Privacy Policy

conference.as publishes a directory of digital engineering, AEC software, electronics design and IT asset management conferences. This policy explains what data we collect when you use the site, why, who we share it with, and what choices you have.

Who we are

conference.as is run by Paul Empringham, who is the controller of the personal data described here. You can reach us at info@conference.as or through the Contact form linked in the site footer.

What we collect

• Usage data. Pages viewed, referral source, approximate location, device and browser type, and similar analytics. PostHog and Google Analytics collect this only if you accept analytics cookies in the cookie banner. We also use Simple Analytics, a cookieless service that counts page views without storing anything on your device and, according to its provider, without storing IP addresses or personal data. It runs regardless of your cookie choice (see Third parties below).
• Newsletter sign-ups. If you subscribe, we collect your email address and the categories you choose. We store it with our email provider (EmailOctopus) and send a welcome email through a transactional email provider (Resend). You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in every email.
• Event alerts. If you ask to be told when registration opens for an event, we store your email address and the event you chose, and email you once when registration opens. We do not add you to a mailing list unless you also tick the newsletter box.
• Contact form and event submissions. If you contact us or submit a conference for listing, we collect the name, email address and message or event details you provide, solely to respond to you or review the submission.
• Technical data. Like any website, our hosting provider receives your IP address and request details when your browser loads a page. This is needed to deliver and secure the site.

Requests to Google that happen without consent

To display the site we load our typefaces from Google Fonts, and on conference pages we load organiser icons from Google’s favicon service. Your browser makes these requests directly to Google, so Google receives your IP address and browser details even if you decline cookies. No cookies are set by these requests. If you would rather avoid this, a browser extension that blocks third-party requests will do so, and the site will fall back to default fonts and icons.

What we don’t do

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for targeted advertising. We are a directory for engineers, not a data brokerage.

Cookies

We use cookies and similar storage for essential site functionality and, with your consent, for analytics (PostHog and Google Analytics). Our cookieless analytics tool, Simple Analytics, does not use cookies. See our Cookie Policy for the full list and how to change your preferences at any time.

Legal basis

Where GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on: your consent for analytics and marketing cookies, newsletter sign-ups and event alerts; and our legitimate interest in responding to enquiries, reviewing submissions, securing the site, measuring overall site traffic with cookieless analytics, and operating the directory for everything else.

Your rights

You may have the right to access, correct, export or delete the personal data we hold about you, to object to or restrict our processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that happened before. California residents have equivalent rights under CCPA/CPRA. To exercise any of these rights, email us or use the Contact form. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data you also have the right to complain to your data protection authority, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk) in the UK.

Third parties and international transfers

We share data only with the service providers needed to run the site:

• Netlify: hosting, and storage of contact form and event submissions.
• Supabase: our database and image storage, including event alert requests.
• EmailOctopus: newsletter lists and sending.
• Resend: the transactional welcome email and event alert emails.
• PostHog and Google Analytics: site analytics, only with your consent. PostHog data is hosted in the United States. Google Analytics is operated by Google and subject to Google’s own terms.
• Simple Analytics: cookieless page-view statistics. It runs without needing cookie consent because it stores nothing on your device. The provider is based in the European Union.
• Google (Fonts and favicon service): see the section above.

Several of these providers are based in, or process data in, the United States. Where that happens we rely on the safeguards the provider offers, such as certification under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (and its UK extension) or standard contractual clauses. Apart from the Google Analytics and Google Fonts terms noted above, our providers act on our instructions and are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.

Data retention

• Contact form and event submissions: kept only as long as needed to respond to or process the request, and deleted within 12 months afterwards.
• Newsletter data: kept until you unsubscribe.
• Event alerts: deleted once the alert email has been sent, or after 12 months if registration never opens.
• Analytics data: kept for the retention period configured in our PostHog, Google Analytics and Simple Analytics accounts, and no longer than 26 months.
• Your cookie consent choice: stored in your browser for 12 months.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “last updated” date above.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Email info@conference.as or use the Contact form linked in the site footer.