Privacy Policy

Who We Are

James McDonald is the data controller for personal data collected through jamesmcdonaldmusic.com. If you have a privacy question or would like to exercise your data protection rights, you can contact us using the contact form on this website.

Information You Give Us

When you submit the enquiry form we collect your first and last name, email address and phone number, all of which are required, along with whether the lessons are for an adult, how you heard about us if you tell us, anything you write in the message field, and whether you ticked the box asking to hear about lessons and guides by email. If you request the practice guide, we collect your name, email address and phone number in the same way. If you book a call, the booking is handled by Calendly and the details you enter there are processed by them on our behalf.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit this website, information may be collected automatically about your device and how you use the site — including browser and device information, approximate location derived from your IP address, the pages you visit, how you interact with them, the site or advert that referred you, and cookie or advertising identifiers. Where this involves non-essential cookies or similar technologies, it only happens after you consent through the cookie banner.

Why We Use It

We use enquiry details to respond to you, work out whether lessons are a good fit, and administer your lessons and payments. We use website and analytics information to understand how the site is used and to improve it. Where you have consented, we also use advertising and measurement technologies to understand how well our advertising performs and, where enabled, to show relevant advertising.

Advertising and Analytics

This site uses Google Analytics to see how it is used. If you consent, the actions we count as conversions, such as sending an enquiry or booking a call, may be shared with Google Ads to measure how our adverts perform. Google's advertising signals are off by default and only switch on if you consent.

When we run Facebook or Instagram adverts and you consent to marketing cookies, the site also uses the Meta pixel to measure those adverts and show you relevant ones. Your name, email and phone number from the enquiry form are scrambled on your device before being sent to Meta, so Meta can match you to an advert it showed you. Without consent, the Meta pixel does not load at all.

If you consent and arrived from one of our Google, Facebook or Instagram adverts, the site notes which platform it was, and nothing else. That note stays in your browser for up to 30 days. If you enquire or request the practice guide in that time, it is saved with your details in HubSpot, so we can see which adverts lead to real enquiries.

If you decline, or withdraw consent later, nothing is recorded and anything already stored in your browser is deleted. You can change your choice at any time through the cookie banner.

Legal Bases

Different activities rely on different legal bases. Responding to your enquiry and arranging or delivering lessons relies on taking steps at your request before entering a contract, and on performance of that contract. Keeping records for accounting and tax relies on our legal obligations. Protecting the enquiry form from spam and abuse, and keeping the website secure and working, relies on our legitimate interests. Analytics, advertising measurement and any advertising personalisation rely on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

Who We Share It With

Enquiry emails are sent using Resend. Enquiries and lesson records are stored in HubSpot, our customer relationship system. Call bookings are handled by Calendly. The website is hosted by Netlify, cookie consent is managed by Cookiebot, and the enquiry form is protected from automated abuse by Cloudflare Turnstile. Where advertising and analytics technologies are enabled, information may also be shared with Google and Meta as described in this policy. These providers process data on our instructions, except Google and Meta, who act as controllers in their own right for some advertising activity. We do not sell your personal data.

International Transfers

Some of these providers are based outside the European Economic Area, or may process data outside it. Where that happens, the transfer is covered by the safeguards those providers put in place, such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses or an adequacy decision.

Cookies

We use Cookiebot to manage cookie consent. Non-essential cookies — including analytics and advertising cookies — are only set after you agree, and you can change or withdraw your choice at any time through the cookie banner. Our Cookie Policy lists the cookies in use and what each one does.

How Long We Keep It

Enquiries that do not lead to a booking are kept for up to two years, so we can pick up the conversation if you come back to us. Lesson and payment records are kept for seven years to meet Irish accounting and tax requirements. A note of which advert brought you, where you consented to it, stays in your browser for no more than 30 days; once it is recorded with an enquiry, it is kept for as long as that enquiry is. Analytics and advertising data is retained for the period set within the relevant platform, which is typically no more than fourteen months.

Your Rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have inaccurate data corrected, to have your data erased, to restrict how we use it, to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to receive your data in a portable format. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time without affecting anything done before you withdrew it. To make a request, use the contact form on this website. You also have the right to complain to the Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be published on this page with a new review date below.