Effective date: 23 October 2026 · Last updated: 23 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how The AI Observer collects, uses, shares and protects your personal data when you visit our website, listen to or watch our content, become a member, subscribe to our newsletter, comment, contact us, appear as a guest, or work with us as a business. It also explains your rights and how to exercise them.

1. Who we are

The AI Observer is operated by Percy Real Estate Ltd, trading as The AI Observer, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15525233, with its registered office at 25 Cabot Square, London, England, E14 4QZ. The AI Observer is a publication of Matchouse.

Percy Real Estate Ltd is the data controller for the personal data described in this Policy. For any privacy question or request, contact us at [email protected] with the subject line "Privacy".

2. The personal data we collect

Information you give us

  • Membership and newsletter: your email address, name (if provided), newsletter preferences and membership tier.
  • Paid membership: billing details needed to manage your subscription, such as plan, payment status, billing country and the last four digits and expiry date of your card. Full card details are collected and stored by our payment provider, Stripe, not by us.
  • Comments: your name, any profile details you add, and the comments you post.
  • Contact form and emails: your name, email address, the reason for contacting us and your message.
  • Podcast and video guests: your name, job title, biography, photo, location, social links, and the audio, video and words you contribute to an episode.
  • Business clients and partners: names, job titles, business contact details, and information shared to plan and deliver sponsored content or marketing collaborations.

Information collected automatically

  • Technical data: IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page and pages visited, collected in server logs and by our publishing platform for security and to run the site.
  • Email engagement: whether newsletters are delivered and, where enabled, opened and links clicked, so we can understand what readers find useful and keep our mailing list healthy.
  • Sign-up source: the pages you visited before becoming a member, recorded in your browser during your visit so we know which content leads people to join.
  • Cookies and similar technologies: as explained in our Cookie Policy.

Information stored only on your device

Your Library (saved episodes and articles, and where you stopped watching) and your light or dark display preference are stored in your own browser. This information is not sent to us, and you can clear it at any time by clearing your browser's site data.

We only use personal data where we have a lawful basis under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018:

  • To provide memberships, paid subscriptions and member-only content: performance of a contract.
  • To process payments, prevent fraud and keep financial records: performance of a contract and legal obligation.
  • To send newsletters you subscribe to: consent, which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing.
  • To send essential service emails, such as sign-in links, receipts and changes to your membership: performance of a contract.
  • To publish and moderate comments: performance of a contract and legitimate interests in keeping discussions safe and on topic.
  • To respond to your messages and enquiries: legitimate interests, or taking steps at your request before entering into a contract.
  • To produce and publish episodes featuring guests: performance of the agreement with the guest and legitimate interests in publishing our programmes.
  • To deliver sponsored content and partnerships: performance of a contract with the business client and legitimate interests in managing business relationships.
  • To understand how our content performs and improve The AI Observer: legitimate interests, using aggregated information wherever possible.
  • To keep the site secure and comply with law: legitimate interests and legal obligation.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for automated decision-making that has legal or similarly significant effects on you.

4. Who we share your data with

We share personal data only where necessary, with service providers who process it on our behalf under contract and appropriate safeguards:

  • Ghost Foundation, our publishing, membership, newsletter and comments platform.
  • Our hosting and infrastructure providers, which store the site and its data.
  • Our email delivery provider, which sends newsletters and service emails on our behalf.
  • Stripe, which processes payments and helps prevent fraud. Stripe acts as an independent controller for some payment and fraud-prevention data, under its own privacy policy.
  • jsDelivr, a content delivery network that serves some of the site's scripts and receives your IP address to do so.
  • A form-handling provider, if we use one to receive contact form messages.
  • Professional advisers, such as lawyers and accountants, where needed.
  • Other companies in our group, including Matchouse, where needed to operate The AI Observer.
  • Authorities, where required by law or to protect our rights, users or the public.

If you play an embedded YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or SoundCloud player, or follow links to those services, that provider receives information about your visit and handles it under its own privacy policy.

Comments you post, and information about guests that appears in our episodes, are public.

5. International transfers

Some of our service providers are based outside the UK, including in the United States. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.

6. How long we keep your data

  • Membership data: for as long as your membership is active. If you delete your membership, we delete or anonymise your data, except where we need to keep it for the reasons below.
  • Payment and tax records: for six years after the end of the financial year they relate to, as required by UK law.
  • Newsletter data: until you unsubscribe or delete your membership. We may keep a record that you unsubscribed so we do not email you again.
  • Comments: until you or we remove them, or your membership is deleted.
  • Contact enquiries: up to two years after we last correspond, unless they lead to an ongoing relationship.
  • Guest contributions: published episodes are kept as part of our archive, as agreed with guests.
  • Business client records: for the duration of the relationship and up to six years afterwards.
  • Server logs: for a limited period needed for security, normally no more than 90 days.

7. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have the right to:

  • access the personal data we hold about you;
  • ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
  • ask us to delete your data;
  • ask us to restrict how we use your data;
  • object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
  • receive your data in a portable format, where applicable; and
  • withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.

You can update your details, change newsletter preferences or delete your membership from your account page. To exercise any other right, email [email protected] with the subject line "Privacy". We will respond within one month, and may need to confirm your identity first. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions.

8. How we protect your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), passwordless sign-in links, restricted staff access and trusted service providers. No online service is completely secure, so please contact us immediately if you believe your membership has been compromised.

9. Children

The AI Observer is not intended for children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has given us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we use your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve them. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. If you live in the European Economic Area, you may complain to the data protection authority in your country.

11. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page with a new "Last updated" date and, where changes are significant, tell members by email.

12. Contact us

Percy Real Estate Ltd, trading as The AI Observer
Company number: 15525233
Registered office: 25 Cabot Square, London, England, E14 4QZ
Privacy requests: [email protected] (subject: "Privacy")
General enquiries: [email protected]