Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how UKDesk ("we" "our" or "us"), operator of ukvisainfo.co.uk, collects, uses and protects information about visitors to this website. We are committed to handling your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who we are

UKDesk is an independent information website providing guidance on UK immigration routes. We are not affiliated with the UK Home Office, gov.uk, or any official government body. We are not immigration solicitors and do not provide legal advice.

2. What information we collect

We collect limited information automatically when you visit the site:

• Usage data, pages visited, time on site, referring website, device type, browser version, approximate location (country / region only).
• IP address, stored briefly by our hosting provider (Vercel) for security and analytics. We do not link IP addresses to identifiable individuals.
• Cookie data, see Section 5 below.

We do not ask for or collect names, email addresses, phone numbers, passport details, or any other personal information through this website. Tools such as the eligibility quiz process your inputs locally in your browser and do not transmit them to us.

3. How we use information

• To understand which content is most useful so we can improve it
• To measure traffic patterns and detect technical issues
• To serve relevant advertising (where you have consented)
• To comply with legal obligations

4. Legal basis

We process site analytics under our legitimate interest in operating and improving the website. We process advertising and tracking cookies only with your explicit consent.

5. Cookies

A cookie is a small text file stored on your device. We use three categories:

• Strictly necessary cookies, required for site functionality. No consent needed.
• Analytics cookies, Vercel Web Analytics. Used to count visits and identify popular content. Anonymised; no personal identification.
• Advertising cookies, used by Google AdSense and its partners to serve relevant ads. Set only with your consent via our consent banner.

You can withdraw cookie consent at any time by clearing your browser's cookies and local storage for this domain, which resets the consent banner on your next visit.

6. Google AdSense & personalised advertising

UKDesk displays advertisements served by Google AdSense (publisher ID ca-pub-9854912596289421). As an approved Google publisher, we're required to disclose how AdSense uses cookies and how you can control them.

• Third-party cookies. Google and its advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies to show personalised and non-personalised ads to you on this site and across the internet.
• Personalised ads. Personalised advertising is shown only with your explicit consent. Until you opt in via the cookie banner, ads are non-personalised (contextual to the page content, not based on your profile).
• The consent banner. We use a custom consent banner built into this site. It appears on your first visit and gives you two options: accept personalised ads or decline (non-personalised, contextual ads only). Your choice is stored in your browser's local storage and remembered on future visits.
• Withdrawing consent. Clear this site's local storage and cookies in your browser to reset your choice. You can also opt out of personalised advertising across the web at Google Ads Settings or at youronlinechoices.eu.
• How Google uses data. Google's use of cookies and the categories of data processed are documented in the Google advertising technologies policy. We do not have access to or control over Google's advertising cookies beyond the consent signal collected by the banner.

We do not sell personal data, we do not run retargeting based on form input, and we do not allow advertisers to pay for editorial placement. See the editorial policy for our independence commitments.

7. Other third-party services

We share limited usage data with the following processors:

• Vercel Inc., hosting and basic analytics
• Cloudflare Inc., DNS and security
• Google LLC, AdSense advertising and Search Console (Search Console processes aggregated query data only)

Each of these providers operates under its own privacy policy and may transfer data outside the UK. Where transfers occur, they are governed by appropriate safeguards (UK adequacy decisions, Standard Contractual Clauses, or equivalent).

8. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access any personal data we hold about you
• Request correction or deletion of that data
• Object to processing or restrict it
• Withdraw consent for cookies at any time
• Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk

Because we do not knowingly collect personally identifying information, in most cases there is no individual data record to access or delete. If you believe we hold data about you, contact us at privacy@ukvisainfo.co.uk.

9. Children

This site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of the page reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be sent to privacy@ukvisainfo.co.uk.