Privacy Policy
Last Updated: 22 JUNE 2026
1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy explains how David Alston, a sole trader based at Halton Mill, Mill Lane, Halton, Lancaster, LA2 6ND, trading as Sing Yourself Happy ("we", "us", "our"), collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you visit singyourselfhappy.com, subscribe to The Saturday Brief, become a paid member, join our private members' community, or contact us ("the Website", "the Publication", "the Service").
The Website is a static site hosted on Bunny.net. We use Birdsend to manage our email list and to send The Saturday Brief and related emails. Paid memberships are processed through Stripe. Our members' community is a private group on Signal. Each of these providers may process your personal data under its own terms and privacy policy, as an independent service provider and/or data controller depending on the context.
We are the data controller for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 for personal data we determine the purposes and means of processing.
ICO Registration Number: ZA431043
We are committed to protecting your privacy in compliance with:
- the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR);
- the Data Protection Act 2018;
- the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR);
- the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
2. What Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data.
2.1. Information you provide directly
- name;
- email address;
- subscription status (free or paid);
- messages and support enquiries;
- member submissions, which may include voice notes, songs, psalms, hymns, poems, testimony, project notes, creative work, or other material you choose to share within the members' community;
- preferences, survey responses, and community prompt responses;
- any information you choose to include when contacting us by email.
2.2. Subscription and payment information
Paid subscriptions are processed through Stripe. We may receive limited information such as:
- subscriber name and email address;
- subscription plan;
- subscription status;
- payment confirmation;
- renewal, cancellation, refund, or failed payment status;
- country or approximate billing location where made available for tax, fraud prevention, or reporting purposes.
We do not store your full card details. Card payments are handled directly by Stripe.
2.3. Information collected automatically
Our hosting provider (Bunny.net), email provider (Birdsend), payment processor (Stripe), and security tools may collect technical and usage information such as:
- IP address;
- browser type and version;
- operating system;
- device information;
- pages visited;
- email opens and link clicks where tracked by Birdsend;
- date and time of visits or email interactions;
- referring website;
- cookie and similar technology data.
2.4. Information from third parties
We may receive information from:
- Birdsend, for email list management, delivery, and engagement;
- Stripe, for payment confirmation, billing, refund, fraud prevention, and subscription status information;
- email providers where you contact us directly;
- related services operated by David Alston, where you choose to use them, such as Only One You Pro Bio Pages.
3. Lawful Basis for Processing
Under Article 6 of the UK GDPR, we process your personal data on the following lawful bases:
| Purpose | Lawful Basis |
|---|---|
| Providing the free newsletter (The Saturday Brief) | Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract or steps taken at your request |
| Providing paid membership, members' emails, and community access | Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract |
| Processing payments, refunds, renewals, and cancellations | Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract |
| Sending newsletter emails and essential service communications | Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract, and/or Article 6(1)(a), consent |
| Responding to enquiries and support requests | Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract or steps taken at your request |
| Managing member submissions and community participation | Article 6(1)(b), performance of a contract, and/or Article 6(1)(f), legitimate interests |
| Complying with legal, accounting, tax, and regulatory obligations | Article 6(1)(c), legal obligation |
| Website security, fraud prevention, and abuse prevention | Article 6(1)(f), legitimate interests |
| Improving the Publication and understanding reader engagement | Article 6(1)(f), legitimate interests |
| Sending marketing communications beyond the subscription you requested | Article 6(1)(a), consent |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered your rights and freedoms and are satisfied that they are not overridden. You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests.
4. How We Use Your Data
We use your personal data to:
- provide, manage, and improve The Saturday Brief and membership;
- send newsletter emails and other emails you have subscribed to receive;
- manage paid subscriptions, renewals, cancellations, refunds, and member access, including issuing the invitation to our private members' community;
- respond to enquiries and support requests;
- coordinate and moderate the private members' community;
- review and, with your permission where appropriate, feature member submissions such as songs, voice notes, poems, testimony, or project notes;
- provide or coordinate related member benefits, such as Only One You access where included;
- analyse reader engagement and improve the Service;
- detect, prevent, and address technical issues, spam, fraud, abuse, or security risks;
- comply with legal obligations, including tax and accounting records.
5. Email Communications
5.1. If you subscribe to Sing Yourself Happy, you consent to receive emails from us through Birdsend.
5.2. You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link included in every email.
5.3. If you are a paid member, unsubscribing from emails does not automatically cancel your paid subscription. To cancel payments, use the Stripe customer portal link provided in your receipts, or contact us.
5.4. We may also reply directly from help@singyourselfhappy.com where you contact us for support.
6. Data Sharing
We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients:
- Birdsend: to manage our email list, send emails, and measure engagement.
- Stripe: to process payments, renewals, refunds, fraud checks, and billing information.
- Bunny.net: to host and deliver the Website and to keep it secure (including server logs).
- Signal: where you choose to join our private members' community (see Clause 7).
- Email service providers: to send and receive direct support emails.
- Only One You Pro Bio Pages: where you choose to activate or use an included or related member benefit.
- Professional advisers: such as accountants, bookkeepers, legal advisers, or technical support providers where reasonably necessary.
- Legal and regulatory authorities: where required by law or to protect our legal rights.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
Where third-party processors process personal data on our behalf, we expect them to process it under appropriate contractual safeguards.
7. Third-Party Platforms (Bunny.net, Birdsend, Stripe, Signal)
7.1. The Website is hosted on Bunny.net; our emails are sent through Birdsend; paid subscriptions are processed through Stripe; and our members' community is a private group on Signal.
7.2. These providers may collect and process personal data directly when you visit the Website, subscribe, pay, cancel, request a refund, or join and use the community. Their own privacy policies and terms apply to that processing, and you should review them for full details.
7.3. About the Signal community. Our members' community is a private group on the Signal messenger app, operated by Signal Messenger LLC. To take part, you use the Signal app. Signal allows you to set a username, which means you can join and participate without sharing your phone number with us or with other members. We and other members will see the display name or username you choose, and any content you share in the group. Please share only what you are comfortable sharing. Your use of Signal is governed by Signal's own privacy policy and terms.
7.4. We cannot control all data-handling decisions made independently by Bunny.net, Birdsend, Stripe, Signal, app stores, browser providers, or your email provider.
8. International Data Transfers
Some of our third-party service providers, including Birdsend, Stripe, Bunny.net, and Signal, may process personal data outside the UK.
Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we expect appropriate safeguards to be in place, such as:
- UK adequacy decisions;
- the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA);
- the UK Addendum to EU Standard Contractual Clauses;
- Standard Contractual Clauses;
- equivalent contractual or legal safeguards used by the relevant service provider.
9. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.
| Data Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Subscriber and email-list data (Birdsend) | Duration of subscription, then as reasonably needed for records and support |
| Paid subscription and billing records (Stripe) | 6 years where required for HMRC, accounting, and legal obligations |
| Support correspondence | Up to 2 years from resolution, unless needed for an ongoing relationship or legal reason |
| Member submissions shared in the community | For as long as needed for the purpose agreed, unless you ask us to stop using them and we can reasonably do so |
| Marketing consent records | Duration of consent plus up to 1 year |
| Email engagement data | As configured within Birdsend |
After the applicable retention period, data will be securely deleted or anonymised where reasonably possible.
10. Member Submissions and Personal Content
10.1. If you submit a voice note, song, psalm, hymn, poem, testimony, creative work, or other personal material, we will use it only for the purpose for which it was submitted or for a purpose you later approve.
10.2. We will not deliberately publish a private voice note, personal testimony, or similarly personal submission as a featured item outside the community without your permission.
10.3. If you ask us to remove or stop using a submission, we will act reasonably. However, we may not be able to remove material from emails already sent, from backups, or from content already shared with or seen by other members in the Signal community.
10.4. Please avoid sending sensitive personal data unless it is genuinely necessary. Sensitive personal data may include information about health, race, ethnicity, political opinions, religious beliefs, sexuality, biometric data, or criminal convictions. SYH is a Christian publication, so you may naturally choose to discuss religious belief. You should only share what you are comfortable sharing.
11. Cookies and Similar Technologies
The Website is a static site hosted on Bunny.net and currently sets no non-essential tracking cookies of its own.
- Our email signup is handled by Birdsend, which may set a cookie or use a pixel in connection with the form and with measuring email opens and link clicks.
- Stripe sets cookies on its own checkout pages for payment processing and fraud prevention when you subscribe.
- Bunny.net may use strictly necessary technical measures and server logs to deliver and secure the site.
If we later add analytics or other cookies, we will update this Privacy Policy and our separate Cookie Policy. Your browser settings allow you to block or delete cookies, though some features may not work properly without them.
12. Your Rights Under the UK GDPR
You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
- Right of access (Article 15): request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification (Article 16): request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to erasure (Article 17): request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal obligations.
- Right to restrict processing (Article 18): request that we limit the processing of your data.
- Right to data portability (Article 20): request your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
- Right to object (Article 21): object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
- Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time.
- Rights related to automated decision-making (Article 22): we do not currently carry out automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal effects.
To exercise any of these rights, please email help@singyourselfhappy.com. We will respond within one month of receiving your request, in accordance with the UK GDPR.
Where your request relates to personal data controlled directly by Birdsend, Stripe, or Signal, we may direct you to contact them or use their tools.
13. Data Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:
- using reputable third-party platforms for hosting (Bunny.net), email (Birdsend), and payment processing (Stripe);
- relying on encrypted payment processing through Stripe;
- using HTTPS/TLS encryption;
- limiting access to subscriber, member, and support data;
- keeping administrative accounts protected with appropriate security measures;
- reviewing and removing unnecessary data where reasonably possible.
No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
14. Children's Privacy
The Service is not directed at individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete it promptly.
15. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. Where changes are significant, we will notify you by email or via a notice on the Website where reasonably possible.
16. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first at help@singyourselfhappy.com so we can try to resolve the issue.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
Phone: 0303 123 1113
Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
17. Related Services
David Alston also operates:
- davealston.com, a writing and consulting website;
- Only One You Pro Bio Pages at onlyone.you.
Those services have their own legal documents. If you use those services, their respective privacy policies and terms apply.
18. Contact Us
For any questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact:
David Alston
Trading as Sing Yourself Happy
Halton Mill, Mill Lane, Halton, Lancaster, LA2 6ND
help@singyourselfhappy.com
ICO Registration Number: ZA431043