Privacy notice

Last updated 14 November 2026

Who we are

Connor Walsh ("we", "us") runs this website and is responsible for the personal information collected through it. Cutwater Studio is a trading name of Connor Walsh, a sole trader.

What we collect and why

When you send the form on this site, we collect your name, your email address, your current website address (if you give it), your message, your business name and website brief (if you use the brief form) and if you become a client: your phone number, your domain and who it's registered with, who can log in to it (you, a past designer or someone else; we don't ask for their name), which company runs your email, and whether we may reuse the words and photos from your current website. We use them only to reply to you, give you a quote or arrange what you asked for.

Our lawful basis is taking steps you've asked for before a possible contract (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b)), or our legitimate interest in answering enquiries (Article 6(1)(f)). You don't need to tick anything: sending the form is enough. If you'd rather not use the form, you can phone or email us instead.

If you phone or email us, we treat what you tell us in the same way.

This site doesn't use analytics cookies or advertising pixels. Private previews record how you use them, as described below. See Cookies.

Who we share it with

We don't sell your information or share it for marketing. These services handle it for us, only on our instructions:

Web3Forms: delivers the contact form to our email inbox (run from India, and may process data in other countries).
Cloudflare: hosts this website, checks the website score form is sent by a person (Turnstile, which uses your IP address and browser details), stores website briefs for 40 days and client order details for about 13 months, keeps short-lived security logs, which include IP addresses, and forwards email sent to cutwaterstudio.co.uk addresses to our Google Workspace mailbox (a worldwide network, including the US).
Google PageSpeed Insights: runs the phone performance test on the web address you give us (it receives the address, not your email) (the United States).
Google Workspace (Google): sends and stores the emails we send from getcutwater.co.uk, and holds the emails you send us at either getcutwater.co.uk or cutwaterstudio.co.uk, including replies (Google may handle this data outside the UK).
Zoho Mail (Zoho): holds emails sent to cutwaterstudio.co.uk before 15 October 2026, until we close that mailbox (Zoho may handle this data outside the UK).
Stripe: takes card payments for deposits and balances (we never see your full card number) (the UK, the EU and the US).

Some of these services process data outside the UK. Where they do, they rely on legal safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses. Their own privacy policies explain the details.

How long we keep it

We keep enquiries for 12 months after our last contact, or longer if you become a client (for contract and tax records), then delete them, unless we need them for work that's still going on or for our tax records.

If we contact you first

We sometimes write first to a business we think we can help. When we do, we use your name as a director, which comes from the public Companies House register, and the business email address published on your company's own website. We use them only to contact you about your website: one email, at most two short follow-ups, and replies to anything you send us. Our lawful basis is legitimate interests: we think a business may welcome an offer to improve its website, and a short, honest email is a fair way to ask.

We share your details only with the services that send and store our email and run our website. Some of these may handle data outside the UK, under legal safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or a UK adequacy decision.

If you delete a preview page we sent you (the Delete button on the page), or reply asking us to, we delete the preview and your details within 7 days. In every other case we keep your details for no longer than 6 months after our last message, then delete them, keeping only your email address (and your company number, if there is one) on a do-not-contact list so we never write to you again. If you say no, or ask us to stop, we keep only your email address (and your company number, if there is one) on a do-not-contact list, so we never write to you again.

You can ask to see, correct or delete your details, or object to us using them, at any time. The quickest way is to reply STOP, or email us at the address on this page. You can complain to us first, and you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

When you open your private preview we record time spent, scrolling and taps, keep that 40 days, and use it to choose follow-ups and offers. Reply no to object. We also keep the date you first opened your quote for up to 400 days, because it sets your discount deadline. You can also press "Don't record my visits" on your preview.

Website score

If you ask for a website score, we collect your web address and your email, and we keep the score we write. We use them to look at the public pages of the site you give us, send you the score (with an offer of a free redesign preview if you tell us the site is yours), and answer your reply. We do this because you asked us to (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b), or for a company our legitimate interest in answering a request, Article 6(1)(f)). We do not send you marketing unless you tick the box on the form, and you can stop it at any time.

We delete what you send us and your score 6 months after you send this form.

Marketing

If you get in touch with us, we won't send you news or offers because of that. This is separate from the one-off contact described above. We'd only send you news or offers if you separately asked us to, and you could stop it at any time.

Your rights

You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it, delete it, restrict how we use it, or stop using it. Email hello@cutwaterstudio.co.uk. We'll reply within one month.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or 0303 123 1113.