Privacy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 May 2026

This privacy policy explains how The AI-thletic collects, uses and protects personal data. It applies to our website at theaithletic.com and to interactions you have with us via email and social media.

We are committed to handling your personal data lawfully, fairly and transparently in accordance with UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we are

The AI-thletic is a sports podcast and infographics website operated by Ram Gohil (sole trader), trading as The AI-thletic. For the purposes of UK data protection law, Ram Gohil is the data controller responsible for your personal data.

Contact details for data protection matters:

  • Email: theaithletic@gmail.com
  • Postal address: Address available on request by e-mail

We are not required to register with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at our current scale of operation, but we voluntarily comply with all relevant ICO guidance. If our processing changes such that registration becomes required, we will register and update this policy.

What personal data we collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

Information you give us directly

  • When you contact us: if you email us or use a contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the contents of your message.
  • If you leave a comment on the site: your name, email address, comment content, IP address, and user agent string. (Comments are not currently enabled but the WordPress system supports them.)
  • If you sign up for a newsletter: your email address. (Newsletter signups are not currently enabled.)

Information collected automatically

  • Technical information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen size, language preference, time zone, and the date and time of your visit. This is collected by our web server and (if you consent) by analytics tools.
  • Usage information: pages you view, links you click, time spent on each page, the website you arrived from (referrer), and the website you leave for. This is collected by analytics tools only if you consent.
  • Cookie data: see our cookie policy for full details of cookies set on our site.

Information from third parties

We do not currently buy data from third parties. If you interact with our content on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, X (Twitter) or Facebook, those platforms may share aggregated insights with us about how their users engage with our content. This data is anonymised and does not identify individual users.

Why we collect personal data and our legal bases

UK GDPR requires us to identify a lawful basis for each type of processing. The bases we rely on are:

  • Consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR): for analytics cookies, marketing cookies, embedded third-party content, and any newsletter signups. You can withdraw consent at any time.
  • Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR): for security monitoring, fraud prevention, technical site administration, and responding to your direct enquiries. We have assessed that our interests in these activities are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
  • Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR): for any processing required to comply with UK law, such as responding to lawful requests from regulators or law enforcement.

The specific purposes we process personal data for are:

  • Operating and maintaining the website
  • Responding to enquiries you send us
  • Understanding how visitors use the site so we can improve it
  • Protecting the site from spam, fraud and abuse
  • Complying with legal obligations

Who we share personal data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with the following categories of third party, and only to the extent necessary:

Service providers (data processors)

  • Hostinger: our website hosting provider. They process server logs, technical data and any data stored on our website on our behalf, in line with their privacy policy.
  • Google (Google Analytics): if you consent, Google processes anonymised analytics data on our behalf. Google’s privacy policy applies.
  • Google (Search Console): aggregated, anonymised search performance data only. Does not identify individual users.
  • Bing Webmaster Tools (Microsoft): aggregated, anonymised search performance data only.
  • Microsoft (Clarity): if installed and consented to, Microsoft processes anonymised heatmap and session recording data on our behalf, in line with their privacy statement.
  • Yoast SEO: the SEO plugin we use. It does not transmit personal data to Yoast as a company; data stays on our site.
  • Complianz: the consent management platform we use. It stores your cookie preferences locally on your device and on our server, but does not transmit them to Complianz as a company.

Embedded content providers (independent controllers)

When you interact with embedded content on our site, the following third parties act as independent data controllers and process your data under their own privacy policies:

  • Spotify (embedded podcast players)
  • Apple Podcasts (links and embeds)
  • YouTube/Google (embedded videos)
  • Instagram/Meta (embedded posts and follow buttons)
  • TikTok (embedded videos)
  • Reddit (embedded threads)
  • X (formerly Twitter) (embedded posts and follow buttons)
  • Facebook/Meta (share buttons and embeds)

These third parties only receive data when you interact with their embedded content, and only if you have consented to embedded content cookies. See our cookie policy for links to each provider’s privacy and cookie policies.

Legal disclosures

We may disclose personal data if required by law, court order, or other legitimate legal process, and to protect the rights, safety or property of The AI-thletic, our users, or others.

International data transfers

Some of the third parties we use (such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and TikTok) are based in the United States or transfer data internationally. When this happens, we and they rely on appropriate safeguards including:

  • The UK extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where applicable.
  • Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the UK government.
  • Other safeguards approved by the ICO.

You can ask us for further details of the safeguards in place for any specific transfer using the contact details above.

How long we keep personal data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected:

  • Email enquiries: retained for up to 2 years from your last contact, unless you ask us to delete them sooner.
  • Server logs (IP addresses, technical data): retained for up to 12 months for security and performance analysis.
  • Analytics data (Google Analytics): retained according to Google’s data retention setting (currently 14 months, configurable in our admin settings).
  • Cookie consent records: retained for 365 days from your last consent action.
  • WordPress database backups: retained for up to 90 days.

Once data is no longer needed, we delete it or anonymise it so it can no longer be linked to you.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

  • Right to be informed: to know what data we hold about you and how we use it. This privacy policy is intended to satisfy this right.
  • Right of access: to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to rectification: to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”): to ask us to delete your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions.
  • Right to restrict processing: to ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to data portability: to receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format and have it transferred to another controller, where technically feasible.
  • Right to object: to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, including direct marketing.
  • Rights related to automated decision-making: we do not currently use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
  • Right to withdraw consent: where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at theaithletic@gmail.com. We will respond within one month of receiving your request, in line with UK GDPR. There is no fee for exercising most of these rights, although we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse manifestly unfounded or excessive requests as permitted by law.

Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. These include:

  • HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data in transit
  • Regular software and security updates on our hosting platform
  • Strong authentication for our admin accounts
  • Limited access to administrative tools (only the site owner currently has access)
  • Regular backups stored securely

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. While we use reasonable efforts to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children

The AI-thletic is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

Cookies

For information about cookies and similar technologies used on our site, please see our cookie policy.

Changes to this policy

We update this privacy policy when our practices change or when required by law. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent change. For material changes, we will display a prominent notice on the website.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first at theaithletic@gmail.com so we can try to resolve it.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

  • Website: ico.org.uk
  • Helpline: 0303 123 1113
  • Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF