Privacy Policy
Last updated: 1 October 2026
Forth House, operated by Sophie Stephen as a sole trader ("Forth House", "I", "me" or "my"), respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit www.theforthhouse.co.uk, contact me, enquire about my services, book a consultation or Power Hour, purchase a service through the website, or work with me.
I process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
1. Who I am
Forth House is a consultancy operated by Sophie Stephen as a sole trader.
If you have any questions about how your personal information is handled, you can contact me at:
Email: hello@theforthhouse.co.uk
As I currently operate as a sole trader, I do not publish my residential address on this website.
2. Information I collect
The information I collect depends on how you interact with Forth House.
Information you provide directly
When you contact me or enquire about my services, I may collect:
Your name
Email address
Telephone number
Company or organisation name
Information about your business or project
Details contained in your enquiry or correspondence
Any other information you choose to provide
If you become a client, I may also collect information necessary to provide my services and manage our working relationship, including relevant business and project information.
Information collected when you make a booking or purchase
If you book an online consultation or purchase a Power Hour or other service through the website, I may collect information necessary to process and manage your booking or purchase.
Payments made through the website are processed using Squarespace's payment functionality and associated payment providers. I do not need to receive or store your full payment card details myself.
Information collected automatically
When you visit the website, certain information may be collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies.
This may include:
IP address
Device and browser information
Pages visited
How you interact with the website
Approximate location information
Referring website or source
Information about how you use the website
I use this information primarily to understand how the website is used, improve its functionality and performance, and understand how visitors find the site.
3. How I use your information
I may use your personal information to:
Respond to enquiries
Communicate with you about services or potential work
Provide consultancy and other services
Arrange and manage consultations and bookings
Process payments and purchases
Manage client relationships
Deliver and administer Power Hours and other services
Improve my website, services and customer experience
Understand how visitors use my website
Analyse website traffic and performance
Maintain the security of my website and systems
Keep appropriate business and financial records
Comply with legal and regulatory obligations
I will only use your personal information where I have a lawful basis for doing so.
4. Lawful basis for processing
Under UK data protection law, I must have a lawful basis for processing your personal information.
Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on the following lawful bases:
Consent
Where you have given me permission to process your information for a specific purpose.
For example, if I ask for your permission to publish a testimonial or feedback about your experience of working with Forth House.
Contract
Where processing your information is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you.
For example, where I need your contact or business information to provide services you have purchased.
Legitimate interests
Where processing is necessary for my legitimate business interests, provided those interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
For example, using website analytics to understand how my website is being used and improve its performance.
Legal obligation
Where I need to process your information to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, such as maintaining financial or tax records.
5. Testimonials and feedback
I may ask clients for feedback or testimonials following the completion of work.
I will not publish your name, company name, testimonial, photograph or other identifying information on the website without first obtaining your separate permission to do so.
Providing feedback does not automatically mean that you agree to it being published.
If you provide permission for a testimonial to be published, you can contact me if you later wish to withdraw that permission.
6. Website analytics
I use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how visitors use my website.
Google Analytics may collect information such as pages visited, approximate location, device information and interactions with the website. This information helps me understand website performance and improve the user experience.
Where required by law, non-essential analytics cookies will only be used where you have provided the appropriate consent.
Google may process information in accordance with its own privacy policies and terms.
I also use Google Search Console to understand how my website appears in Google search results and to monitor its technical performance. Search Console does not operate as a visitor tracking tool in the same way as Google Analytics.
7. Cookies
The website uses cookies and similar technologies.
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. Some cookies are necessary for the website to operate correctly, while others are used for purposes such as analytics.
The website is hosted and operated using Squarespace, which may use cookies and similar technologies to provide website functionality, security, analytics and other services.
Where required, I will ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies.
You can also manage or delete cookies through your browser settings.
For more information about the specific cookies used on the website, please see the Cookie Policy.
8. Squarespace
The Forth House website is hosted and operated using Squarespace.
Squarespace may process personal information when you:
Visit the website
Submit a contact form
Make a booking
Purchase a service
Make a payment
Interact with certain website functionality
Squarespace may also process technical information and cookies necessary to operate, secure and improve the website.
9. Payment processing
Some services, including Power Hours, may be purchased directly through the website.
Payments are processed through Squarespace and its applicable payment processing providers.
I do not store your full payment card details.
Payment providers may process your information in accordance with their own privacy policies and terms.
I may retain information relating to your purchase, such as your name, contact details, purchase details and transaction information, where necessary for business administration, accounting, tax and legal purposes.
10. Third-party services
I use a number of third-party services to operate my website and business. These may include:
Squarespace, for website hosting, forms, bookings and payments
Google Analytics, for website analytics
Google Search Console, for website search performance and technical monitoring
These providers may process personal information on my behalf or as independent data controllers.
Where appropriate, I take reasonable steps to ensure that third-party providers handle personal information securely and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
Some third-party providers may process information outside the UK. Where this occurs, appropriate safeguards will be used where required by applicable data protection law.
11. How long I keep your information
I will only keep personal information for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
Some information may need to be retained for longer periods where required for legal, accounting, tax or regulatory purposes.
The length of time information is retained will depend on the type of information and the reason it is being retained.
12. How I protect your information
I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure.
However, no method of transmitting or storing information online can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
13. Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you may have rights in relation to your personal information, including the right to:
Request access to the personal information I hold about you
Ask me to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
Request deletion of your personal information in certain circumstances
Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
Object to certain types of processing
Request the transfer of your information to another organisation in certain circumstances
Withdraw consent where I rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact me at:
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your personal information has been handled unlawfully.
Further information about your rights and how to make a complaint is available from the ICO.
14. Links to other websites
The Forth House website may contain links to third-party websites, including social media platforms or other external websites.
I am not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites.
I recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any third-party website you visit.
15. Changes to this Privacy Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my business, website, services, technology or legal requirements.
Any changes will be posted on this page and the "Last updated" date will be amended accordingly.
16. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how Forth House handles your personal information, please contact:
Forth House
Sophie Stephen
Sole trader
Email: hello@theforthhouse.co.uk