Matter and Muscle (matterandmuscle.com)
Last updated: December 2025
The Short Version (TL;DR)
I value your privacy. Here’s the simple version:
Data Collection: I only collect info you choose to give (like your name when you comment) plus some anonymous analytics about how people use the site.
Your Privacy: I will never sell your data. I use it only to make this site work for you.
Control: You can ask me to delete your comments or data at any time.
Tools: I use standard tools (like Google Analytics, Jetpack, and Antispam Bee) to understand what content helps people and keep the site safe.
The rest of this page is the full legal version for those who want the details.
Who We Are
Our website address is: https://matterandmuscle.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
What Data We Collect
Information You Give Us
When you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comments form, plus your IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to display your profile picture. The Gravatar privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/
When you use our contact form (WPForms), we collect your name and email so we can reply to you. We do not use this information for marketing unless you explicitly ask us to.
If you sign up to our newsletter, we collect your email address to send you updates. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our site, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies. This may include your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages viewed, time spent on pages, and general geographic location. This helps us understand what content is most helpful to our community.
Tools and Plugins We Use
Google Analytics (via Site Kit): We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our site – things like which pages are most popular and how people find us. This data is anonymised and helps us create better content. Google may process this data on servers outside the UK. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Jetpack: We use Jetpack for site statistics, security features, and performance optimisation. Jetpack is provided by Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com). Their privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/
LiteSpeed Cache: We use LiteSpeed Cache to make the site load faster. It uses cookies to improve performance but does not collect personal information.
Antispam Bee: We use Antispam Bee to keep our community safe from bots. This plugin is unique because it processes your comment data locally on our own server – it does not send your personal information to third-party servers.
Rank Math (SEO): We use Rank Math to help people find our content through search engines. It does not collect personal visitor data, but it helps us understand which topics are most helpful to our community.
One Click Accessibility: To make this site easier for neurodivergent brains to navigate, we use an accessibility toolbar. This tool saves a cookie on your browser for 24 hours so that if you change the font size or contrast, the site remembers your settings as you move from page to page.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use them for the following purposes:
If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select ‘Remember Me’, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect how the site works for you.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Embedded Content
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if you had visited that website directly.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Why We Process Your Data (Legal Basis)
Under UK GDPR, we need a legal reason to process your personal data. Here’s how we justify each type of processing:
Consent: When you sign up for our newsletter or opt-in to comment cookies, you’re giving us permission to use your data for that specific purpose. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Legitimate Interests: We use analytics to understand our audience and improve our content. We also process data for spam prevention and site security. These are legitimate business interests that don’t override your rights.
Contractual Necessity: When you submit a contact form, we need your details to respond to your enquiry.
Who We Share Your Data With
We do not sell your personal information. Ever.
We may share data with service providers who help us run the website (hosting, analytics, email services). These include Google (Analytics), Automattic (Jetpack, Gravatar), and our web hosting provider. These services have their own privacy policies.
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
We may disclose information if required by law or to protect our rights.
International Data Transfers
Some of our third-party services (particularly Google and Automattic) may process data outside the UK. Where this happens, we rely on safeguards like Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions to ensure your data is protected to UK standards.
How Long We Keep Your Data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
Contact form submissions are kept for up to 12 months.
Newsletter subscriber data is kept until you unsubscribe.
Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics and Jetpack default settings (typically 26 months for Google Analytics).
Your Rights Under UK GDPR
You have significant rights over your personal data. Here’s what you can do:
Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification: Ask us to correct any inaccurate data.
Erasure: Ask us to delete your data (‘right to be forgotten’).
Restriction: Ask us to limit how we use your data.
Portability: Request your data in a format you can take elsewhere.
Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Withdraw Consent: If we’re processing your data based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. We’ll respond within one month.
This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Children’s Privacy
This website is not directed at children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Contact Us & Complaints
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your data rights, please contact us with the Contact form.
If you’re not happy with how we’ve handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can contact them at ico.org.uk or call their helpline on 0303 123 1113.