Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20th May 2026

Hi, this is the Go Fund Yourself privacy policy. It explains what information we collect, why we collect it, what we do with it, and what your rights are. We've tried to keep it as plain-English as possible while making sure we cover everything required under UK GDPR.

If you have any questions, get in touch at community@gfy.co.uk.

Who we are

Go Fund Yourself (GFY) is a community championing financial transparency, run by Alice Tapper. We're the data controller for the personal data described in this notice. Our contact for any data-related questions is community@gfy.co.uk.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113). We'd appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.

Who this notice is for

This notice describes how we treat personal data we collect about anyone who interacts with GFY: newsletter subscribers, story contributors, product customers, people who email or message us, and visitors to our website.

If you don't provide personal data

If we need to process certain data to fulfil a service you've asked for and you don't provide it, we may not be able to provide that service (for example, we can't send you our newsletter without your email address). We'll always make clear when data is required versus optional.

What information we collect

Newsletter subscribers (The 99 and other GFY newsletters)

When you subscribe, we collect your email address and any name you give us. Held on Substack and Flodesk.

Story submissions for publication (including GFY Confessions and Open Accounts)

If you submit a story to any of our series via our Tally submission form, the only personal data we collect is your email address and (optionally) your Instagram handle. Occasionally we may collect other personal data, such as your name, for specific future series; this will always be made clear on the submission form. The story content itself is anonymised before publication and is not treated as personal data once anonymised.

Product customers

When you buy a product or other paid GFY service, we collect your name, email address, billing address, and order details. Payment data (card numbers, bank details) is collected and processed directly by our payment provider and is never seen or stored by GFY.

People who email or message us

When you email any address at the gofundyourself.co or gfy.co.uk domains, or message us on Instagram or other platforms, we hold your message and any contact details you provide.

Website visitors

We may collect technical information about your visit, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, the pages you visited, and how you navigated through the site. This is collected via cookies and analytics.

Cookies

Our website uses cookies to help it function and to understand how visitors use it. When you visit the site, we'll ask you to consent to non-essential cookies. You can change your cookie preferences at any time. [CHECK: link to cookie banner settings if you have one, or remove this sentence]

How we use your information and our legal basis

Under UK GDPR, we can only use your personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so. The bases we rely on are:

Consent. For newsletter subscriptions, story submissions, and non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Contract. For products and any paid services you've bought from us. We need to process your data to deliver what you've paid for.

Legitimate interests. For responding to your emails and messages, for site analytics, and for protecting our services from misuse. We've considered the impact on you and consider these uses proportionate.

Legal obligation. For example, UK tax law requires us to keep basic financial and customer records for six years.

We use your information to:

• Send you the newsletters and communications you've asked for.
• Process and publish your story submissions (anonymously).
• Fulfil orders for products and other paid services.
• Reply to your emails and questions.
• Improve the GFY website and understand how it's being used.
• Keep records required by law.

Marketing

We may send occasional updates about new content, products, or community news to people who have subscribed or bought from us. You can opt out at any time by clicking 'unsubscribe' in any email, or by emailing community@gfy.co.uk.

We will get your express opt-in consent before sharing your personal data with any third party for their marketing purposes.

Published stories

Stories submitted to GFY Confessions, Open Accounts, or any other GFY publication series are published anonymously and remain part of the series. We do not delete published stories. Because the published content is fully anonymised, it is not personal data under UK GDPR, and the right to erasure (Article 17) does not apply to it. The only exception is if identifying information has been published in error, in which case we will correct or remove the relevant content as soon as we are made aware.

Who we share your information with

We never sell your personal data. We share it only with the platforms and partners we need to run GFY. These include:

• Substack and Flodesk (newsletter delivery and email marketing)
• Google (Google Workspace for email; Drive for document storage)
• Tally (submission forms)
• Notion (internal records and content management)
• Webflow (website hosting)
• [CHECK: your payment provider, e.g. Stripe, if you sell products]
• Other suppliers and service providers required to deliver our services from time to time.

Each of these operates under their own privacy policy and is bound by data protection law.

We may also disclose your personal data:

• If we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your data to the prospective buyer or seller.
• If GFY or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data will be one of the transferred assets.
• If we're under a legal obligation to disclose or share your data to comply with the law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of GFY, our customers, or others.

Where we store your information and international transfers

Personal data we process is held on platforms that may be based outside the UK, including in the United States (Google, Substack, Flodesk, Tally, Notion, Webflow). Where this happens, we rely on the safeguards those platforms have in place, including:

• Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner.
• The UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where applicable.

If you'd like more information about the specific safeguards used for any particular transfer, please contact us at community@gfy.co.uk.

Once we have your personal data, we maintain reasonable security measures to protect it, including password-protected accounts, two-factor authentication where available, and limited access (story submission data is only accessible to Alice).

The transmission of information over the internet is not completely secure. While we'll do our best to protect your data, we can't guarantee the security of data sent to our site, and any transmission is at your own risk.

How long we keep your information

We keep personal data only as long as we need it for the purposes set out in this notice, or as required by law.

• Newsletter subscriber data: for as long as you remain subscribed, then deleted within a reasonable period after you unsubscribe.
• Story submission contact details (Tally): if your submission is not published, 18 months from submission. If published, while the series is active, and deleted on request.
• Product customer records: 6 years from the end of the financial year of purchase (required under UK tax law).
• Emails to GFY addresses: retained in our Google Workspace inbox indefinitely as part of business records; deleted on request.
• Anonymised story content: retained indefinitely as part of the GFY publication archive (not personal data).
• Cookie and analytics data: as set out in our cookie banner.

You can ask us to delete your personal data at any time. Where we have a legal obligation to keep it, we'll let you know.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Delete your personal data (subject to any legal obligations we have to retain it).
• Restrict how we use your data.
• Object to our processing of your data, including for marketing.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where our processing is based on consent.
• Receive your data in a portable format and have it transferred to another controller where technically possible.
• Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113).

To exercise any of these rights, email community@gfy.co.uk. We'll respond within one month (extendable to three months for complex requests, in which case we'll let you know).

A note on submissions specifically: the right to erasure under UK GDPR applies to personal data only. Anonymised story content isn't personal data once published, so we're not generally able to remove a published story. Your contact details, however, will always be deleted on request.

Automated decision-making and profiling

We don't use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Children

GFY is aimed at adults. We don't knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16. If you believe we've inadvertently collected data from a child, please contact us and we'll delete it.

Third-party links

Our website and content may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We don't control these third-party websites and aren't responsible for their privacy statements.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top will reflect any changes. If we make material changes, we'll let you know via the website or by email.

Contact

For any questions about this notice or how we handle your data: community@gfy.co.uk.

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