Privacy

Who I am

I’m Martin Hills, a sole trader at 22 Teddington Drive, West Malling, ME19 5FF, and I’m responsible for the information described on this page. You can reach me at m@martinhills.com.

This website

The site doesn’t use cookies, analytics or any kind of tracking, and it doesn’t ask you for anything. Like any website, the company that hosts it (IONOS) keeps basic technical logs, such as IP addresses and which pages were asked for, to keep it running and secure.

When you email me

If you get in touch, I’ll have your name, your email address and whatever you tell me in your message. I use them to reply, to have the conversation you asked for, and to send you the short note of what I heard afterwards. I won’t add you to a mailing list, and I don’t pass your details to anyone else for marketing.

My email is hosted by Apple (iCloud Mail), so messages are stored on Apple’s servers, which may be outside the UK. Apple has its own safeguards for that.

If nothing comes of our conversation, I delete our emails within a year.

If we work together

I keep what I need to do the work and to invoice you: your contact details, what we agreed and the invoices. Records I need for tax are kept for six years, as the law requires, and then deleted. If I use an accountant or bookkeeper, they may see them for the same reason.

I keep my notes on our work in Apple’s iCloud, and I use Claude, an AI assistant made by Anthropic, to help me plan and write. Both are run by US companies, so those notes may be stored outside the UK. I keep your customers’ details out of both.

Your systems, and the people in them

Some jobs mean working with the information in your systems, which often includes details of your own customers, staff or suppliers. I only use it to do the job you’ve asked for, I keep it secure while I have it, and I delete any copies I’ve made once the job is finished and you’ve checked it. We agree this in writing before I start.

While I have it, it stays encrypted on my own computer. It never goes by email, and I don’t put it into any AI tool unless we’ve agreed that in writing.

Why I’m allowed to

I reply to enquiries because it’s in both our interests (the law calls this legitimate interests), I work with clients under the agreement we make, and I keep tax records because the law says I must.

Your rights

You can ask me what I hold about you, and ask me to correct it, delete it or stop using it. Just email me and I’ll reply within a month.

If you’re unhappy with how I’ve handled your information, please tell me first, by emailing m@martinhills.com. I’ll let you know I’ve got it within 30 days (usually much sooner), look into it, and tell you what I found and what I’ve done about it.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (now the Information Commission, still known as the ICO), at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes

If anything here changes, I’ll update this page. Last updated 1 November 2026.