Was It Real?Privacy notice
We collect as little personal data as we can. This notice explains what we do collect, why, and your rights under UK data protection law.
Last updated: 26 October 2026.
Who we are
Was It Real? is run by Andrew Probert trading as Was It Real?, Wigan, United Kingdom. We are the controller of the personal data described here. Contact us about anything in this notice at wasitreal@mail.grokbot.com.
What we collect and why
| Data | Why | Lawful basis (UK GDPR Art. 6) | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messages you send us (email address, name, what you write) | To reply, handle corrections and keep a record of disputes | Legitimate interests in responding and keeping our verdicts accurate | Up to 2 years after the matter is closed |
| Basic technical logs kept by our hosting provider (such as IP address, browser type, pages requested) | To deliver the website securely and stop abuse | Legitimate interests in running a secure website | As set by the hosting provider, normally a short period |
Giving us your email address is optional. You can use every part of the site without it. We only need it if you choose to contact us.
Price-drop alerts use feeds, not email. Our alerts are public RSS/Atom feeds (one per product and per category). You subscribe in your own feed reader; we never receive your email address or any sign-up details, and we cannot see who subscribes. Your feed reader fetches the feed from our host like any other page, so only the normal hosting logs described above apply. The search box is processed in your browser and is not sent to us.
Cookies and similar technologies
We do not set advertising or analytics cookies. If we add analytics in future, we will update this notice and ask for consent where the law requires it. Our “Check price on Amazon” links are Amazon affiliate links. We set no cookie for them; if you click one, Amazon may set its own cookies to record that you came from us, and Amazon’s privacy notice applies. Our other retailer links are plain links. When you visit any retailer, its own privacy notice applies.
Who we share data with
- Hosting: Netlify, Inc. hosts this website and may process technical log data on our behalf.
- Email: we do not run an email list and do not send alert emails. If we ever start, we will update this notice first and name the provider here.
We do not sell your personal data. Some providers may process data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where that happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
Your rights
You have the right to access your data, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict or object to processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time. To use any of these rights, email wasitreal@mail.grokbot.com. We will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.
Children
This site is not aimed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data.
Changes
We will update this notice if what we do changes, and change the date at the top.