Data Protection Policy

River Park Stories is a community archive of the river and its parks. This page explains what we collect about you when you use the site, why we need it, who else handles it, and what you can ask us to do with it.

The site is run by:
Icecream Architecture Limited,
Scotland: Civic House, 26 Civic St, Glasgow, G4 9RH, +44 (0)141 674 2349.

We are the data controller for the personal information described here. If you have a question about your data, write to us at tech@icecreamarchitecture.com.

What we collect

When you create an account

your name
your email address
whether you are joining as an individual, an organisation or a community group
a password, which we store only in scrambled (hashed) form, so nobody here can read it
confirmation that you are 16 or over and that you accept our terms

You can also add a short bio to your profile. It is not shown to other visitors.

When you sign in

We record the IP address and browser details of each signed-in session, so that your account stays secure. These are removed when you sign out.

When you contribute

Anything you add to the archive is stored with your account: collections, stories, photos, documents, recordings, captions, comments, suggested edits and the locations you choose to pin on the map. If you report something to the curators, we keep the report and who sent it.

Your notification choices

We store what you follow (categories, places and stories) and how often you want to hear about it.

What other people can see

The archive is public, so some of what you add is too.

Your name appears next to the collections and stories you add, on your comments, and in the catalogue record of any collection you have helped to edit.
Collections and stories you publish, their files and their descriptions can be seen by anyone, along with the location you pinned once a curator has placed it on the public map.
Your email address is never shown publicly. Only you and the site's administrators can see it.
We do not have public profile pages, and your bio is not shown to other visitors.
If you report something, the person who added it is not told who made the report.

A note on photos. Many phones save the place a photo was taken inside the file itself. We do not remove this information, and anyone can download the original of a photo you mark as free to share. If you would rather not reveal where a picture was taken, remove the location from the file before you upload it.

Why we use your information

To run your account and the archive. We need your details to let you sign in, publish what you add and credit you for it. This is necessary to provide the service you signed up for.
To send you email. Some emails are part of having an account, such as password resets and confirming a new email address. These always send. Others are your choice: a daily or weekly round-up of new collections you follow, and messages when someone comments on your work, suggests an edit or asks to include your collection in a story. You can turn these off in your notification settings, and every round-up email has a one-click unsubscribe link.
To look after the archive. Curators review reports and suggested edits, and we keep records of these so decisions can be checked later. This is in our legitimate interest in keeping the archive accurate, lawful and welcoming.

We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for advertising.

Cookies

We use a small number of cookies that the site cannot work without:

one that keeps you signed in until you sign out
one that remembers short-lived details while you use the site, such as the page to return you to after signing in

These do not track you across other websites, and the law does not require us to ask your consent for them.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how people use the site, such as which pages are visited most. We will not turn it on without asking you first.

Who else handles your information

We use a few trusted services to run the site. Each one only handles what it needs to do its job.

Heroku (Salesforce) hosts the website and its database, in the European Union.
Amazon Web Services stores uploaded files and sends our emails, from its London data centre.
Mapbox draws the maps. When you view a map, your browser asks Mapbox for the map images, which shares your IP address with them.
jsDelivr delivers some of the code the site's pages use, which also shares your IP address with them.

Some of these companies are based in the United States. Where your information is handled outside the UK, they protect it under the UK's approved safeguards for international transfers.

How long we keep it

Your account stays until you delete it.
Session details (IP address and browser) are removed when you sign out.
What you have added to the archive is kept for the long term, even if you close your account. The section below explains why.
Reports and records of suggested edits are kept so curators' decisions can be reviewed.

If you delete your account

You can delete your account yourself at any time from your account settings. This deletes your sign-in details, your notifications and the things you follow, and it cannot be undone.

The archive exists to keep a lasting record of the river and its community, and other people's stories and research come to rely on what has been shared. So the collections, stories, files and comments you have added stay in the archive after your account is deleted. They are shown as added by "a removed account" rather than under your name.

If there is something you have added that you would like taken out of the archive, or your name removed from a particular record, write to tech@icecreamarchitecture.com, ideally before you delete your account, and we will look at each request carefully.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us to:

give you a copy of the personal information we hold about you
correct anything that is wrong (you can change your name, email and bio yourself from your account page)
delete your information, subject to the explanation above about the archive
restrict or object to how we use it
give you your information in a format you can take elsewhere

Write to tech@icecreamarchitecture.com. We will reply within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.

Children

You must be 16 or over to create an account.

Changes to this page

If we change how we use your information, we will update this page and change the date below. If the change is significant, we will email account holders.

Last updated: 04.10.2026