Privacy policy
What we collect when you use OceanFinds, why, and the choices you have.
Last updated 24 October 2026
OceanFinds.net is an independent guide to UK sea glass beaches, run by James and El. In this policy, “we” and “us” mean OceanFinds. We are the data controller for the personal information described here. If you have a question about it, use our contact form.
We keep things simple: you don’t need an account to use the site, and we don’t sell your information to anyone.
What we collect and why
When you browse
Our website host, Vercel, keeps short-lived server logs of requests to the site, including your IP address, the page you asked for and your browser type. These are used to keep the site running and secure. We have a legitimate interest in doing this.
We also use Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and see which pages are popular. It doesn’t use cookies or store anything on your device, and it doesn’t identify you: it records the page, the referring site, your country and your type of device and browser, and it can’t follow you across other websites. We have a legitimate interest in understanding how the site is used.
Vercel Speed Insights measures how quickly pages load and respond in your browser (for example, how long the main content takes to appear). Like Web Analytics, it doesn’t use cookies or identify you: it records the page, those timings, and your type of device, browser and connection. We use it to keep the site fast.
Google Analytics also receives basic information about your visit, as explained under Cookies below. If you agree to advertising cookies, Google AdSense collects information too.
When you search
Searches for beaches, towns and articles are matched in your browser against our own list. We don’t store what you type.
When you view a map or video
Maps are drawn with tiles from OpenStreetMap. To load them, your browser connects to OpenStreetMap’s servers, which receive your IP address and the map area you are looking at. OpenStreetMap doesn’t set tracking cookies. See the OpenStreetMap Foundation privacy policy.
YouTube videos only load when you press play. They then load from YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). Some articles show posts from Facebook, which loads content from Facebook’s servers.
When you contact us
If you send a message through our contact form, we receive your name, email address, your message and, if you are sharing finds from a beach, which beach it is. The form is delivered to us by a form-handling service.
We use this to reply to you and, if you ask, to add your tips to a beach guide. We keep messages for as long as we need to deal with them, and for no longer than two years. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in answering enquiries and keeping our guides accurate.
When you review a beach
If you leave a review on a beach page, we store the name you give, your star rating, your review, the colours you ticked, the month you visited (if you add it) and the date you posted. We check every review before it appears; once approved, everything except the date you posted is shown publicly on that beach’s page, along with the date.
To stop spam, we also store a one-way scrambled version (a hash) of your IP address, which can’t be turned back into the address. It’s only used to limit how many reviews can be sent from one connection in a short time.
Reviews are kept for as long as the beach page exists. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interest in running a community guide. If you want your review changed or removed, contact us with the beach and the name you used.
Cookies
Cookies are small files that a website stores in your browser. We only set non-essential cookies if you agree to them. When you first visit, we ask you to choose, and you can change your mind at any time.
| Name | Set by | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
of-consent | OceanFinds | Remembers your cookie choice. Stored in your browser’s local storage. This one is essential. | Until you clear it |
_ga, _ga_* | Google Analytics | Counts visits and shows which pages are useful. Only set if you allow analytics. | Up to 2 years |
__gads, __gpi, __eoi, IDE and similar | Google AdSense | Shows ads, limits how often you see the same one and measures how ads perform. Only set if you allow advertising. | Up to 13 months |
Analytics: Google Analytics is provided by Google Ireland Limited. It tells us how many people visit, which pages they use and roughly where they are visiting from, so we can improve the site. It runs in Google’s “Consent Mode”: if you haven’t agreed to analytics cookies, it sets no cookies and sends Google only a basic, cookie-free signal that a page was viewed (with details such as the page, time, browser and approximate location), which can’t be linked to you across visits. If you agree, it uses the cookies listed above to recognise repeat visits.
Advertising: ads on OceanFinds are provided by Google AdSense and help pay for the site. With your consent, Google may use cookies to show ads based on your interests. You can manage this in Google’s ad settings, and read how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
If you reject cookies, the site works in the same way. No analytics or advertising cookies are set, and you won’t see ads.
Who else handles your information
We use these services to run the site:
- Vercel Inc. hosts the website and provides cookie-free visitor statistics and page speed measurements.
- Google provides analytics and advertising, if you agree to them, and YouTube videos when you play one.
- The OpenStreetMap Foundation provides map tiles.
- A form-handling service delivers messages from our contact form.
- Neon Inc. stores beach reviews in its database (through Vercel).
Some of these companies are based in, or store information in, the United States. Where information leaves the UK, it is protected by the UK’s data adequacy arrangements or by standard contractual clauses.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct or delete it;
- object to us using it, or ask us to restrict how we use it;
- withdraw your consent to cookies at any time, using the cookie settings link at the bottom of every page.
To use any of these rights, contact us. We’ll reply within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We’d appreciate the chance to put things right first.
Children
OceanFinds isn’t aimed at children under 13 and we don’t knowingly collect their information. If you think a child has sent us their details, let us know and we’ll delete them.
Changes to this policy
We’ll update this page if the way we handle information changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed.