTTPS encryption, protects its forms against forgery and automated abuse, and keeps configuration secrets out of public files. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy, for example if we add a new feature. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.