Imprint and Privacy Policy

Imprint

This website is operated by:

IFMS Europe Ltd, 1-3 High Street, Great Dunmow, CM6 1UU, United Kingdom. Company number: 08387933. VAT registration number: GB 170 5772 04.

Managing Director: Dietmar Schantin

Professional activity: Media strategist, advisor and author.

Dispute resolution: The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. We are not obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board and do not do so.

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

This website is operated by IFMS Europe Ltd, 1–3 High Street, Great Dunmow, CM6 1UU, United Kingdom. This privacy policy explains what personal data is collected when you use this website, how it is used, and what rights you have.

This policy applies to visitors from all countries. Where you are based in the United Kingdom, it applies under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where you are based in the European Union or European Economic Area, it applies under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR 2016/679).

For visitors outside the UK and EU/EEA, personal data is handled in broadly the same way as described in this policy, even where local laws impose different requirements.

Data controller

The data controller for this website is IFMS Europe Ltd, 1–3 High Street, Great Dunmow, CM6 1UU, United Kingdom. IFMS Europe Ltd is registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and pays the applicable data protection fee.

IFMS Europe Ltd is not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer for the processing activities described in this policy. All data protection enquiries should be directed using the contact form on our Contact page.

What data is collected and why

Contact form: When you submit the contact form, your name, email address, and message are sent directly to IFMS Europe Ltd by email. This data is used solely to process and respond to your enquiry and any follow-up correspondence. The data is not used to create profiles or identify website visitors beyond what is necessary to handle your enquiry, and it is not shared with third parties, except where required by law or necessary for the operation and security of the hosting infrastructure. Contact form enquiries are normally retained for up to 3 months after the last correspondence, unless a longer period is required by law (for example, in connection with contractual or legal obligations). Providing personal data via the contact form is voluntary. If you choose not to provide it, you will not be able to submit an enquiry via the form.

Newsletter (The Field Notes): When you subscribe to The Field Notes newsletter, your name and email address are stored and processed by Brevo (operated by Sendinblue SAS, 7 rue de Madrid, 75008 Paris, France), which is used to manage subscriber lists and deliver newsletter emails. Subscription is based on your explicit consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR / EU GDPR), confirmed via a double opt-in process. You may withdraw your consent and unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link included in every email. When you unsubscribe, your data is normally deleted from the active mailing list within 30 days; residual copies may remain in backups for a limited period in accordance with Brevo’s data retention policies. As Brevo is an EU-based provider, subscriber data is processed within the European Economic Area and is subject to EU data protection law. Transfers of personal data from the United Kingdom to Brevo’s EU infrastructure are permitted under the UK Government’s adequacy regulations for the EEA. Providing your details for the newsletter is voluntary. If you choose not to provide them, you will not receive the newsletter.

Book publication notification: When you sign up to be notified about the publication of The Field Guide to Journalism in the AI Era, your email address is stored and processed by Brevo (as described above under Newsletter). This data is used solely to send you a one-time notification when the book is published. Signup is based on your explicit consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR / EU GDPR). Your data is stored in a separate list from The Field Notes newsletter subscribers. You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us via the contact form on our Contact page. After the notification has been sent, your email address will be deleted from this list within 30 days unless you have separately subscribed to other communications.

Matomo Analytics (cookieless): This website uses Matomo Analytics for WordPress, installed as a plugin within this WordPress site. All analytics data is stored in the same WordPress installation on servers operated by World4You Internet Services GmbH in the EEA and is not sent to Matomo or other third parties. Matomo is configured in a privacy-focused, cookieless mode:

  • No analytics or tracking cookies are set on your device.
  • IP addresses are anonymised (masked) by at least two bytes before storage, and no persistent identifiers (such as user IDs) are stored that would allow long‑term tracking of individual visitors.
  • Only aggregated, pseudonymous statistics (for example, page views, approximate region, browser type) are used to evaluate website usage.

Because Matomo is configured without cookies and with strong anonymisation, consent under cookie laws is not required in many jurisdictions. However, this processing is still carried out transparently and, where it involves personal data, is based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR / EU GDPR) in understanding and improving the website. Matomo analytics data is typically retained for up to 24 months in aggregated form and then deleted or further anonymised.

Server log files

When you access this website, your browser automatically transmits certain technical data to the web server. World4You Internet Services GmbH, the hosting provider, records this data in server log files. The data includes:

  • IP address of the requesting device
  • Date and time of access
  • URL accessed and HTTP status code
  • Referrer URL (if provided by your browser)
  • Browser type and version, and operating system

This data is processed to ensure the security and stability of the hosting infrastructure, to detect and prevent misuse, and to diagnose technical faults. Server log data is normally retained for up to 30 days and then deleted or anonymised, unless a longer retention period is required in connection with specific security incidents. The processing of server log data is based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR / EU GDPR) in the secure and reliable operation of this website.

Cookies

This website does not use tracking cookies or analytics cookies. Matomo Analytics is configured to operate without cookies, as described above. Only technically necessary cookies may be set by the hosting infrastructure (for example, to maintain session security). These are strictly necessary for the operation of the site and do not require consent under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) or EU ePrivacy rules.

If you change your browser settings to block all cookies, the website may not function correctly.

The legal bases for processing personal data on this website are:

  • Contact form – Your data is processed on the basis of legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR / EU GDPR), namely responding to your enquiry and managing our correspondence with you. You may object to this processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation by submitting a request through the contact form; if you do so, your data will be deleted unless a longer retention period is required by law.
  • Newsletter – Your data is processed on the basis of your explicit consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR / EU GDPR), confirmed via double opt‑in. You may withdraw consent at any time using the unsubscribe link in each email.
  • Book publication notification – Your data is processed on the basis of your explicit consent (Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR / EU GDPR). You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
  • Matomo Analytics (cookieless) – Processing is based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR / EU GDPR) in understanding website usage and improving content and performance, with strong safeguards such as IP masking, no cookies, and no persistent identifiers.
  • Server log files – Processing is based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) UK GDPR / EU GDPR) in the secure and reliable operation of this website.

Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

This website does not use your personal data for automated decision‑making or profiling within the meaning of Article 22 UK GDPR / EU GDPR.

Hosting and processors

This website is hosted by World4You Internet Services GmbH, Hafenstraße 35, 4020 Linz, Austria. World4You processes technical data (including server log files and, where relevant, Matomo analytics data stored in this WordPress installation) as a data processor acting on behalf of IFMS Europe Ltd. An appropriate data processing agreement is in place in accordance with Article 28 EU GDPR. Data processed on this website’s servers remains within the European Economic Area. Transfers of personal data from the United Kingdom to World4You’s infrastructure are permitted under the UK Government’s adequacy regulations for the EEA.

Brevo acts as a data processor for the newsletter. Brevo may use carefully selected sub‑processors; where these are located outside the EEA, appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses are implemented in accordance with Article 46 EU GDPR / UK GDPR.

Further details of processors and sub‑processors used in connection with this website are available on request.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR and EU GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal data, subject to the conditions and limitations set out in the law:

  • The right to access the personal data held about you.
  • The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • The right to erasure of your data where it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or where another condition for erasure is met.
  • The right to restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
  • The right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, including processing for analytics, on grounds relating to your particular situation.
  • The right to data portability where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
  • The right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please use the contact form on our Contact page. Requests will be responded to within one month, or within any extended period permitted by law where requests are complex or numerous.

Children’s data

This website and The Field Notes newsletter are intended for adults and are not directed at children under 16. IFMS Europe Ltd does not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe that a child has provided personal data via this website, please contact us so that we can delete the data.

Supervisory authorities

If you are based in the United Kingdom and believe your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

If you are based in Austria or another EU member state, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant national supervisory authority. In Austria, this is the Datenschutzbehörde at dsb.gv.at. You may also contact the supervisory authority in the EU member state of your habitual residence, place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

Changes to this policy

This privacy policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in applicable law or this website’s practices. The date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised.

Contact

For all enquiries including data protection matters, please use the contact form on our Contact page.